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Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful materials are called pollutants. Pollutants can be natural, such as volcanic ash. They can also be created by human activity, such as trash or runoff produced by factories. Pollutants damage the quality of air, water, and land.

CAUSES

Vehicle emissions, fuel oils and natural gas to heat homes, by-products of manufacturing and power generation, particularly coal-fueled power plants, and fumes from chemical production are the primary sources of human-made air pollution.

How Long Does It Last?
Different materials decompose at different rates. How long does it take for these common types of trash to break down?

Paper: 2-4 weeks

Orange peel: 6 months

Milk carton: 5 years

Plastic bag: 15 years

Tin can: 100 years

Plastic bottle: 450 years

Glass bottle: 500 years

Styrofoam: Never

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the incidental capture of non-target species such as dolphins, marine turtles and seabirds. Thousands of miles of nets and lines are set in the world's oceans each day. Modern fishing gear, often undetectable by sight and extremely strong, is very efficient at catching the desired fish species—as well as anything else in its path. A staggering amount of marine life—including turtles, dolphins and juvenile fish—is hauled up with the catch, and then discarded overboard dead or dying.

CAUSES

NON-SELECTIVE FISHING GEAR
Fishing gear is largely non-selective—any species can be caught, including non-target species. Longlines, trawling and the use of gillnets are the fishing methods that most commonly result in bycatch. Longlining is a commercial fishing method commonly targeting swordfish, tuna and halibut, where hundreds or thousands of baited hooks hang at intervals along a single fishing line. The hooks (commonly called “J hooks”) cause problems for marine turtles when swallowed, usually resulting in death. Sharks, non-target billfishes and juvenile tunas are often hooked as well.

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water scarcity, insufficient freshwater resources to meet the human and environmental demands of a given area. Water scarcity is inextricably linked to human rights, and sufficient access to safe drinking water is a priority for global development. However, given the challenges of population growth, profligate use, growing pollution, and changes in weather patterns due to global warming, many countries and major cities worldwide, both wealthy and poor, faced increasing water scarcity in the 21st century.

CAUSES

Pollution

Water pollution comes from many sources including pesticides and fertilizers that wash away from farms, untreated human wastewater, and industrial waste.

Agriculture

Agriculture uses 70% of the world’s accessible freshwater, but some 60% of this is wasted due to leaky irrigation systems, inefficient application methods as well as the cultivation of crops that are too thirsty for the environment in which they are grown.

Population Growth

In the last 50 years, the human population has more than doubled. This rapid growth— with its accompanying economic development and industrialization—has transformed water ecosystems around the world and resulted in a massive loss of biodiversity.