Oceans, seas, and coastal areas are essential to the Earth’s ecosystem and are critical to sustainable development. Two-thirds of the earth’s surface is covered by oceans, seas, and coastal areas, and contain 97% of the planet’s water. The oceans contribute to poverty eradication, create sustainable livelihoods for the three billion and plus people depending on it, are crucial for global food security and human health, and are the primary regulator of the global climate. The Oceans contribute to human well-being because they provide us with water, oxygen, and many natural food sources. Although there are many groups of people who depend on oceans for sustainable livelihoods, they are the most vulnerable because they become so reliant on natural resources and are harming themselves without even knowing it.
Oceans are increasingly threatened, degraded or destroyed by human activities, as this causes the oceans to reduce their ability to provide crucial ecosystem services. Important threats that
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Oceans are threatened daily by both natural and manmade pollution, as the largest factor affecting them is plastic. Over the last decade, there has been more plastic produced compared to the last 100 years (“How Ocean Pollution Impacts Marine Life-and All of Us”). Around 100 millions tons of plastic is produced every year and 10 percent of that plastic ends up in the sea. Many sources are the cause of ocean litter including trash that washes off city streets, waste blown in from landfills, and containers that fall off ships during heavy storms. Many marine mammals mistake these for food (Greer, Abigail). Plastic kills fish, birds, marine mammals, sea turtles, destroys habitats, and affects animal mating rituals, which can result in devastating results, such as wiping out an entire species (“How Ocean Pollution Impacts Marine Life-and All of
Ocean Pollution DBQ Did you know that every year, eight million metric tons of plastic is dumped or somehow ends up in the ocean (Doc. 1)? The following sentences will talk about what people are doing to pollute the oceans and how they are making the pollution better. Humans are the biggest threat to animals in the ocean because they litter so much (OI). Sometimes, people litter without even knowing they're littering.
This is an example of commensalism. Sadly in the ocean there is plenty of human destruction to talk about. Some examples are overfishing, which is a problem in 90% of the world’s oceans. tourism, development, shipping and pollution. As humans we are trying to not overfish by setting limits.
Sarah Freeman’s article in The Ethicalist explains the negative effects humans have on the ocean. These negative effects include plastic pollution, global warming, and worst of all, overfishing. Overfishing occurs when a fish species is wild caught faster than it can reproduce. This leads to fewer fish in the ocean, meaning less marine biodiversity (Freeman). After Freeman spends most of her article explaining how the oceans are suffering, she then starts talking about what can be done to prevent a baren sea.
In Island Packet’s article “How plastic almost killed this Lowcountry sea turtle” by Delayna Earley, readers are informed about the discovery of a dead sea turtle that was recently treated at the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston, South Carolina. The image is effective in responding to the rhetorical situation in which plastic debris are proven to be harmful to marine life and so articles like Earley’s are written to inform others about how damaging plastic is. The exigence of the article is about how plastic pollution is harmful for the ocean. Throughout the years, there has been an increase in the advocacy being mindful of plastic waste and on using less plastic materials.
On a report in 2006 called Plastic Debris in the World’s Oceans, It was estimated that at least 267 different animal species have suffered from entanglement and ingestion of plastic debris. Some species are consumers of jelly fish, but often mistake plastic bags for their natural prey, which obstructs the oesophagus of sea turtles therefor killing them. It has been estimated that about 400,000 marine mammals die annually due to plastic pollutions in the ocean. As said by Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
D.W. Laist research claims that the polluted gyre affects 267 species worldwide: 86% of all sea turtle species, 44% of all seabird species, and 43% of all marine mammal species. Oesophagus and stomach contents of the endangered green sea turtle were examined from 38 representatives, 23 of which (60.5%) had swallowed debris, especially plastics. Scientists have documented 6 pounds of plastic for every pound of plankton in this area (“Plastic Ocean - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch”). Most of this plastic is eaten by sea birds and animals, including turtles and albatrosses. Sea turtles often eat plastic bags instead of jellies.
Harmful fishing methods are unnecessarily killing turtles, dolphins, and destroying critical habitats. Global warming is increasing the temperature of the ocean water, reducing the generation of the base of the food web, plankton. The reducing of the plankton generation is causing major marine ecosystem change. Pollution is also a significant environmental issue HAL is facing. More oil reaches the ocean each year, a massive amount of oil has been accidently spilled from ships, which in turn is destroying animal and aquatic plant life.
It is tragic that the oceans have large amounts of plastic contamination which is causing problems with marine life and beach birds. It is discovered that these animals are mistaking small plastic debris for food, Susan Casey in her article, “Our Oceans Are Turning Into Plastic…Are You?”
According to a Biological Diversity website (https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/ocean_plastics/), the author states that “Thousands of seabirds and sea turtles, seals and other marine mammals are killed each year after ingesting plastic.” People keep littering and that littering is killing precious marine life. The level of
The reason plastic is used in many products is because it can withstand up to tons of pressure per cm3, is cheap, is durable, and finally, there is no worry for discoloring. But these days, plastic is becoming a major problem the world has to deal with. Plastic is thrown into the ocean, and it is breaking down into very small pieces, and killing marine life, as they mistake those pieces to their prey. As a matter of fact, nearly all plastics are recyclable, but it 's the recycling companies ' machines that refuse to recycle that kind of plastic(eartheasy.com). I. Plastic, what have you done?
Imagine what happens if we keep on polluting our planet? What happens to our future generation? Since plastic takes years to biodegrade, if we keep polluting our environment with plastic, then our future generation will suffer from the environment around them. It also means that plastic and other trash will continue polluting the ocean, which can cause thousands of sea animals to go extinct, providing us with less source of food. Not only sea animals, but animals all over the world might extinct or become endangered because of pollution.
The topic of this research paper will cover over Ocean Acidification and the effects on marine ecosystems. Ocean acidification is the decrease in pH levels of the Earth 's oceans, due to overbearing carbon dioxide being brought by the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide is drawn by seawater, where the chemical reactions take place, which minimize the pH levels in the ocean, the carbonate levels and the important calcium carbonate which these sea creatures need. When carbon dioxide disperses in this ocean, it causes the levels of acidity to rise towards the the surface, where most shell growth in marine animals have been stopped and has created the cause of reproductive disorders in multiple fish. Part of the problem with ocean acidification is human activity.
However, at the moment, humans are the ones destroying it. Human activities such as fishing, coastal development and urbanisation have been threatening the ocean for decades, affecting many marine species such as sharks, turtles, and even plankton .People cannot just keep taking from the oceans. It is time to give something in return. One really important marine animal that is threatened by human activities is the shark.
It is impossible to give an accurate estimation of the amount of plastic that is being polluted into the ocean. However, in 1975 the global fishing fleet alone dumped approximately 135 400 tons of plastic fishing gear and 23 600 tons of synthetic packaging materials
The ocean is nowadays undergoing numerous environmental issues that further lead to marine pollution. Marine pollution is a very serious environmental issue that most of the countries of the world encounter. Aquatic littering is considered as one of the major causes of marine environment. The misleading use of the marine environment is extremely impacting the marine life and ecosystems. Moreover, the total amount of toxins and debris discharged by human beings is incredibly increasing in today 's world.