Water Issue

             The water topic that I choose was how prescription drugs affect water and lake organisms. Today our society is overrun by the use of prescription drugs; therefore our environment is greatly affected by these pharmaceuticals. In order to become more knowledgeable about my carbon footprint, I chose the topic most closely related to my impact on the aquatic environment. I have learned that there are two main ways that pharmaceuticals have become part of our environment: excretion and disposal. Through the process of excretion, prescription drugs in your body exit into the wastewater. People can also flush the unused medicine down the sink or toilet, which also leads to the lake water, like excretion. Even if the pharmaceuticals are thrown away, they end up in the dump and later seep into the groundwater. As the water becomes contaminated, the organisms become feminized, causing sterile species, and resulting in extinction. This topic is important to our society due to the cleanliness and availability of our water and food sources. Consequently, if proper disposal of prescription drugs is not taken seriously, our health will be at risk.