Monday, November 8, 2010

Entry #8

In our society today, with as much waste as we produce, many see landfills as a must. The purpose of a landfill is to bury trash in such a way that it will be isolated from groundwater, will be kept dry, and will not be in contact with air. According to dictionary.com a landfill is a carefully designed structure built into or on top of the ground in which trash is isolated from the surrounding environment (groundwater, air, rain).
(Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2010)



However landfills produce emissions and toxic substances that enter the air or water. This can include water found in ditches and even lakes near the landfill. As mentioned landfill leakage can produce air pollution and pollution to surface water. Some other threats of landfills are landfill fires and decomposition. Landfill fires can easily be ignites from all the chemicals, such as gases, and substances found within the actual landfill. I could only imagine how hard these fires are to put out. Decomposition is another problem. Think about how long certain things take to decompose! Fruits and vegetables are said to take maybe a couple of weeks to decompose while on the other hand things such as baby diapers and soda cans can take up to 500 years to decompose!

We can ensure that these toxic materials don't negatively impact people or the environment by properly monitoring landfills and that they are built correctly. Also, instead of just trying to throw everything away, we can try to filter the trash to see what's recyclable or not.

Although I don't think there is any one certain way to fix this problem, it can start in the American household. Don't throw so much trash away!


I think it affects the poor/rich neighborhoods because you obviously wouldn't find a landfill right next to a mansion. People that live in rich neighborhoods and houses pay the money to be located in such nice areas. On the other hand, people that live in cities and lower class places that don't pay as much are subject to being affected by these industries.

SCORECARD
"32952" Brevard County

1. Florida Power & Light Co. Power Plant               Cape Canaveral
2. Sea Ray Boats Inc.                                                  Merritt Island
3. Reliant Energy Indian River Power Plant                           Titusville
4. NASA                                                      Kennedy Space Center
5. Corinthian Marble Works Inc.                                      Rockledge

Biggest Polluter
Florida Power & Light Co. Power Plant  

What are they releasing?
Lead Compounds
Hydrochloric Acid

What does this company do or produce?
Produces electricity

An actual picture of Florida Power & Light Co. Power Plant. Look at all the manatees!



No comments:

Post a Comment