THE AUDUBON ‘BUL Gage 
and usually alter the then existing ecological balance—hoy 
bad it was—and actually makes the total system worse. This fr 
the next crash project immediately more necessary and ultin 
more hazardous. 
Before we examine a few of the shocking facts about pollution— 
that the public is not aware of—let us look at the magnitude of the 
problem in the United States. Our society is confronted with disposi 
the staggering amount of nearly half a billion tons of waste mat 
ennually—excluding soil erosion. 
e At least 150 million tons of impurities will be discharged t 
atmosphere this year. 
— 60% of these impurities come from discharges of motor veh 
— Power plants, electrical utilities and industrial thermal gen 
ing facilities account for the second leading source of contar 
tion of our atmosphere, amounting to another 15%. 
— Miscellaneous industrial processes, space heating and refuse 
posal account for the balance. 
The amount of wastes discharged to receiving bodies of wate 
our society is well in excess of 65 million tons per year. 
— Inadequately-treated sewage from municipalities represents | 
10 million tons of waste products annually discharged te 
ceiving bodies of water. 
— Effluents from industrial plants discharge more than 15 mi 
tons of contaminates per year. aie 
— In addition, other effluents such as animal waste, agricul 
run-off wastes from fertilizers and soil conditioners, waste 
terials deriving from pesticides, insecticides and other sou 
discharge in excess of 40 million tons per year. 
The total quantity of garbage, refuse, trash, and other solid we 
generated in our country that must be disposed of it today 
in excess of 270 million tons per year. a 
— 180 million tons based on 5 pound per capita per day. 
— 90° million tons of solid refuse and trash from industrial 
other sources. 
In addition, the quantity of waste material caused by soil ero 
alone has been estimated at four billion tons per year—of w. 
about three billion tons fill our rivers, lakes, streams and estua 
Some of these deposits become obstructive and must be removed 
Now let us look at the multiple effects of air pollution. 
¢ We all know air pollutants are deadly killers. | 
¢ The cost of property damage from air pollution is estimated at n 
than $15 billion per year for the United States alone. 
Other intangible effects—a general fecling of ‘ill-being, the -pres¢ 
of unpleasant or unusual odors, a loss of visibility due to smog, . 
the impairment of other esthetic values from air pollution | 
others—have not been and eannot be fully evaluated. 
Certain discharges from automobile vehicles are deadly air polluta 
