Air & Water Pollution

As previously mentioned, the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Clean Air Act of 1963 were both enacted to protect from water and air pollution in the United States, not just the wetlands. In 2010 in the wake of the BP oil spill, the United States federal government sued British Petroleum and several other companies for damages related to the spill. Researchers from the University of California-Irvine discovered toxic chemicals including methane, hexane, and certain butane compounds. These chemicals begin to cause irritation to the skin and eyes, as well as dizziness. Oddly enough, the air samples though were not above the standards set by the federal government; they were higher though than Los Angeles and Mexico. Along with the air pollution, water pollution became an issue almost immediately. WaterWideWeb.org said that May 19^th, 2010 Governor Bobby Jindal began to pressure the Federal government to protect wildlife as the marshes were being effected down by the Mississippi. On top of that, the water in the area would be polluted further as chemicals used to break up the oil also contained harmful toxins. These toxins can kill birds and fish in the area as well. The wetlands can help disperse some of the harm done by water pollution, but they have limitations. Without the wetlands though being lost as time goes on, the dispersing of these chemicals can’t continue to occur  without wetlands.

Sources:

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/o/oil_spills/gulf_of_mexico_2010/index.html