15 most toxic places in the world

The 15 most toxic places in the world

As the world's population balloons to almost 7 billion, it's become more and more difficult to find anywhere on Earth unaffected by man-made pollution and development, and far too often it takes things going really wrong before people take action to keep our planet clean. So here's a list that might help to motivate: The 15 most polluted places in the world.

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The Citarum River, Indonesia:

The Citarum has been called the world's most polluted river. Around five million people live in the river's basin, and most of them rely on its flow for their water supply.

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Yamuna River, India:

The Yamuna is the largest tributary of the Ganges River. Where it flows through Delhi, it's estimated that 58 percent of the city's waste gets dumped straight into the river. Millions of Indians still rely on these murky, sewage-filled waters for washing, waste disposal and drinking water.

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Riachuelo Basin, Argentina:

The Riachuelo Basin is a waterway whose name is synonymous with pollution. More than 3,500 factories operate along the banks of the river, a landscape that also includes 13 slums, numerous illegal sewage pipes running directly into the river, and 42 open garbage dumps.

The Source

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You can visit the link to view all of the listings. I only pointed out the rivers because I am personally gifted to waking up every day and go to work on the Altamaha River here in Southeast Georgia. A place of beauty that cannot be described in words, and a history that cannot be told in one sitting.

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Ever throw a soda bottle out your window while driving? Could you imagine if everyone threw out a single bottle, every year? It seems like nothing until you look at the bigger picture. I personally feel like that is part of the problem in the world, in any issue, not just the environment. We can't see the bigger picture sometimes.

I am not one to push an agenda, and personally don't believe the Global Warming hype. I do not wish this thread to turn into a debate on Global Warming.

Take the time to visit the link.. look at the pictures.

Do your own research about pollution.

Reflect.




[edit on 30-5-2010 by broahes]

oh wow that is impressive! those pictures are ridiculous. children bathin in scum. wow just wow. and i complain about my local water supply having too much chlorine in it.

i've known a few indians before and some of them have the habit of tossing trash out of the car window like it's nobody's business. this is where it comes from i'm sure.

jesus, juts look at that.

Nature will eventually find a way to rid itself of these problems.

Perhaps some contagious bacterial or viral infection will develop in these polluted waters that will spread through the human population, reducing the numbers significantly, maybe a near extinction level event.

Nature will find a way if we do not!

The two kids swimming in the river in India is amazing and the floating waste in the Pacific is truly frightening.

What literally on earth are we doing to the planet?

A friend of mine was working on a contract in Bulgaria and he told me that the river literally glowed in the dark, I ridiculed him a bit, he took photo's of it. he was right...I'll try to get some off him and post them on here.

We can all do our bit...bit it needs much more...and it's not just about global warming....it'sa bout doing the right thing.

And I assure you, I am no kumbaya singing tree hugger.

Originally posted by Fractured.Facade
Nature will eventually find a way to rid itself of these problems.

Yes it will, that would be entropy I suppose - but really aren't we nature our selves? It's just the way our little corner of the universe is developing.

Thing is we are now aware, and some things may just take life times to fix them selves, others can (and will) take thousands of lifetimes - I of course talk about the nuclear legacy we will leave... For all we know this is the only place life is, but we carelessly pollute.

reply to post by Freeborn


Environmental Problems in Bulgaria
He could be talking about the Yantra River.. but Bulgaria has a lot of pollution problems.

omg .. i almost threw up

And people ask me why im so uptight about using the appropriate rubbish / recycle bin in my home.

Now i can just show them this thread. and hopefully open their eyes

Where are all the folks who post on ATS claiming the Earth can support millions, or even billions of more people and who are indignant that anyone should be concerned with limiting the number of children a person produces?

All the muck in those pictures is a direct result of billions of humans and rampant irresponsible behavior.

Originally posted by Fractured.Facade
Nature will eventually find a way to rid itself of these problems.

Perhaps some contagious bacterial or viral infection will develop in these polluted waters that will spread through the human population, reducing the numbers significantly, maybe a near extinction level event.

Nature will find a way if we do not!

I can't say that I don't agree with you. Nature will surly find a way of correcting our errors, but why should it have to come to that? Why would we want a "near extinction level event", if there is something we can do about it.

I'm not one to blame the US, there is plenty of blame to go around.. but when we as a species become so advanced we can go to space, why in the hell do 1 in 8 people not have access to clean drinking water?

reply to post by broahes


We do not yet know at what point the global population of humans will break the growth by natural selection processes, but it will happen eventually.

We are simply another animal in the end, perhaps the most destructive this world has ever known.

We could do a lot to make this a better world for all life, including our own species but it may not happen soon enough.

Science seems to focus primarily on global warming and CO2, but should be more focused on other forms of pollution which I believe will ultimately be a far more dangerous threat.

What wickedness will come from our muck?

[edit on 30-5-2010 by Fractured.Facade]

DUDE, this should be archived! outstanding post and workmanship
why is it, countrys south of the equator, are messy? i work with some guys from guatemal and ecuador, as i did when i was in my teens, illegal aliens. they used to go to the bathroom missing the toilet, throw plastic bottles in the garbage or street here, and laugh at me when ide put my bottles in a blue reycling bucket, calling me stupid*
i dont understand, why for example in Dehli india, those kids floating in the seweage. yuode think common sense would tell em thats nasty? or is it just us in the northern hemisphere who recycle and try to keep things clean?

reply to post by broahes


Great thread

This should be highlighted more often to remind people that their actions have consequences.

It makes me angry when I see pictures like that, especially the people who are forced to live along those highly polluted river's, i dont know how their government leaders can sleep at night knowing that people are living like that.

Its horrendous

I wonder how long before the gulf coast is added to the list.

Thanks Broahes, I think it bears mentioning that Appalachia USA was listed as one of the world's most polluted sites.
Over 700 mountain tops have been removed to bring you all the "clean coal" that has been supplying many of us with our electricity. It also reduces mining jobs (as unsafe as it is many would be glad to do it still) and increases profits for the mining companies.
We have to stop mountain top removal in the US, it is destroying nearly every waterway in the Appalachians. It truly is our national shame that we have allowed this to continue.

Originally posted by Lookingup
Where are all the folks who post on ATS claiming the Earth can support millions, or even billions of more people and who are indignant that anyone should be concerned with limiting the number of children a person produces?

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/db91eae9f3ec.jpg[/atsimg]

"Where are my parents?"

reply to post by broahes


It's sad when you think about it, it truly is. I used to throw pieces of small trash out of the window of the car and such, or if I missed throwing something in the trash outside I'd just say "Screw it" but now I understand what I had been doing all that time. I changed my ways a while back and I'm happy about that, if only the rest of the worlds population could do the same.

But it's not just about singling people out, it's about working together. Rivers don't get cleaned up by 1 person, they get cleaned up by people working together. That's what we need - people who are willing to work towards the same goal, and in this case it's cleaning up our environment that we have royally screwed over. I guess people think "We wont have to deal with it in our lifetime" Well that may be so (or maybe not), but either way it's going to effect people someday somewhere. And if you lack respect for fellow humans, animals, and plant life then you have some issues you need to work out.

We all live on this planet together and share it, so we need to take care of it the way we all want it to be taken care of.

"Do as to others as you'd like to be treated" - Same goes for mother earth.

S & F my friend.

By this time next year will the Gulf Coast make that list?

Originally posted by Blazer
I wonder how long before the gulf coast is added to the list.

my thoughts exactly.

reply to post by highlyoriginal


Thank you so much for taking the time to post that, I hope everyone that comes across this thread reads what you just wrote. I work along about 12 miles of the 140 Altamaha river daily, and on my days off I will take the boat out and clean up along the banks. You would be amazed at how much I collect, and it sometimes seems overwhelming when I am out on that big waterway alone.. you are so right.. it can't be done alone.

I also noticed your signature quote from Thoreau.. nothing could be more fitting.

Ι cant find the pictures in your OP, did you remove them?