When enjoying the beaches here in America contaminated water
doesn’t tend to cross our minds. Typically when you head back from the ocean
one simply returns to their normal routine feeling refreshed and relaxed. This,
however, was not the case for Chris Schumacher on a rainy day in November of 2006.
Him and his friends like any other surfer went out to enjoy a large swell in
Imperial Beach, California. Ignoring the fact that the tubes were a chocolaty
brown color they went out anyways to enjoy the waves. The days, weeks, and
months following ended up equating to strange symptoms and the majority of his
time spent in the hospital. What ended up in the water and later in Chris’s
body was a mystery at the time.
The water he was surfing in was actually flowing from the
border of Mexico. It originated from the Tijuana River where it becomes contaminated
by massive factories responsible for assembling 90% of the world’s TVs as well
as the sewer of thousands of people. Needless to say that water was definitely polluted
with nothing being done about it. Chris’s story is a testimony to what can happen
if we let our beaches go and provides us a reality of how it can affect people.
As a solution the article stated that
surfers should chose their waves wisely based on whether or not they’re contaminated.
They also said that the most effective solution would be taking the problem to
the capital. I agree with both statements. People should have enough common
sense to know not to swim in gross brown water. In regards to the situation,
Chris should have paid closer attention to the signs warning beachgoers that
the water was unsafe. The government could also help by passing legislation
dealing with the ocean and pollution. For example, just recently Los Angeles
banned the use of plastic bags which should help the environment tremendously. In
conclusion, beach pollution is a problem that affects everybody and needs to be
stopped soon so we can continue to enjoy them!
Something should definitely be done about this. Oceans are limitless and expand over 2/3rds of the Earth's surface, thus making it hard for something effective to cover everything, but it would be nice if we could start somewhere. We should regulate the factories that are dumping their pollutants and oils into the waters. We should raise awareness for this issue, because really, who wants to be swimming in dirt water? If there are the chances of acquiring diseases, which could lead to worse situations than death, then the government should definitely step up and take charge. It is a rising and dangerous issue, and it could even lead to worse.
ReplyDelete