Thermal Pollution
by Barry Wright
Essay: Thermal Pollution
Pages: 10
Rating: 3 stars
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Thermal Pollution
Recently we've allowed our planet to begin overheating. With the introduction of CFC's and Carbon Dioxide into
the
atmosphere we've managed to raise the temperature of this vast resource. Even more ignorant is our failure to
learn from our
mistakes. Now, through thermal pollution (the introducton of waste heat into water), we've began destroying the
womb of all
life-the earth's vast water network.
The Causes:
There are three major causes of thermal pollution.
the use of water as a cooling agent
deforestation of shorelines
soil erosion
The foremost cause being the use of water as a cooling agent in nuclear power plants and other industrial
facilities. After the
water has absorbed the excess heat of nuclear rods or other machinery it is returned to the environment (usually a
river or lake)
at 9 to 20 degrees warmer a temperature. More stringent regulations are imposeed in the U.S. , but this doesn't
help much
because most of the world's nuclear power plants are located in France and other European nations.
Less obvious is how shoreline deforestation and soil erosion contribute to the problem. The soil erosion makes the
Less obvious is how shoreline deforestation and soil erosion contribute to the problem. The soil erosion makes the
water
muddy, which in turn increases the light absorbed. Thus, the water temperature is raised. Deforestation of
shorelines further
contributes to the problem in two ways. First, it increases soil erosion. Secondly, it increases the amount of light
that strikes the
water. Both of which increase the water's temperature.
By increasing the water's temperature we affect many other aspects of the ecosystem. Most importantly, the
amount of oxygen
dissolved in the water is decreased. Remember that fact for later. Also, the rates of photosynthesis and plant g...
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