The Future is Foggy
By Katherine Duan
If I were to come up to you and say, “the future is foggy”, you’d automatically assume that I’m talking about divination, or the action of predicting the future. If I mutter “it’s dry as a bone out today”, you’ll praise me for using figurative language because it can’t possibly ever be literally as dry as a bone outside… right? It can, and it will be… but it doesn't have to be. Today I will be talking to you about pollution- air, water, and the other types that are often called “minor” but are anything but.
First, let’s soar into the topic of air pollution. According to NASA and various other sources, the main greenhouse gases are water vapor, methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and most importantly, carbon dioxide. This gas is the most notable of all the greenhouse gases, and according to the Department of Health in Wisconsin, exposure to carbon dioxide can produce headaches, dizziness, restlessness, tingling in the body, difficulty breathing, sweating, tiredness, increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, coma, asphyxia, and convulsions. However, there is one way to fight this gas… and it lies in plants. Trees, flowers, bushes, your aunt’s wilting tulips… you name it. These forms of greenery suck in CO2 and let out oxygen. Trees are some of the biggest plants out there, but every single second, about a football field’s worth of trees is being cut down. I’m sure that most of you in this room are aware of the pressing problem of air pollution, but it might be more pressing than we think. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, there were around 49,000 deaths due to air pollution from 1/1/2020 to 7/9/2020, and that’s for only half of 2020. Think about it. 2020, the year where everyone stayed home, and factories were closed.
After that, we need to dive down into the depths of water pollution. As stated by the Natural Resources Defense Council, as of May 2018, 80% of the world’s wastewater was dumped back into the environment. Now that CORONA exists, more people will shower, bathe, wash their hands, and just overall use water. More water will have to be dumped rather than recycled because of the germs that might be inside. And as claimed by the United Nations, unsafe water kills more people per year than all the other forms of violence combined. That includes wars, assassins, and other things. In a few years, your nightmares won’t be about a cloaked ninja sneaking into your room and slitting your throat- they’ll be about a muddy glass of water. And they won’t be that far-fetched. According to the US Geological Survey, humans dump about 1.7 TRILLION gallons of wastewater into the water supply EACH YEAR. If you were to take all that water, recycle it, and sell it for just a dollar a gallon (the average cost of water), you would be the richest person in the world!
Finally, let’s make some noise – or don’t – for the other types of pollution. Now, these are often overlooked and brushed aside, but they really shouldn’t be. As we’ve seen in lots of real-life situations and pretty much every other horror movie, small things can build up. First, noise pollution. Noise pollution isn’t just about your loud neighbor playing the drums at 1 AM, your parents LOUDLY calling the police, and the even louder police sirens making you hold your pillow on top of your head… though that is a factor of it. Noise pollution causes hearing loss and can damage the sensitive hearing of animals. According to the American Kennel Club, a dog’s hearing is about 4 times as sensitive as the hearing of humans, and dogs are in the middle of the hearing chart, meaning that there are about the same number of animals with better hearing than dogs and the number of animals with worse hearing than dogs. This is part of the reason why animals are afraid of thunderclaps- they must sound like gunshots to them! But that’s enough about noise pollution for now- let’s put the spotlight on light pollution. According to All About Birds, birds know where to migrate by following the setting/rising sun, looking at the stars, and other complicated strategies. In a well-lit city, lights blot out the stars and might confuse migrating birds, causing a pause in migration and possibly prompting invasive species to move in.
When I say the word “pollution”, people usually think of smoke coming out of factories and, well, choking you. However, pollution comes in all different forms and has many different impacts on people everywhere. After reading this speech, you might think that pollution is difficult, and maybe even impossible, to beat… but it’s not. Not with your help. You might think that you’re only one person and that you can’t possibly defeat this problem on your own, but you’re not alone. We might all be one person, but together, we’re billions of “one persons”. Together, we can solve any problem… but we have to do it together. Pollution impacts everyone, but you can prevent it from doing so even further.
Well? Why are you still here? Go solve a problem! Shoo!