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Describe the most significant water pollution problem we face in the United States. |
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Summarize the kinds of things the individual can do to reduce water pollution and consumption. |
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Explain the difference between point and nonpoint source pollution. |
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In one sentence, summarize the status of our groundwater quality. |
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One step in critical thinking is to be able to distinguish fact from opinion. That in itself may not be enough to let you come to a reasoned conclusion. You must also be able to recognize and interpret bias. Let's use these two steps in the assessment of progress in improving national water quality. Read each of the following facts, and decide whether it fosters an optimistic, pessimistic, or neutral attitude about how the effort to clean up the water is going.
a. No major city any longer discharges raw sewage into the environment other than overflow during heavy rainstorms.
b. Nearly 90 percent of the river miles and lake acres that are assessed for water quality support their designated uses. |
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If these facts applied to a single country, would you feel optimistic, pessimistic, or neutral about how the cleanup effort is going? |
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Now evaluate each of the next two facts in the same manner:
a. At least half of all public drinking water systems expose consumers to contaminants such as pesticides and pathogens at levels that violate EPA rules.
b. A farm state survey found pesticides and other synthetic chemicals in half of all wells tested. |
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How do you feel about how cleanup is going in the country described by these facts? Is the situation a basis for optimism or pessimism? |
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You may recognize some of these facts that describe circumstances in the United States:
a. When all four of the facts in questions 5 and 7 are considered, how do you think the cleanup effort is going?
b. If a writer had a bias that we're making great progress in this country and wanted you to come to the same conclusion, how might that have been brought about? What about the other bias? |
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Urban lawn and golf course runoff, laden with fertilizers and pesticides, is apparently a growing cause of aquatic pollution problems.
a. How can increased fertilizer runoff cause problems for aquatic ecosystems?
b. Structure an argument in support and one in opposition to the following position:
The EPA should severely restrict application of herbicides and fertilizers on lawns in order to reduce pollution of the nation's surface water and groundwater.
c. Make a list of any questions of fact you would like answered before taking a position on this issue. |
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To prevent groundwater pollution, many communities ban the use of septic tanks on residential lots. In such cases, the right of the homeowner to exercise personal freedom in the use of personal property is overridden by a public right to have the groundwater protected from pollution. In the effort to control nonpoint source pollution, proposals are being made to ban the use of herbicides on residential lawns. Should the community have the right to impose such a ban? Explain your reasoning. |
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Visit the Current Global Environmental Issues map on this Web site. Under Pollution, choose the piece British Petroleum/Amoco admits to dumping toxic waste on Alaska's North Slope. Environmentalists strongly object to oil exploration on or near the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Oil companies argue that oil can be removed without damaging the refuge. What are the consequences of the toxic dumping incident described here for the credibility of the oil company claims? |
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2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education