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TEN PLAGUES OF MODERN DAY
(culled from Judaism and Ecology, Hadassah Study Guide, 1993)
1. Water Pollution - 2000 ocean beaches are closed each year due to high levels of bacteria caused primarily by human waste dumpint - the
International Joint Commission, a united States and Canadian advisory group responsible for the boundary waters, found over 350 toxic chemicals affecting the water, plants, fish and other animals living there
2. Air Pollution - Over 150 million Americans live in communities that do not meed federal ambient air quality standards - 72% of nitrogen
oxide emissions (key ingredient to smog) come from cars and trucks - Hundreds of millions of pounds of toxic waste are poured into the atmosphere each year
3. Pesticide and Agricultural Chemicals - Many of the pesticides in use today were initially developed for the purpose of warfare in WWII - EPA
reports that over 845 million pounds of pesticide are used for agriculture in the United States each year - As plants and pests adjust to the chemicals that are used, even more have to be used; thus, American
farmers lose roughly the same percentage of their crops to pests – 33% -- as they did in the 1930s before the advent of pesticides
4. Toxic Chemicals - Each year, American industry generates some 80 million tons of toxic waste - 10% of this toxic waste is disposed of safely -
there are over 30,000 hazardous waste sites
5. Acid Rain - Acid rain results from industrial emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides and affects soil, bodies of water and can even
corrode buildings and monuments - NY Department of Environmental Conservation classifies 25% of Adirondack lakes to bee too acidic to support fish. - Conifer trees in West Virginia and other high areas of the
eastern portion of the United States are dying due to acid rain
6. Global Warming and Greenhouse Effect - Carbon dioxide and methane are the primary greenhouse gasses believed to be creating a greenhouse
effect and threatening to warm the planet - Methane levels have doubled since pre-industrial times and carbon dioxide levels have risen 25% - Some studies indicate the earth's average temperature may have already
risen by nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit
7. Ozone Destruction - Upper atmosphere ozone provides a protection against the sun's UV rays - The "Hole" near the South Pole has doubled in size
over the past 20 years - If the ozone layer continues to thin significantly over the next decade, scientists predict that the increased UV exposure will result in millions of cases of skin cancer, cataracts and
blindness
8. Soil Erosion - Primary cause of soil erosion is deforestation and agriculture - US Soil Conservation Service set soil loss tolerance at maximum
of 5 tons per year; in actual practice, there is 10 times this amount in many parts of the country - In many other countries, rate of soil loss are even greater
9. Deforestation - The leading cause of deforestation in tropical regions is conversion of forest to croplands for cattle feed - Clearing of
this land is accomplished by burning downed trees and this practiced is estimated to account for 20% of total global emissions of carbon dioxide - Commercial logging is responsible for deforestation throughout South
America - Every minute, an area of forest the size of a football field is cut down
10. Loss of Biological Diversity and Habitat - 1.4 million plants and animals have been identified and there could be as many as 50 million unidentified
- each day 140 invertibrate species become extinct according to Harvard biologist, Edward O. Wilson - Loss of animal and plant species results from the destruction of the habitats in which they live -
According to the National Resource Defense Council, virgin forest habitats of eastern United States are almost entirely gone as are 90% of the Pacific Northwest
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