Pollution Facts

1. 40% of America’s rivers and 46% of America’s lakes are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life.
2. The Mississippi River – which drains the lands of nearly 40% of the continental United Sates – carries an estimated 1.5 million metric tons of nitrogen pollution into the Gulf of Mexico each year. The resulting dead zone in the Gulf each summer is about the size of New Jersey.
3. 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, storm water, and industrial waste are discharged into US waters annually.
4. Polluted drinking waters are a problem for about half of the world’s population. Each year there are about 250 million cases of water-based diseases, resulting in roughly 5 to 10 million deaths.
5. Vehicle exhaust contributes roughly 60% of all carbon monoxide emissions nationwide, and up to 95% in cities.
6. Large hog farms emit hydrogen sulfide, a gas that most often causes flu-like symptoms in humans, but at high concentrations can lead to brain damage.
7. Each year, U.S. factories spew 3 million tons of toxic chemicals into the air, land, and water.
8. In the U.S. 41% of all insecticides are used on corn. Of these, 80% are used to treat a pest that could be controlled simply by rotating a different crop for just one year.
9. Every year, one American produces over 3,285 pounds of hazardous waste.
10. Over 80% of items in landfills can be recycled, but they’re not.
11. Americans generate 30 billion foam cups, 220 million tires, and 1.8 billion disposable diapers every year.