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How Does Ocean Pollution Affect The Environment

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Ocean Pollution and the Environment
One of the greatest issues that face mankind is ocean pollution. Discarding waste in the ocean has been a historical practice for centuries. Many falsely assume that because the practice has occurred for so long, and continues to occur so frequently, that it is not a pressing issue. People continue to question the effects of ocean pollution on the environment, and its reality. Ocean Pollution greatly affects our environment, and we can see the effects of this practice through notable changes in water, the overall health of animals, and impacts on humans and the food chain.
Dumping waste into bodies of water has been a practice for centuries. In the agricultural age, nearby streams and lakes were used to deposit, “food wastes, trash, mining wastes, and human wastes (or sewage),” (Engler) because it was convenient and cheap. Although a common worldwide practice, waste dumping did not pose a serious threat until around the Industrial Age, when chemical by-products and waste were introduced into the environment. After many centuries of dumping human waste into the ocean, the very nature of ocean water has been altered. Up until forty …show more content…

One of the common human culinary delicacies is fish. Many of these fish are farmed in toxic waters, poisoned mostly by plastics. Consequently, many of the same toxins that these fish ingest turn to be lethal for humans. Diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), a chemical contained in certain plastics, “is a toxic carcinogen. Other toxins in plastics are directly linked to cancers, birth defects, immune system problems, and childhood developmental issues,” (Andrews). Although ocean pollution may have historically been viewed as an effective way to rid waste, we now see that it affects more than just the ocean-- it threatens the continuation of the human

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The Hawaiian Monk Seal (Neomonachus schauislandi) is a primitive, non-migratory phocid endemic to the islands of Hawaii (National Marine Fisheries Service, 2007). These primarily aquatic pinnipeds spend two-thirds of their lives in the water but require some land, often sandy beaches, to haul-out for reproduction and rest (NMFS, 2007). Monk seals have a polygynous mating structure but precise mating behavior and dominance establishment is unknown because they are aquatic processes not often observed (Jefferson et al., 1993). Females begin giving birth around age five to nine with each female producing a single pup every year (Johanos et al., 1994). After giving birth, females will stay and nurse their pups while fasting and energetically supporting

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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.

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We live in a world where marine life eat our trash, while at the same time, people go days without having something to eat. It is a sad but devastating reality. Everyday the world’s oceans continue to become a universal junkyard. Marine pollution continues to grow exponentially on the one resource that separates us from the rest of the universe. On land, there is a different problem.

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Payton Davis Period 6 English 9 13 sites cited Ocean Pollution Did you know that oceans are the largest bodies of water we have on Earth (5.)? You most likely did considering every continent on Earth is surrounded by water. But, did you know that every year, approximately 1.4 billion pounds of trash enter our oceans (5.)? No one seems to realize what kind of damage we’re doing to the Earth just by polluting alone. Ocean pollution of any kind must be put to an end because the trash we dump into the ocean can give marine life and even human life diseases, the marine life can consume plastic, and they can get caught up in discarded fishing nets and any other form of trash which can all lead them to early deaths (Thesis).

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Industrial corporations have continuously used bodies of water to their advantage by having their factories use water as an energy source and trash bin. Toxic chemicals are released by these factories and sometimes directly dumped back into the water. Aquatic plants benefit from the carbon dioxide released by factories, but too much can harm the biodiversity of that ecosystem and other marine life and acidity levels will also rise. A bigger population means more consumption and as the human consumption has increased throughout the years, landfills have been overflowed by large amounts of trash. When liquids and other materials begin to degrade, they release a juice that can be toxic if consumed.

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