Ocean Literacy, as defined in the article “Ocean Literacy: The Essential Principles of Ocean Sciences Grades K–12,” is an understanding of the ocean’s influence on you and your influence on the ocean (1). There are seven principles of ocean literacy; the Earth has one big ocean with many features, the ocean and life in the ocean shape the features of Earth, the ocean is a major influence on weather and climate, the ocean makes the Earth habitable, the ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems, the ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected, and the ocean is largely unexplored (COSEE, 3). Principle #6 states that both the ocean and humans are ‘inextricably interconnected’ meaning that the two are impossible to separate and …show more content…
People are not only affected by the ocean, the ocean is also affected greatly by people. Firstly, human development, such as the construction of a river or a dam, can change the ocean geologically. The reason behind this is that the Earth’s ocean is all connected with multiple basins. Secondly, human activities, such as diving, can affect the ocean through the unnatural invasion of the marine environment without proper knowledge of what to do. Thirdly, the ocean and its inhabitants are greatly affected by marine pollution. Marine pollution is the entrance of hazardous materials into the ocean. The ocean can be polluted a number of ways, including garbage, sewage, and noise. Garbage pollutes the ocean by disturbing marine life and tarnishing the marine environment, it can also damage ships. Sewage pollutes by adding dangerous chemicals to the ocean and depleting oxygen used by the animals. Noise pollution is the release of sounds that mix with the frequencies dolphins and whales use to communicate (“What are-, 1).Through the effect of human development and marine pollution on the ocean, it is show that humans and the ocean are