Danger of Marine Pollution - Essay Example

Marine Pollution al Affiliation There is enough evidence indicating that human activities have been directly responsible for marine pollution and it is reported that over 80% of marine pollution are contributed by land. Nonpoint source pollution is the biggest contributor of pollution and it entails many sources such as trucks, boats, ship as well as huge areas such as ranches and forest areas. Nonpoint source pollution is a kind of pollution that originates from many diffuse sources and is majorly contributed by land runoff, precipitation, drainage, seepage, or hydrologic modification. Marine pollution exposes both human, marine animals and wildlife habitats to several challenges such as death (Project Aware, 2014). Unfortunately, correcting the dangerous effect of pollution is too costly and may at times be irreversible. Ships and boats are huge contributors to the amount of pollution in our waterways and prove to have devastating effects on marine life. For example, oil spills are not only toxic to the marine life, but they are also excruciatingly hard to clean up, and therefore negatively affect marine life for years to come.  The oceans are so vast and deep that most people think that no amount of chemical, trash, and waste can have a serious effect on the ocean ecosystem. Decomposing chemicals and other forms of waste have exposed a once flourishing ocean ecosystem on the brink of collapse considering the dramatic industrial discharge and runoff from farms and coastal cities. According to Project Aware (2014), most of the ocean pollutants accumulate at the ocean depth and eventually consumed by small marine organisms or even spawn massive blooms of algae that rob the water oxygen. Marine pollution does not only include physical wastes because there are also noise pollution that tends to have serious effect on marine life. Sound waves may sometimes carry sounds for miles and the increased presence of loud or persistent sounds of ships, boats or oil rigs may disrupt migration or reproduction patterns of marine animals. According to Save our Shores (2014), plastic pollution is undeniably one of the serious threats to the ocean ecosystem constituting of a larger per cent of all the floating trash in the ocean. Plastics normally accumulate in the oceans because they photo-degrade instead of biodegrading (Save our Shores, 2014). Moreover, plastic materials are sometimes swept away by ocean currents and land in swirling vortexes known as ocean gyres or the ocean garbage site. It is apparent that plastics, being indigestible, expose a great threat to the health of marine life thus making millions of them die from ingesting or entangled in plastic. Unfortunately, billions of plastics are used globally and an average person may throw away huge pounds of plastic annually. According to Earthjustice (2014), the oceans have become a dumping site for human waste and that 80 percent of marine pollution are contributed by land based sources such as plastics. Project Aware (2014) explains that none of the human wastes belongs to the ocean and therefore the only option is a trash free ocean. The project further asserts that trash collects in the ocean thus altering beautiful sceneries such as reefs, lagoons, and sea grass meadows into dump sites, something that remains for generations because the wastes cannot biodegrade. It is unfortunate that most people worldwide have never given plastic dumping a second thought yet it imposes a huge threat to the environment. Marine life is continually exposed to health risks by the increase in plastic wastes. The components of plastic wastes contain dangerous chemicals that may either kill aquatic life or cause serious diseases. Another major cause of fragmentation and habitat is harmful fishing practices such as bottom trawling that clear cuts ecosystem through dragging a heavy fishing net in the sea level. According to Earth Justice (2014), heavy fishing nets are responsible in destroying marine life and fragmentation of many sea species as well as destroying of the sea bed. Moreover, marine life is damaged through destruction of ocean plants such as kelp and other coastal areas such as mangroves that act as breeding places for marine species. Harmful fishing practices also include overfishing that tends to exploit various sea species beyond their harvest capacity. Seamount ecosystem is highly destroyed by many fishermen who either fish for consumption or commercial purposes. According to Earth Justice (2014), Mid-water trawling destroys the forage base for other fish by catching over 100, 000 pounds of fish in a single tow. According to AfriOceans (2014), Africa’s largest population imposes a great threat to the oceans because of inadequate skills and necessary resources to execute effective Ocean management plans. AfriOceans explains that it is difficult to control and conserve fishing in Africa because the population is rapidly growing thus heightening demand for food. However, this kind of exploitation may make ocean food sources jeopardized and alleviate poverty levels. According to the Ocean River Institute (2014), nitrogen pollution is amongst the pollutants that cause algal blooms, eutrophication, and ocean dead zones thus exposing marine life to many challenges. The Institute explains that marine life’s vulnerability to diseases as well as degradation of the ecosystem and global warming have been enhanced by the huge increase in nitrogen pollution that further increases nitrous oxide. Ocean River Institute (2010) asserts that nitrous oxide is more potent than carbon dioxide and can degrade oceans by increasing acidity in water. Nitrous oxide makes aquatic life uncomfortable and further contributes to global warming. Increase in acidity caused by nitrous oxide hinders growth of some plants and interferes with animals largely. Although there are several ocean pollutants, the most serious ones are the health risks linked with global shipping industry. Although it seems understated, if the issue is looked at closely, it is clear that ships and boats are the major clear pollutants that cause much effect to the marine life. One giant container ship tends to pollute the environment more than over 50 cars because of the air pollution they are associated with (Save our Shores, 2014). Ships and boats usually contain oil, which is probably the most publicly known toxic pollutants, and therefore large tanker spills and accidents such as the Exxon Valdez are very dangerous to the aquatic life. There have been bigger spills in many parts of the world yet people do not realize that hundreds of millions of gallons end up in the oceans. Oil normally reaches the ocean through many ways including large spill accidents, routine ship maintenance, drains and runoff, natural seepage and offshore drilling. Gigantic ships such as container ships, tankers, bulk carriers, cruise ships, and the Lakers are renowned contributors to ocean pollution because of the two diesel engines used on large ships: main propulsion and auxiliary engines. These ships contribute to millions of oil pollution every year. Out of the many cases of oil spillage, certain percentage comes from natural seepage of oil from the ocean floor and eroding of sedimentary rock while the remaining percentage of oil spillage cases come from human activities. According to Evans (2009) the air pollution caused by ships and boats because of their oil consumption result in many tons of hydrocarbons landing in oceans from particle fallout assisted by rainfall that tends to wash the pollutants from the air. Huge quantities of oil that spilled into the ocean from large tankers are released into the ocean from routine maintenance of the ships that entail various activities such as boat bilge discharge (Evans, 2009). Moreover, crude oil from ships and boats tend to cause environmental challenges that are immediately obvious including spreading over large areas and causing harm to marine animals. Oiled marine life may freeze to death or choked because of ingesting toxins, or perhaps develop liver problems and reproductive and growth challenges (Save our Shores, 2014). It is worth noting that even a small amount of oil spill spreads and covers a wider surface of ocean water causing thin sheets that may kill marine larvae that may reduce the population of marine life. According to Evans (2009), many cruise ships have become more like floating cities moving people from one place to the other across the world but with little or no environmental regulations. Unfortunately, insufficient or lack of environmental regulations has hugely contributed to damage of sensitive marine life thus raising concern because the industry is expanding rapidly. Ships have grown in size thus producing thousands of gallons of wastewater that are discharged directly into the ocean. The wastewater discharged contain bacteria, pathogens, oils, detergents and other substances that cause serious damage into the ocean both in the coastal areas and further out into the ocean. Currently, ocean pollution has become everyone’s responsibility because not only is marine life affected but human health is also at risk. Oceans such as the Pacific Ocean, which is the largest ocean in the world touching many continents, require a shared responsibility of cleaning and facts about pollution. Various organizations as well as national and international protocols have come together to fight ocean pollution and marine sanctuaries are being created to maintain the pristine ocean ecosystem. Dangers associated with ocean pollution have resulted in many initiatives targeting ocean conservation such as clean up initiatives by many organizations and imposition of rules and regulations by many governments. By considering all the ocean pollutants, it is apparent that the shipping industry is the major contributor of ocean pollution. It is clear that ships and boats are huge contributors to the amount of pollution in our waterways and prove to have devastating effects on marine life. It is undeniable that ocean pollution is a huge threat to both human and aquatic life and should therefore be controlled to avoid further damage. Annotated Bibliography AfriOceans. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.aoca.org.za/pages/2164/about-us AfriOeans Conservation Alliance (AOCA) was founded in 2003. It is a registered non-profit organization, governed by a highly respected board of directors, an advisory board, as well as project specific consultants. AOCA is well known for its unique campaign work, exciting research projects and education and awareness initiatives, and its role in being prepared to speak out for those who cannot. We have achieved considerable success during a very short space of time and considered leaders of shark conservation in South Africa. Evans, Paul. (2009, April 23). Big polluters: one massive container ship equals 50 million cars. Gizmag. Retrieved from http://www.gizmag.com/shipping-pollution/11526/ The article gives details about the shipping industry’s association with pollution. It further explains how the ships and boats pollutants affect both marine life and humans. The author further describes the capacity of ocean vessels, their fuel consumption, and the issues regarding unregulated emissions and pollution. Earth Justice. (2014). Stemming the Tide; Ocean Stressors. Retrieved from http://earthjustice.org/features/ourwork/stemming-the-tide-ocean-stressors?gclid=CLSdyqKo6rwCFYZcMgodTDgA0w Non-profit public interest law organization designed to help bring awareness to the public about the environmental issues we face and steps we can take to maintain natural resources and save the environment.  Ocean River Institute. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.oceanriver.org/StopFLnutrients.php The Ocean River Institute’s mission is to foster greater personal involvement in conservation, environmental monitoring, and protecting ecosystems by facilitating the grassroots efforts of groups working at local and regional levels. Project Aware. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.projectaware.org/project/marine-debris Project AWARE Foundation is a growing movement of scuba divers protecting the ocean planet – one dive at a time. Project AWARE supports an unprecedented global movement of divers acting in their own communities to protect oceans and implement lasting change. Save our Shores. (2014). Retrieved from http://saveourshores.org/what-we-do/pollution-prevention.php The goal of the Plastic Pollution Initiative is to reduce the amount of trash and debris, particularly plastic pollution, reaching the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the ocean by providing the community with opportunities to participate in plastic pollution prevention and removal. Through the Plastic Pollution Initiative, we help individuals make the connection between their lifestyle choices and the collective community impacts of plastic and trash on our oceans. Save Our Shores. (2014). Retrieved from http://saveourshores.org/about/ Over the last 30 years, Save Our Shores has been responsible for key accomplishments such as preventing offshore oil drilling in Central Coast waters, helping to establish the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, preventing local cruise ship pollution, and bringing together diverse stakeholders to find common solutions to ocean issues. Today we focus on educating youth about our watersheds, tackling plastic pollution on our beaches and rivers, advocating for plastic-free communities, managing Annual Coastal Cleanup Day in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, running our nationally renowned DockWalker program, and providing our community with educated and inspired Sanctuary Stewards! Read More