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Effects of ocean pollution on marine ecosystems
Literature review on the topic ocean pollution
Ocean pollution ecosystem impacts
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Recommended: Effects of ocean pollution on marine ecosystems
When our successors look at our planet in the future, they’ll be horrified. In some years from now, there will be a solid layer of plastic. Today, the land is made out of bedrock, subsoil, topsoil and so on and above all of this there will be a plastic fossil layer.
Some time ago, there was a stone age, bronze age, iron age and I could continue. However, today’s primary material is plastic and the production of it seems never-ending. Those plastic materials are made to last basically forever, however the factories produce above the limit every single minute and day. According to i-D magazine’s documentary about the plastic age, there are made 288 million tons of plastic annually which means every fourth year, people make billion tons of plastic.
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Do we even own the ocean? We do not. No one owns it! What makes it hard to understand? It belongs to no one. It is a part of our nature which we destroy every single day. Ocean is a source of life. Full of living organisms. Full of beauty, unknow and untouched places.
When the plastic material was first invented in the 60’s, I think people had no idea what’s going to happen a couple years later. While wood, paper and some other materials just decay or decompose, plastic materials do not. They persist for much longer. Imagine using some plastic bottle for about one minute and then throw it away. Now imagine thousands of people who do it right now, during this minute. If it gets to the sea, it will remain there long after our great-grandchildren.
The problem is that people think that the ocean works as a black hole. They deceive themselves when they throw something on the ground or to the ocean and they think it will somehow somewhere disappear. However, it does not. It stays on the planet. Some plastic materials will eventually break down to the small pieces which are then hard to collect because what these little pieces do, it that they become part of the sand, soil and even living organisms such as fish or turtles. Where do the tones of rubbish and plastic materials, which have not broken up yet,
The ocean is inhabited by many and loved by all. Whether you surf the waves or use it for recreational purposes, its important to us all. There are dangers to the ocean that anyone who bathes in it should be aware of. Besides the obvious dangers of the current and the pounding waves, there are possible microscopic enemies at large. Every year the beaches are closed for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it may be for a surfing contest, or if the waves are too dangerous, but the most overlooked may be ocean contaminants. Around 20% of ocean water pollution occurs naturally. Its important for the public to aware of the contaminants that reach our waters and how they get there.
There is also debate on how much better biodegradable plastics are in the first place. This is because as biodegradable plastics break down, they break up into smaller and smaller pieces, but never quite disappear. This leaves the potential that the plastic would continue entering the food chain. But although biodegradable plastics aren’t perfect, they are still much safer than standard plastic and present a much lower risk. In addition, by making the shift to ban single use plastics, research towards better plastic alternatives will speed up and better solutions will become available. Over time, these new alternatives to plastics may spread to other items that aren’t single use, making an even greater impact on the health of humans and the
Skerry says, “The ocean is, indeed, resilient and tolerant to a point, but we must be good custodians.” These words shape the foundation of Skerry’s message to preserve the beautiful ocean we have. The intended audience the speaker is trying to reach are all those who know little to nothing about the ocean and the challenges it is facing. The speaker states, “more and more frequently these days I 'm seeing terrible things underwater as well, things that I don 't think most people realize.” Skerry believes that many people are not well informed about what occurs in the depths of the ocean and decides to focus on them throughout his
Around the world, about 245 million tons of plastic is produced yearly. This figure represents a whopping 70 pounds of plastic thrown annually for each of the 7.1 billion people on the planet. The sad news is that of these 245 million tons of plastic per year, around 4.7 million tons of plastic garbage gathers in vast floating oval-shaped ocean garbage patches.
Pollution comes in many forms. In the ocean we dump a variety of substances, including human wastes, chemicals from fertilizers, oil, and trash such as plastic which all contribute to the growing issue of our ocean pollution. In addition to, our usable waters are finite. More than 97.5 percent of the water on this planet is undrinkable salt water; the remaining 2.5 percent has two-thirds of the usable fresh water locked up in glaciers, snow, and permafrost. Of the one-third of freshwater that is available for human use, 20 percent is used for industrial use. (“Water Pollution”) “In effect, water pollution reduces the volume of water available for use by human and other populations.” (Robin Clarke, Jannet King) Knowing that there are approximately 7.2 billion people and growing on this planet with only 0.83 percent of available for our use wouldn’t you want to do everything possible to help put an end to water pollution? (worldometers)
The ocean is an abundant source of life. It is home to thousand of different creatures, provides a great source of food, and provides the earth with about one half of the oxygen needed to sustain life. (National Geographic) Pollution especially plastic, is a catastrophic problem. Ironically plastic, which is a material designed to last forever is generally used for things we tend to throw away. Every year about one hundred to two hundred billion pounds of plastic are manufactured. Only 31% of that plastic is actually recycled. Biomass packaging estimates 10% of that plastic ends up in the ocean annually. About 20% of it coming from ships and other platforms, and the other 80% coming from land derived sources, such as international garbage dumping, winds or tides either way it finds its way to the ocean.(Biomass Packaging Co., et al)
In the article Conathan argues that exploration of the world’s oceans deserves more attention and funding than space exploration. The oceans still contain much to discover and learn from, he believes, estimating that scientists still have not discovered more than 90 percent of the species that inhabit earth’s oceans. “The ocean also provides humans with half of the oxygen we breathe, a wealth of mineral resources... and marine biotechnology.” Just with a few of the things that the oceans provides humans with is a reason why it should be further
...e effect of what humankind does to the ocean, the implications became far worse than any had individually realized. It is a very serious situation demanding unequivocal action at every level. We are looking at consequences for humankind that will impact in our lifetime, and worse, our children's and generations beyond that
Oceans are such so vast that people underestimate the impact their actions —seeming so insignificant— have on them. Humans have by and large taken the oceans for granted; not considering how important a healthy ocean is to our survival. A popular mind-set is that the oceans are a bottomless supply of fish, natural resources, and an infinite waste dump. There are myriad reasons why the oceans should be saved and the most obvious one is marine life. With 71% of the Earth being covered by water, it is obvious that sea creatures are predominant form of life, making up 80% of the species of life on Earth. However, as important as marine life is, that is not the only reason why saving the oceans is crucial. The ocean floor provides natural resources such as, oil, natural gas, petroleum, minerals, medications, and ingredients for foods and products. The economic benefits of the oceans are huge and significant, as well. Fishing and fish products have provided employment to 38 million people and have generated about $124 billion in economic benefits. However, oceans are on the verge of crisis, marine life, natural resources, transportation, the economy, and important ingredients are at risk due to overfishing, pollution, and acidification. Thus, in this essay I will argue that, oceans are not impervious to human activity and threatening the health of the ocean threatens the health of humanity, since oceans key to our survival.
The world population is living, working, and vacationing along the coasts. They are contributing to an unprecedented tide of plastic waste. Pollution is defined as the process that alters a substance or molecule on planet earth, the pollution is caused by the physical contact of an organic decaying particle with a clean particle in the same spot, at the time the two particles join together is when occurs pollution in which the environment is greatly altered. Too many, plastic is a modern day miracle, versatile, inexpensive and durable (Rochman 2014). To others, it is a scourge, a non-degradable pollutant that threatens to choke the global environment. Plastic pollution has led to the deaths of many animals, natural resources, and people (Rochman 2014). It is time to change America’s thinking and to learn from past mistakes.
And so as the Ocean is being emptied, and as the Ocean is dying, the surface looks the same, the waves look the same.” The ocean is dying and the truth is most of don’t even realize it! Since the beginning of man oceans have been a symbol of beauty and the
Being convenient enough for everyday use and even tasting better to some, plastic bottles are a popular way of consuming beverages. They are convenient and to some people, can even taste better. However, the process of manufacturing and transporting the millions of bottles produced is detrimental to the environment. Continued use of plastic bottles could exponentially hurt the planet. Given all the negative effects that come from plastic, why are people still participating in this poisonous cycle?
It is sad to say but humans have played their part in deteriorating the earth. We have polluted and killed the very thing that takes care of us. If you ride by any lake or river you find trash and debris around it. In the “The Call of the Wild” the author says that we have committed war against the earth by the dumping of poisons and explosives upon it (337). Unfortunately, plastics are the things that are doing the most harm to our environment. Plastics are convenient and we use them everyday and these are the things that we find in the oceans, rivers and lakes. They are harmful to the earth as well as human health by directly intoxicating us with lead, cadmium and mercury. Plastic debris laced with harmful chemicals are often found inside of our marine life and can poison them. Plastic can survive for thousands of years and many invasive species are found in them which can disrupt our habitats. We need to limit our consumption of plastics and make sure that they are disposed of in their proper places.
The Ocean is a large body of water that is saline (salty). Around 71% of earth’s surface is cover by the oceans. The Ocean is very important to plants and animals. It has also been important to human history. Much exploration has been done by water and has been used for centuries in exploration and migration. The earth is devided into five different oceans which are all connected due to ocean currents and circulates water all around earth.
The ocean can serve man purposes things for many different people; as a school, a home, a park...