Toxic waste pollution

Another type of pollution that is definitely a threat to human safety is toxic waste pollution. This type of contamination is caused when the byproducts of chemical reactions are basically just dumped anywhere the company that produced them so pleases. Although there are supposedly safe ways of disposing of these wastes, there is no natural way of ridding the planet of them. Therefore, most toxic waste is just left out to seep into water sources and into areas of human development. Usually, the outcome is very serious. Toxic waste dumpsites near Toms River, NJ have been under fire in recent years due to the unusually high cancer rates in that town. According to John Whitestone, since these toxic waste disposal sites have been abandoned, cancer among 12 to 16 year olds has almost quadrupled. (196) Serious diseases have become a huge debate on the issue of toxic waste disposal, and many people think there needs to be a safer way of disposing this kind of waste or that alternatives to the chemical processes that produce these chemicals need to be established.

Further areas of environmental contamination are nuclear waste, nuclear disaster, and nuclear war. All three of these are directly related to each other in that all can result in immediate death and death well after contamination. Nuclear wastes are the byproducts of nuclear reactions in power plants. There is a very safe way to dispose of nuclear waste, but it has been proven in the past that many of these techniques can be harmful to human beings if they are not properly completed. Nuclear waste contains high levels of radiation. Radiation, in levels of that height, can kill a person within hours. At lower levels, such as levels of radiation that someone would encounter over long periods of time, radiation can cause cancer and leukemia. Radiation is used advantageously in X-rays and cancer treatment, but it has not truly been proven if these tactics are actually safe, due to the short period of time of their use.

Environmental movements

Environmental movement is a term used for any social or political movement directed towards the preservation, restoration, or enhancement of the natural environment. Most environmental movements have similar value systems and moral codes, although they often diverge in details such as emphasis, priorities, means of action, and specific goals. They often share the notion that the perception of one's environment is strongly connected with that of one's self. In this regard, some environmentalists distinguish themselves from conservationists. Environmental movements often interact or are linked with other social movements with similar moral view.

The international organizations, like Greenpeace, Green Cross International and Friends of Earth, use direct actions to stop the destruction of the natural environment. At this part I would like to describe the Greenpeace organization and its action.

Greenpeace is an independent, campaigning organization which uses non-violent, creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems, and to force solutions for a green and peaceful future. Green peace’s goal is to ensure the ability of the earth to nurture life in all its diversity. Greenpeace has national and regional offices in 41 countries worldwide.