Ever since the beginning of the creation of the United States, Americans have created, solved, and even escalated the condition of many problems and controversies in the world. Regardless, they have managed to remain a whole, stable country that has, and continues to, persevere through these dilemmas, emerging stronger and closer together as a country. Over the course of American history, conflicts created by the various types of pollution in the United States, including land, air, and water, have converged to shape American society into what it is today.
As defined in Jerry Nathanson’s article, “and Pollution,” or the “deposition of solid or liquid waste materials on land or underground in a manner that can contaminate the soil and groundwater”
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For example, before the mid-1900’s, solid waste was simply put into designated, open areas in which rats, mosquitoes, flies, and many other disease-carrying animals easily thrived (Nathanson). These open, uncontrolled dumps allowed contaminants from the solid waste to seep into the dirt, polluting the groundwater and nearby streams and lake. This way of disposing trash also threatened public health and the quality of the nearby environment. Statistics also show that in America alone, approximately 200,000 tons of perfectly edible food is thrown away every day and an additional estimated average of 4.5 pounds of rubbish per person in America (“Land Pollution facts and statistics”). As shown in the photograph, America’s high amounts of waste production damage the environment and animals, harm the health of many Americans, and, at the very least, they create extremely appealing sights (Nathanson). Nonetheless, those who lived in America still made attempts to help slow down and even undo the negative effects we’ve had on this earth. For example, in 1980, billions of dollars were provided towards site remediation and cleaning up polluted areas in America (Nathanson). This shows how the problems created by pollution have caused America as a society to come