Overview
Pollution occurs when compounds are introduced into environments where they are not normally found. Pollution seems like an easy concept but when you apply the Law of Conservation, you see that all chemicals and compounds occurring in our semi-closed system (Earth) remain inside this system. As humans pull them out of the earth these compounds change forms. As the compounds are used in our electronics or infrastructure, they break down and often become more and more difficult to get rid of. Humans tend to notice them, only, when they become a health or environmental threat to our food or water.
Cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Katanga Province, 2018
For this discussion board, find the letter of your last name and research the topic given. Pay close attention to your sourcing as these are controversial topics with considerable lobbying dollars influencing articles published on the internet. Choose only your most trusted sources and do your reading with an eye toward your body of knowledge from this class.
| G-R | What happened to the water in Flint, MI? How did it happen? How did it get discovered? What is the main environmental and health concern? What can/is being done to fix it? |