Mercury pollution Imagine that every fish you have eaten and every fish on the market is contaminated with mercury; Would you like to take action to improve this situation so that you and everyone else can have healthy fish to eat? Most fish today are exposed to mercury, and mercury toxicity threatens the health of everyone who eats fish. Mercury pollution has been a well-known ocean pollution for many years, and the United States remains one of the nations with the most severe mercury contamination. The government must cease all industrial activities that cause mercury pollution by instituting regulations as mercury threatens the marine ecological environment. Even though mercury is a natural element, most of the mercury that enters and pollutes the aquatic ecosystem comes from human industrial activities or factories. During the California Gold Rush, which began in 1849, the problem of mercury pollution became greater because “mercury is often used to mix with the metal. Gold is then produced by boiling mercury from amalgam, a dangerous process due to the toxicity of mercury vapor” (Soos). A large amount of mercury polluted the ocean during the gold rush that would last thousands of years. In addition to using mercury to extract gold from gravel, mercury has also been released into the ocean in many other ways since the Industrial Revolution, such as “burning coal, incinerating medical and hazardous waste, burning municipal waste and some chemical production operations” (EPA ). In the mid-1800s, industrial activities severely contaminated the aquatic ecosystem with large amounts of mercury, and much of the mercury still remains as sediment in the oc...... middle of paper ......z he was successful in speaking out for people's rights, and that's because he had the support of the public. In the case of mercury pollution, if everyone hopes to have healthy fish to eat while reducing mercury, then it is everyone's responsibility to take action and participate in mercury reduction programs or activities. Mercury continues to contaminate the entire marine ecosystem and food chain to this day; Mercury enters the ocean mainly from gold mining and other industrial activities, and its impact affects the entire food chain. “In human history, we have learned (I hope) that the role of the conqueror is ultimately self-defeating” (Leopold 279). Human health is threatened by contaminated fish in the ocean, and if humans did not stop or realize the consequences of carelessly polluting the environment, we would eventually drive ourselves to extinction.