The Process Collecting Information Conclusion Rubric for Assessment Frameworks Introduction top of page Humans are at the top of the food chain, therefore, they are particularly vulnerable to the effects of non-degradable pollutants.
Pollution also has a dramatic effect on natural resources.
Ecosystems such as forests, wetlands, coral reefs, and rivers perform many important services for the earth's environment. Any or all of these ecosystem functions may be impaired or destroyed by pollution. Moreover, because of the complex relationships among the many types of organisms and ecosystems, environmental contamination may have far-reaching consequences that are not immediately obvious or that are difficult to predict. For instance, scientists can only speculate on some of the potential impacts of the depletion of the ozone layer, the protective layer in the atmosphere that shields the earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. Another major effect of pollution is the tremendous cost of pollution cleanup and prevention.