Pollution is a "dirty" word. To pollute means to contaminate--to spoil something by introducing impurities which make 1 unfit or unclean to use. Pollution comes in many forms. We see it, smell it, 2 it, drink it, and stumble through it. We literally lived in and breathe pollution, and 3 surprisingly, it is beginning to 4 our health, our happiness, and our very civilization.
Once we thought of pollution 5 meaning simply smog--the choking, stinging, dirty 6 that hovers over cities. But air pollution, while it is 7 the most dangerous, is only one type of contamination among several 8 attack the most basic life functions.
Through the uncontrolled use of insecticides, man has polluted the land, 9 the wildlife. By 10 sewage and chemicals into river and lakes, we have contaminated our 11 water. We are polluting the oceans, too, killing the fish and 12 depriving ourselves 13 an invaluable food supply.
Part of the problem is our exploding 14 . More and more people produce more wastes. But this problem is intensified by our "throw-away" technology. Each year Americans 15 of 7 million autos, 20 million tons of waste paper, 25 million pounds of toothpaste tubes and 48 million cans. We throw away gum wrappers, newspapers, and paper plates. It is no longer fashionable to 16 anything. Today almost everything is disposable. 17 of repairing a toaster or a radio, it is easier and cheaper to buy a new one and discard the old, even 18 95 percent of its parts may still be functioning. Baby diapers, which used to be made of reusable cloth, are now paper throw-aways. Soon we will wear clothing made of 19 :"Wear it once and throw it away, "will be the slogan of the fashion.
Where is this all to end Are we turning the world into a gigantic dump, or is there hope that we can solve the pollution problem 20 solutions are in sight. A few of them are positively ingenious.