Gro$$ Domestic (Product) Pollution

Economic growth has been a pillar of American culture since the nation’s beginning as a collection of colonies. In the 1600s, when Virginia was first being established, it primarily produced tobacco to earn a profit for the Virginia Company of London. Even though tobacco was taking its toll on the soil, the settlers continued to grow it. This tradition continued throughout history and research demonstrates that an American focus on economic growth has been negatively affecting the natural environment. Despite economic downturns, America has succeeded in becoming a top nation in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), thus illustrating the emphasis that is placed on monetary advancement. By looking closely at mining, water pollution, and the endangerment of species, it is evidently clear that prioritizing financial gain has damaged the environment.

Digging DeeperMining in the United States has a rich history that includes the Gold Rush of 1849. Americans from across the nation left their homes to travel to California in pursuit of gold and wealth; after reaching its peak in 1852, the mining industry turned to new techniques, such as hydraulic mining. While hydraulic mining did bring great profits, it inevitably “destroyed much of the region’s landscape”.

As the world’s second largest miner of gold and copper, America has a strong mining industry. In 2009, mining companies in the U.S. earned a combined revenue of over $20 billion. However, the financial benefits of mining come at a high environmental cost. There are a variety of different mining techniques, but each has its own drawbacks. Carbon output, land erosion, and water pollution are all negative effects associated with mining that can greatly harm the environment. For example, Picher, Oklahoma was once a thriving mining town with a population of nearly 20,000 residents in the 1920s. Today, it no longer exists because nearly all of its residents have been evacuated due to hazardous living conditions. Part of the Tri-State Mining District, Picher has mountains of mining debris, known as chat piles, that pollute the air and water, destroying the environment and local life forms, including people. Red water from toxic chat-pile runoffs, sinkholes from abandoned mining tunnels, and a poisonous environment from heavy-metal pollution characterize this ghost town that was left in the wake of the pursuit of fortune.

One modern method of mining is hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which uses high-pressure streams of water mixed with chemicals and sand to access underground sources of oil and natural gas. Fracking “has harmful environmental implications, influencing local air pollution, earthquakes and, especially, clean water supply”. Although mining is so detrimental to the environment even with alternative methods such as fracking, it is still a prevalent industry because Americans’ consider economic growth to be a prime concern.

U.$. Pollution ContributionSince the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in the mid-19th century, new sources of pollution have been introduced into American waterways. Using lakes, streams, and rivers as output points for industrial offput became common practice. This trend continued through the 20th century and as the American economy prospered, pollution followed suit, as seen in such cases as the 1969 ignition of Ohio’s Cuyahoga River. While flaming-water was by no means typical, the pollution that entered waterways nationwide was, becoming a constant threat to environmental stability.

In 2003, America’s coastline cities “generated over six trillion dollars, more than half the national economy”. Despite this massive source of capital, environmental issues remain on a backburner. Today, patrons of America’s shores risk “a laundry list of water borne ailments, from sinus and ear infections to more serious illnesses like hepatitis”. This is due to the sewage, contaminated rainwater, and plastic that slips into waterways each day. Oil spills are a particularly detrimental side-effect of the American shipping industry. Though “only 12% of the oil that enters the oceans comes from tanker accidents”, the quantity of oil released during a given oil spill is an especially potent cocktail of environmental distress. The 1989 Exxon Valdez Broke oil spill in Prince William Sound released around 12 million gallons of oil. Generations of marine life were annihilated and “estimates of the marine animals killed in the spill are as high as 2800 sea otters and 250,000 sea birds. Several billion salmon and herring eggs are also believed to have been destroyed”.

While alternatives to traditional industries are being sought after, the economy-centric U.S. still fails to fully prioritize water pollution efforts. Proponents of environmental action warn that the damage to the environment will go beyond just animal life, as "there will be a time when the sea's dead" and in that case, economic action will be futile in reviving our most valuable resource: water.

You $ay Hello, Bambi $ays GoodbyeWith America’s increased role in the global economy, shipping has increased to a rate never seen before. However, increased globalization raises the risk for unsavory contact. Hitch-hiking non-native species pose a major threat to traditional American wildlife. One such example is the green crab, an “adaptable voracious predator". Plausibly introduced through the ballast of large cargo ships, the green crab colonizes estuaries and is able to “alter any ecosystem it invades”. When a habitat faces changes brought by alien enemies, existing species are often helpless against their own demise. However, as seen in the 1942 film, Bambi, the damage done to habitats both on land and sea by humans is just as detrimental.

The wood industry, booming as a result of the European demand of arbor-born energy, has increased 70 percent last year, making the United States the, “largest exporter of wood pellets in the world”. This demand “could double logging rates and increase carbon emissions significantly”, drastically altering forest habitats as well as climate patterns. The Natural Resources Defence Council warns that when a “forest is destroyed through industrial logging, its benefits for our communities vanish with it”. While the current economic prosperity within this industry is glorious, the long term specie endangerment is a risk not worth taking.

Pollution $olution$Recognizing the major damage that nature has sustained, the United States government has enacted several regulations to reduce environmental damage, such as the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. Unfortunately, these rules are often ineffective due to the failure to enforce them. For example, unsafe mines that violate government laws are fined, but thousands of operators that do not pay penalties are still allowed to operate. Because paying such fines would result in a major loss of profit, corporations refuse to change their policies or take responsibility for their actions, generally with little negative consequence. Even more so, many acts of environmental degradation occur on private land, where governmental action is nonexistent or limited. The impact of these pollutants is multiplied as they travel through currents, winds, and tidal patterns to new geographic locations. By valuing economic progress over environmental protection, America has allowed countless harmful effects to prevail, including unsafe mining, water pollution, and specie endangerment. Overall, a compromised environment may equate to a compromised quality of life for future generations of Americans.