The reason why this is a big problem is that even though DDT was banned, it is still present in our biosphere today. When the chemical was banned, many companies just dumped it Ito sewers and waste ways, which led it straight into the ocean. Since many fish live in the ocean, they now have very high DDT levels.
This is a very big problem. DDT can be very toxic to some fish and kills a lot of them. When humans eat the fish, we can get very high levels of DDT as well, and according to many studies, cause brain problems and even more serious diseases than it wards off,like cancer in your liver.
This topic relates to our Biology class in particular. We learned about Biomagnification a few weeks ago. This is truly a problem now. Since these fish live in the ocean, there is a very high risk for humans. First, if you go swimming in these parts of the ocean could potentially give you some levels of DDT, but also eating the fish could cause an even more serious problem. This chemical is toxic and will permanently damage most humans.
Another way this topic relates to our Biology class is because we were talking a few weeks ago about the harmful chemicals such as PCBs and DDT being released all over the biosphere. These chemicals have been banned for a long time, but it doesn't mean the problem has gone away.
We, as humans need to be aware of the dangers of these chemicals. They have been banned, but some traces could be still left in the air. We need to be cautious about what we put in our wasteways, because it could potentially come back to us. If people eat the contaminated fish, it will be very damaging to their health and the health of people around them. We should be more aware of how much damaging chemicals are really around us.
I was surprised to hear that DDT is still present in the environment. Hearing about how companies just dumped it into the sewers when it was banned really bothered me. It reminded me of how careless and selfish so many companies are. Many people are only focused on money and themselves. They don't think through to the consequences and that is what happened when they dumped the DDT into the sewers and, indirectly, the ocean. I liked how your topic directly related to something we had talked about in class. Because I had background information on it, it was easy for me to understand and relate to the post. Good job!
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that the companies just dumped it into the ocean, especially since one of the problems with DDT is that it bioaccumulated in fish. If it is killing the fish, it could mean more mad news for the fish population, which is already low due to overfishing. I found the topic interesting; I did not know that DDT was still a big problem.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was interesting because I didn't think that some companies would be so careless with their DDT pollution. This is especially frightening when we have seen the negative effects that DDT can have on our lives and the lives of other organisms. We have to combat this in someway so as to try and lessen the damage we have already done to the environment.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that so many companies have dumped DDT into the oceans doesn't surprise me, although the amount of DDT that was actually dumped catches my interest. From 1942, to its ban in 1972, about 670,000 tons of DDT have been applied or sprayed in the United States. This number alone warns us of how much the geosphere and biosphere has probably been affected. A strong portion of this DDT is still spread by biomagnification, which affects the population of living organisms in many biomes. Even though an anti-DDT law was passed in 1972, many companies have still released DDT in post 1972 years which makes our DDT pollution problem go farther out of hand.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting because even after a law was passed to prevent the DDT from being spread, companies still use it. This is something that needs to be stopped before it hurts anything further than it already did. The fish and animals we eat are ingsting this and we are injusting them, Now i don't know about you but would you want mecury in your body, I know I wouldn't. Great Job Caroline!
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