Environmental Impact Of Underwater Gold Mining

Not a quarter, not a third, but half of the planet’s oxygen is made up of elements of the ocean. Oxygen that human life is dependent on in order to survive. By revealing this statistic, people can really start to understand just how detrimental it is to keep the ocean clean and healthy so that it is able to keep providing us with air. However, it has also been noted that “phytoplankton is declining by about 1 percent a year due to warming waters with fewer nutrients”(Johnson). Even though this plant has proven to have existential value to us, it is still being harmed.

The world is home to many living things, the majority of life on earth though is living in the ocean with a percent of 94%. Since the beginning of the 1800s, man has been mapping the great oceans and what’s in them, but no more than 90 years ago have we started to look deeper. The ocean hasn't been completely explored, but with the advances in ocean exploration technology, scuba diving’s, and with those finds of strange creatures and treasures along the way.

In 2004 The US Ocean Commission proposed several critical recommendations to address the health and management of our oceans. These recommendations range from better organization of current management offices to education of the public on issues pertaining to oceans and coastal areas. The importance of healthy oceans, waterways, and coastal areas cannot be denied. As humans we rely on these areas for food, fuel, materials for various products, and recreation just to name a few. Aside from the human aspect the health of the earth’s oceans is also bound to the air and land. Many other creatures throughout the world depend on a harmonious balance of the human species with the waters that surrounds us. The sooner we can find equilibrium with

The oceans need to be protected because it is where life began and if not taken care of, life as we know it will end. The well-being of the ocean is constantly being threatened and needs to stop. When dangerous substances go into the ocean, ecosystems suffer and become endangered along with the lives of people and marine life. The importance of protecting and preserving the quality and biodiversity of the world 's coasts must be recognized because they are truly irreplaceable. If humans are not educated , and become careless about what is thrown on the ground or sprayed on lawns, disastrous effects follow when it comes to the condition of the ocean’s ecosystems, which can endanger life itself, leading to a problem only we can correct. There is historical evidence of ocean pollution, although the problem still shadows us today.

In addition, offshore oil drilling causes water pollution and disrupts the marine ecosystem. Doctor Ermal Xhelilaj states in his article, "The Behavior and Effects of Oil Pollution into Marine Environment and Oceans” that “Shorelines are also vulnerable to the oil pollution and a study of the US Coast Guard has revealed that exposed rocky cliffs and seawalls, wave cut rocky platforms, fine to medium-grained sand beaches, coarse-grained sand beaches, mixed sand and gravel beaches, gravel beaches/ riprap

The lecturer argues that hydraulic mining caused several environmental issues, which hydraulic mining started due to the gold rush in California. “California Gold and the Environmental Impacts of Mining” states that high levels of deforestation and floods occurred because of hydraulic mining. The method of hydraulic mining increased the rate of finding gold, which is explained in a timeline. In order to use hydraulic mining, people needed timber to make there tools, which created vast amounts of deforestation. Once the tools were created, they used pressurized water to find the gold on mountain sides. From all the water that hydraulic mining used, it created a flood and destroyed many agricultural fields. The Sawyer Decision of 1884 was enacted

"Avarice is the root of all evil" (6). He explains to the pilgrims how money is the root of

My passion for the ocean emerged at an early age. From my first encounter, the beauty and mystery of the ocean has captivated me. I was able to observe dolphins, sharks, crabs, and corals, and was staggered by the abundance of vibrant life that presides within the ocean. At this time, I didn’t realize that the ocean was facing many problems. When I was younger I didn’t pay much attention to the papers, but one day a photo caught my eye - sea creatures, slick with oil, dejectedly moving through the polluted ocean.

A huge problem with deep sea mining is that the sea/ ocean waters is something that humans have not even begun to scratch the surface of grasping a full understanding of it. The sea is the largest biological habitat on this earth and is not understood. There are so many undiscovered incredible organisms are all potential he homes by deep-sea mine. Extreme temperatures, pitch black darkness and a giant amount of bio diverse city, most of which are very sensitive to any disturbance just a little light could throw them off. Is sure of all this, with such a limited understanding of all these concepts and increasing demand for mining could result in a detrimental damage to the environment which is possibly irreversible. Impacts including the degrading of habitats, possible extinctions from oil being spelled in the work process to toxic plumes.

Seafloor mining is a bad idea because it can the pollute the water.”Deep-sea mining may release toxic fumes of sediment from mining machinery(Mysteries empires of the deep ocean).” The toxic fumes will start spreading through the water. Which it will start to make the water toxic, killing the plants and sea creatures.”Release sulfur and methane compounds toxic to surrounding ecosystems(MEOTDO).”The water is going to be so polluted that lots of problems in the ocean will start occurring.

Aims to explore the implications of rapid changes in our ocean chemistry, to analyze groups involved, and propose potential solutions

Ocean pollution is one of the most urgent issues in our world today. The ocean is crucial to our ecosystem and it is being severely damaged at an alarmingly increasing rate. In this paper I will educate about the role the ocean plays in our beautiful Earth, why it is being so widely ignored and dismissed, the causes of pollution, and its effects on animals and humans alike.

The ocean is one of Earth's most valuable natural resources. It provides food in the form of fish and shellfish—about 200 billion pounds are caught each year. It's used for transportation—both travel and shipping. It provides a treasured source of recreation for humans. It is mined for minerals (salt, sand, gravel, and some manganese, copper, nickel, iron, and cobalt can be found in the deep sea) and drilled for crude oil.

In our days, mining for resources is inevitable. The resources we need are valuable in everyday life. Such resources mined up are coal, copper, gold, silver, and sand. However, mining poses environmental risks that can degrade the quality of soil and water, which can end up effecting us humans if not taken care of and many of the damages are irreversible once they have occurred.

Since the beginning of the human race, the ocean has been a major source of food. People near the shores have been taking of advantage of the ocean’s rich and diverse source of nourishment for centuries, both as a source of food and a livelihood. However, since the dawn of the industrial age, humans have begun to take from the ocean more that it can give. As a result, the ocean can no longer provide the human race with the abundance that it once did. As technology rapidly advances, populations skyrocket, and global warming spreads havoc, the ocean’s biodiversity and once abundant supply of fish is dwindling, calling marine scientists and experts to race to find solutions that will restore the oceans health while battling world hunger.