Video from group n° 013
Welcome to the webpage of group n° 013[modifier | modifier le wikicode]
The topic we have decided to explore is the following :
The topic we have decided to explore is fresh water pollution and how to depollute lakes and rivers around the world. Access to clean fresh water is a vital issue because the demand for fresh water is increasing but the worlds fresh water resources are finite and most of that fresh water has been polluted by human and industrial waste.
Our video[modifier | modifier le wikicode]
Our paper[modifier | modifier le wikicode]
Sustainable Performance Group 13
Industrial and urban pollution remains a huge issue nowadays. Even with the many reforms and policies that have been applied lately, little improvement has occurred especially concerning pollution from agricultural products. Agricultural pollution rejects phosphate and nitrate, which have biological effects on many ecosystems. Such effects endanger vegetable proliferation, which happens through the appearance of seaweed, water flowers, and other bodies. These have many impacts on the water cycle, more commonly called “eutrophication.” The water, to that extent, has less oxygen and causes the fish to die or mutate. To this date, agricultural pollution remains extremely difficult to fight. In fact, the existing tools are either too expensive or complicated to install. This pollution affects the environment and accounts for three fourth of nitrogen rejection in the atmosphere. In France, this type of farming pesticide and others pollute more than transportation, which shows how much of a problem it is. It was in fact one of the biggest issues that countries dealt with during the COP21. By using biological solutions like the ones our experts talk about during our video, financial savings can be made due to the moderate costs of investment and the maintenance fees that remain low. Lagooning can be a very good solution for developing countries, since it does not cost a lot, which will not affect the governments’ budgets. It will allow such regions to increase wet zones and gain biodiversity. However, the failure risk stays important because of mismanagement, which can create negative issues. Moreover, education, laws, and economics are three factors that work together to solve fresh water pollution. Making people aware of the problem is the first step to solving it, and this comes through education. But one of the biggest problems with this subject is its transboundary nature. Many rivers cross different countries and pollution discharged in one country ends up in its neighbouring nations. So environmental laws need to be more strict and international. Most environmental experts agree that the best way to tackle pollution is through the “polluter pays principle,” meaning that whoever causes pollution should have to pay to clean it up, one way or another. With more awareness spread through education, stricter regulations, and the economical “polluters pay principle,” we can make pollution less of a problem.
