“We will never know the value of water until the well runs dry.” These words were spoken by Thomas Fuller. This quote may seem quite confusing to some people. The meaning behind this is the major effects that water pollution has on the environment. Water is one of the most important components in the world. Have you ever wondered what life would become without water? If a large amount of water were to vanish, how could we stay hydrated throughout the day? Stay clean? Greet? These are just the basic effects of water pollution because losing water means losing plants, food and oxygen. The loss of clean water can especially lead to the loss of endangered or innocent animals living in the ocean. Fish cannot survive in a polluted area. Water is very important. Before throwing waste on the sand of a beach or abusing the water in the sink, people must think about how they are leading the future of the environment towards destruction. Water pollution has several causes. The best-known causes are oil spills and industrial waste. An oil spill is a release of mixtures of oil and hydrocarbons, which are simply a compound of hydrogen and carbon. This is only found in many oceans or coastal waters due to any human activity. The oil separates and appears as a huge, newly formed mass. Water vehicles, such as speedboats, can accidentally leak water and cause this spill unknowingly. As the oil continues to expand through the ocean until it reaches its limit, the sea creatures living beneath the spill take notice and this soon suffocates and kills almost all of them. Industrial waste is another cause of water pollution. This is the waste produced by any industrial activity, such as manufacturing and... half the paper... leading to the fact that little water may be left. The text states in the NRDC charity's 'Protecting Water' column: “Many of our water resources lack basic protections, making them vulnerable to pollution from factory farms, industrial plants and activities such as fracking. This can lead to contamination of drinking water, habitat degradation and beach closures.” It is clearly stated that, without protection, water is more vulnerable to many pollutants, toxins, dirt and other sources, including chemicals. In other words, the water we consume and enjoy should remain clean, if we lived a life in a water polluted world, what would the life of the future soon become? Works Cited NRDC. "Waterfall." Council for the Defense of Natural Resources. NRDC and Web. March 30, 2014. Network, Guides. "The causes of water pollution". Guide to water pollution. Np, nd Web. March 30. 2014.