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9 Gripping Industrial Pollution Statistics

Industrial pollution is often written off as a necessary evil, but it cannot be overlooked any more. Over 97% of the studies on the climate reflect that the Earth is developing a warming period and that industrial pollution is one of the leading causes why. Industrial pollution, however, doesn’t just affect the air we all breathe.

Facts About Industrial Pollution

Over 1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water, partly because of industrial pollution.

Because there is a lack of safe drinking water in developing areas of the planet, nearly 5,000 people die every day simply because they only have dirty water to drink. For a modern society, that is simply inexcusable. Think of it this way: because of a lack of water, a community with 50,000 residents today would become a ghost town in just 10 days.

Essential Facts About Industrial Pollution

1. Americans only account for about 5% of the world’s total population. Despite this fact, Americans also account for 30% of the world’s waste through industrial pollution while consuming 25% of the world’s resources.
2. Almost 50% of all American lakes are affected by industrial pollution to the point where they are unsafe to use for swimming, fishing, or other forms of recreation.
3. 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated industrial waste is pumped directly back into the U.S. water supply every year.
4. Pollution is one of the biggest global killers, affecting over 100 million people. That’s comparable to global diseases like malaria and HIV.

Takeaway: Industrial pollution might be a global problem, but the source of the problem resides within the United States. Imagine how much less pollution there would be globally if the United States were able to curtail just 5% of the pollution it generates every year?

Additional Facts About Industrial Pollution

1. Industrial pollution negatively impacts over 100 million people every day in some way. It kills as many people as HIV and malaria.
2. 14 billion pounds of industrial waste are simply dumped into the world’s oceans every year, with a majority of this waste being plastic.
3. Living in an area with higher levels of industrial pollution increases the risks of lung cancer by 20%.
4. 40% of the world’s diseases affect children and more than 3 million kids die every year before the age of 5 because of industrial pollution.
5. Nitrogen pollution from farming fertilizers travels down the Mississippi every year to create a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico that is larger than the state of New Jersey.

Takeaway: With better practices and controls in place, industrial pollution could be immediately and dramatically reduced. Would it cost a little more at the store or at the gas station to do so? Possibly. Considering that cleaning up industrial pollution would help our planet become a safer, healthier place for future generations, however, the cost is worth it. Much of the pollution occurs because people are lazy or because there are no controls. It’s time for that to stop.

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