Environmental Causes Of Ocean Pollution

Almost everything that is in our world comes from or originated in the ocean. The air we breathe, the water we drink, and even ourselves wouldn’t be possible without the oceans that gave us life and a home on Earth. As said by National Geographic, “Our oceans are so vast and deep that until fairly recently, it was widely assumed that no matter how much trash and chemicals humans dumped into them, the results would be negligible.”

Our oceans take up 70% of the Earth’s surface. It also filters and creates 80% of the air we breathe according to The Terramar Project video. For one out of every four people on Earth, their main source of protein comes from fish supplied by the ocean. The temperature on Earth is regulated by the ocean that also

A quote from Captain Charles Moore says, “Only we humans make waste that nature can’t digest.” This is completely true. Causes of ocean pollution vary, but the most commonly known are sewage, chemical run-off, land run-off, oil spills, ocean mining, and littering. Pollution can enter directly into the ocean by sewage ways. This is often how harmful substances from mining sites come to be in the ocean. Chemicals from industries and agricultural sites can run-off into the ocean. When the toxic chemicals from this and sewage get into the ocean’s ecosystem; it leads to reduction in oxygen levels, decay of oceanic plant life, and severe decline of the quality of the sea water. Toxic chemicals that get into the ocean raise the temperature drastically, this is known as thermal pollution. Marine animals that cannot survive in these higher temperatures will eventually

When companies catch fish in the ocean they can’t tell which ones have been polluted and which ones haven’t. They look the same. When we eat marine animals that contain plastic, we in turn now have plastic in ourselves. The plastic will slowly kill us, just like it does with marine animals. Also, the ocean filters the air we breathe, and like said before, supplies 80% of the oxygen we breathe. Pollution causes the ocean not to function properly and oxygen levels can and will diminish. The ocean is also home to medicines that treat heart disease, cancer, and more. The plants or animals that give us these medicines are endangered as long as marine pollution exists. The remedies can be lost causing more people to die because of the lost medicines. Without our oceans technologies and other necessities will simplify and go back to the way they were centuries