Marine Pollution Essay

One of the more horrific times of the year for ocean pollution I would have to say, is spring break. Many pictures have been shown of trash covering the ground on beaches and if the trash is not picked up, it will get taken by the ocean. Although, this is not the only place that ocean pollution comes from. Chemicals will runoff from other sources and into the water and pollute it. About water pollution, noaa.gov states, “One of the biggest sources is called nonpoint source pollution, which occurs as a result of runoff” (Ocean Pollution”). Having many chemicals being dispersed into the water is very bad for marine life. Not only does it hurt the animals, but it also hurts us. Chemicals contribute to destroying marine habitats which will cause the animals in that habitat to most likely die. It also contributes to contaminating seafood. If fish, and other food, are swimming around in polluted water, there is a good chance that some of them will become contaminated and not edible. Trash from everyday life also effects many aquatic animals. Things like bottles, bags, cans,and plastics left on the beach can harm the animals. Aquatic animals will mistake the trash in the water as food and they will eat it causing them harm and possibly death. However there are things that we can do to help clean up what we contributed

If things keep going the way they are humans will inevitably destroy the ocean and in doing so destroy themselves. There need to be more Loraxes. We the people need to work together to minimize and ultimately stop the production and use of plastics. Driving down the highway, or the gravel road it doesn’t matter I look on either side of the road and what do I see; plastic debris and trash. Someone had to have thrown it there or maybe it blew out of the back of a trash truck going by but regardless there it sits until someone picks it up or an animal mistakes it for a meal or a home.

Over the few years, humans have discarded millions of tons of garbage into the oceans. Ever wonder where the cup you threw out this morning will end up? Or the plastic spoon you used for lunch? How about the cap of a water bottle? The calamitous plastic ends up in the water, taking thousands of years to decompose. The consumption of plastic by the marine life is perilous and the leading cause of death for life on shore.

A way you wouldn't expect pollution to be caused is by noise. The pressure from the sounds omitted by ships, sonar devices, oil rigs, and earthquakes can disrupt communication, hunting, migration, and reproduction patterns from many marine animals like whales and dolphins. This can throw the whole system off balance. Air pollution can also cause ocean pollution by being absorbed into the water and contaminating it, and vice versa. Ocean pollution can eventually cause air pollution. Dirt can also spill into waterways from top soil or silt from fields or construction sites, causing endangerment to fish and wildlife habitats.

According to Oceana, the agency in charge of protecting the world’s oceans, the number one pollutant in the North Pacific Gyre is still plastic. Oceana remains unsure of the quantity of plastic in the water. Our “need” for plastic has harmed innocent little creatures and ourselves as well when we should be searching for safer alternatives instead.

Ocean pollution has been a difficult thing to measure and for the public to be concerned about. Most of the concern has only ever been on the shore level where people can physically see pollution collecting. There is a difficult to get people interested and a problem that happens hundreds of miles out where very few people will ever see the plastic collecting on the surface of the ocean. Funding for research to acquire accurate numbers on plastic pollution understand how it affects the environment of these marine organisms has probably been delayed because of the lack of interest people have trouble associating why the oceans are important for them. The truth currently there are no actual models to estimate the distribution of plastic the ocean, these models use data from surface

Department of State (2016), “marine debris – trash and other solid material that enters the ocean – threatens wildlife and marine habitats and presents health and safety concerns for humans,” in other words causing marine pollution (p.1) . Not only can marine pollution affect the coral reef and its living organisms, but it can potentially threaten the lives of humans who consume seafood. This is evident through the effects of plastic. As a matter of fact, plastic acts like sponges, soaking up various toxins from outside sources before entering the ocean. Since a few organisms ingest these chemicals thinking that plastic is food, humans will then eat these fish contaminated with the same toxins. Many of the toxins that are in plastics are directly linked to “cancers, birth defects, immune system problems, and childhood developmental issues” (Andrews, 2016,

Over one million birds and 100,000 sea mammals are killed by pollution every year. Ocean pollution occurs when harmful substances reach the water. Most of the sources of ocean pollution originate on land, dust, blowing debris, toxins, and particles.

The oceans face many types of pollution every day, every second. The ocean is our greatest ecosystem and out most valuable resource. A common misconception is that the rainforests are the lungs of the planet however, the majority of our oxygen is made via the algae in the sea. The oceans feeds, hydrates, and provides us with oxygen; ironically enough, despite its monetary value to mankind, it is what is treated the worst. For ages we have been dumping our trash, chemicals, and waste into the oceans with no fear or regret, almost an “out of sight- out of mind” mentality. People once and still assume that the oceans are so vast that all of the pollution is diluted and would be dispersed through out, going unnoticed. However, dilution is a myth and an idea that renders ocean dumping to be less impactful. Even so much of the man made pollution is becoming even more concentrated and have entered our natural food chain. However vast the waters of the ocean are, they are not meant to house all of these external factors. There are many alternatives to marine pollution including recycling, finding alternative trash dump sites, cutting down on harmful chemicals for agriculture, and most importantly having the ability to recognize when a problem is developing and counter act, immediately.

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.

Although the ocean covers approximately two thirds of the Earth’s surface, it is surprisingly susceptible to human influences. The effects of rubbish dumping have tainted our oceans and they have taken their toll on the vast marine environments and the populations in which they contain. Rubbish dumping involves depositing all the waste materials from factories and industries, tankers and ships and sewerage waste materials into the oceans and seas. In the report “Causes and Effects of Ocean Dumping”, the author Sharda states that “The wastes that are dumped into the oceans tend to have toxic substances which soak in all the oceanic oxygen. This

of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the exact size remains unknown. In addition, Doucette warns us that this patch contains more than ten million tons of waste. She describes the area to be a “fetid swamp of debris where tiny bits of decaying plastic outweigh zooplankton- one of the most prolific and abundant organisms on the planet- by a ration of six-to-one”(Doucette). It is now apparent that the amount of plastic particles residing in our oceans is damaging the natural habit and this trash is not going anywhere. Due to the currents in the ocean, plastic particles are

However, many fisherman are unable to catch as many fish as they used to, so they are increasingly using cyanide and dynamite in fishing, which further degrades the coral reef ecosystem.[6] This perpetuation of bad habits simply leads to the further decline of coral reefs and therefore perpetuating the problem. One solution to stopping this cycle is to educate the local community about why conservation of marine spaces that include coral reefs is important.[7] Once the local communities understand the personal stakes at risk then they will actually fight to preserve the reefs. Conserving coral reefs has many economic, social, and ecological benefits, not only for the people who live on these islands, but for people throughout the world as well.

Another cause of marine pollution is the discarding of garbage into oceans, rivers and dams. The situation is a major problem causing harm to marine life and ecosystems all over the world. Old

Pollution has become a major issue over the years because it contaminates the Earth’s environment and affects human health. While some environmental pollution is a result of natural causes such as volcanic eruptions, most is caused by human activities. The increase of various types of pollution has made cancer pollutant more prevalent among the people, raising the risk of getting cancer. After being exposed to theses pollutants, the effects may be immediate or delayed. Some of the delayed effects, due to the exposure, can go unnoticed for many years. Another major issue that pollution creates is the tremendous cost for preventing and cleaning it up. However, we can not regulate the pollutants to the extent where there are no more possible