Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 1.6
Sources of oceanic oil pollution
Source
Percentage
Storm drains in cities
51.4
Routine maintenance of ships
19.4
Power plants and motor vehicles
13.0
Natural seeps
8.8
Large oil spills
5.2
Offshore drilling
2.1
Source:
OceanLink, n.d. “World Oil Pollution: Causes, Prevention and
Clean-Up.”
major spill, nevertheless, and this safety record is incomparably better
than other commercial and noncommercial activities in the United States
such as driving cars, fl ying, slaughtering animals for human consump-
tion, or accidents at home.
Probably the easiest source to control is the largest: the oil that drains
into the ocean from America's cities. Its origin is from people dumping
motor oil down storm drains after driveway oil changes, supplemented
by road and urban street runoff. Motor oil produced by car owners' oil
changes should be brought to garages for appropriate disposal.
The contribution from power plants and automobiles will decrease
as renewable and nonpolluting energy sources gradually replace fossil
fuels.
Water as a Human Right
The U.S. Constitution says that Americans are entitled to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness. Implied in these entitlements are access to
adequate food and water. Thus, freshwater is a legal entitlement rather
than a commodity or service provided on a charitable basis. Few people
would quarrel with this. Access to fresh, clean water is a joint responsi-
bility of federal, state, and local governments. Of course, the term
access
does not mean that individuals are not responsible for their own welfare,
only that governments must be concerned about the essential needs of
their citizens.
Until the past few decades, access to clean water has been taken for
granted by nearly everyone in the United States, a situation made possible
by our geographical location and the circumstance that all of the coun-
