There are those who believe toxic spills in water are confined incidences and resolvable, hence a nonevent. Perhaps there is a clearer way to look at this issue using a different angle. Imagine taking a glass of water and dropping in food color. Notice the dye spreads. Thereafter, no matter the chemical used to make the dye disappear, it remains in the water. While the water might appear clean, what actually happened was the added chemical further polluted the water.

Envision pouring that glass of water down the drain. The water contamination has now moved from point of origin to other water recesses. From there, it has the opportunity to spread into the soil and more bodies of water. Once the toxic compounds have found their way into other sources, there is no way to remove it without further compromising its chemical makeup. In addition, these toxins get absorbed by the atmosphere through the process of precipitation and then return them to Earth as acid rain.

All animal life depends on water for survival. However, when Greenhouse Gas compounds fuse with water, it transmutes it into a hazardous substance that is no longer water and just like the dye in the glass, it spreads. Wildlife, left with no alternatives, must consume the contamination. This is not a process of the survival of the fittest. It is an act of deliberate poisoning, which is illegal.

The Effect

The Arctic Region has experienced the largest overall temperature increase and Alaska has over doubled its heat index compared to the rest of the United States. This is a result of increased Greenhouse Gas emissions into the atmosphere, which creates an unstable environment on several fronts. When these gasses are released in excessive amounts, the Earth's atmosphere traps them, which increases the general temperature of the planet. Additionally, toxic materials that precipitate up with the water combine with trapped Greenhouse Gasses and returns acid rain to the ground in a superheated state. This new liquid compound then mixes with the rest of the planet's water supply, which starts another chemical mutation process.

Wildlife heavily depends on a stable ecological system, especially water. Consequently, when people misuse resources, animals suffer. Wildlife presents people with a gauge by which planet vitality is measurable. Although, animals may not speak in a comprehensible sentence structure, their silent extinction speaks volumes. Each day 137 species of plants and animals goes extinct, as a direct result of human unaccountability.

The Cause

• The issue of a corrupt political arena should receive prompt attention. People should ask the tough questions and stop accepting empty promises as a reality. To ensure the continuation of backdoor deals the justice system was involved to provide a rationalization for how a business could be perceived as a person. However, no matter how it is spin-doctored the problem remains that a company is a conglomeration of people that function as a collective and not as an individual. Therefore, "corporate person-hood" should not have the same liberties as an individual citizen because they function on a collective interest level, which may deviate from individual concerns. Does anybody else have "We are the Borg" flitting across the brain?


• The oil industry stated that safety is not their top priority. The focus is to extract as much fossil fuel in the shortest amount of time possible. There are several problems with drilling for finite fuel. It took the Earth 650 million years to produce the amount of crude in existence. At the rate of population growth, it works out to each person using 110 times more fuel compared to predecessors. On average, the global population consumes finite resources 20 percent faster than the Earth can produce it. While fossil fuel dependency is a global issue, it is most prevalent in America. The United States makes up 4.6 percent of the population and is responsible for 25 percent of the global consumption. The apparent goal of oil moguls is to make these percentages increase, not decrease, to justify a social stronghold. Political backdoor dealing is the conduit to meet that goal.


• One of the worst ideas ever put on paper is the Pebble Partnership's mine proposition for Alaska's Bristol Bay area. This international conglomeration wants to build the world's largest open-pit mine and corresponding toxic tailing ponds in an area that regularly experiences earthquakes and gale force winds. One disaster would affect the endangered species that make this area their home. Under the Endangered Species Act, it is incumbent upon governmental entities to protect the natural habitat of endangered species. This proposal is in direct contravention to the law.

There are numerous environmental and animal welfare laws willfully ignored to appease toxic industries that have outlived their usefulness. Without course correction and the cessation of unethical political practices, people face the same fate as those animals that silently scream each day and perish.