Marine Pollution Issues - Essay Example

I. Introduction A. Marine pollution directly impinges upon the health and long-term survival of our planet. B. Marine pollution levels are escalatingand attaining alarming levels, largely due to oil pollution. II. Oil pollution poses a serious threat to the marine environment, hence to our planet, with available evidence indicating that it destroys the marine ecosystem (subtopic 1), negatively impinges upon human health (subtopic 2) and deleteriously impacts the economy of surrounding regions (subtopic 3). III. Oil pollution has both short and long term negative effects upon marine environments. A. Its short term effects stand as a testament to the danger which oil pollution poses to marine environments 1. A single incident of oil spill led to the death of 300,000 marine birds, countless fish, marine vegetation and other forms of marine life. a. Oil spills render a marine habitat unsupportive of life B. Its long term effects highlight the imperatives of eliminating the risk which this pollution poses towards marine life. 1. Oil pollution of marine environments leads to the extinction of marine species a. As a pollutant, oil induces behavioral and physiological changes in marine life IV. Oil pollution of marine environments adversely impacts human health A. Enters into the food chain 1. The pollutant is eaten/digested by marine life a. Marine life is eaten by humans, implying the consumption of polluted foods B. Studies indicate that cancer incidence rates tend to increase in areas where there is a high level of marine pollution 1. Oil pollution renders sea life slightly toxic a. The continued consumption of toxic, even slightly so, sea food contributes to the development of cancer. V. Marine pollution negatively impacts the economy of coastal regions. A. Pollution kills commercial fishing 1. Oil pollution has been known to decimate commercially popular fish populations by as much as 90% a. Oil pollution changes taste and smell of fish, ensuring that fishermen cannot sell their catch B. Oil spills prevent the hunting of large fish and sea mammal, such as which many fisherman depend upon for their livelihood 1. Oil spills inhibits fisherman from shooting and catching the large fish and mammals in question. a. Oil spills drive large fish/mammals away from a particular region, thereby eliminating their presence. VI. Conclusion A. Marine pollution is a significant and complex problem whose consequences extend far beyond marine environments. B. Marine pollution adversely impacts human health and coastal economies. Ours is a water planet with the implication being, as R.B. Clark insists, that the health of our environment is intimately connected to the health of our waterways, oceans and seas (Clark, p. 185). Numerous environmentalists and scientists, as Hertsgaard emphasizes, have confirmed the aforementioned, insisting that marine pollution directly impinges upon the health and long-term survival of our planet (Hertsgaard, pp. 7-8). Should that be the case, then our planet appears to be in dire straits as levels of marine pollution escalate and continue to reach alarming levels largely due to oil pollution. Oil pollution poses a serious threat to the marine environment, hence to our planet, with available evidence indicating that it destroys the marine ecosystem, negatively impinges upon human health and deleteriously impacts the economy of surrounding regions. Environmentalists and marine scientists maintain the impossibility of exaggerating the negative impact of oil pollution on marine environments. As Professor R.B. Clark explains, "Oil pollution may take the form of hazards to human health, interference with human activities, reduction of human amenities, or harmful effects on living resources" (Clark, p. 185). Concurring with the stated, Kildrow explains that oil pollution impacts marine environments through three distinct ways. The first is through the overseas transportation of oil. The second is through transportation accidents. The third is through the offshore extraction and excavation of fossil fuels (Kildrow). In other ways, three distinct human activities function to expose marine environments to oil pollution. Oil pollution has both short and long-term effects upon marine environments and, unfortunately, even the short-term effects are unsustainable. Indeed, as Day et al point out, there is a general tendency to assume that the short-term effects of pollutants are easier to manage and control than are their long term effects, with the operative assumption being that the short-term effects are, in the final analysis, sustainable (Day et al., p. 594). Incidents of oil spills such as that of the Exxon Valdez which occurred on 24th Match, 1989, effectively invalidate the aforementioned assumption. When, on the mentioned date, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker crashed in the Prince William Sound in Alaska, the resultant oil spill led to the immediate death of 300,000 marine birds, countless fish, seals and marine vegetation (Day et al., pp. 594-95). The said effect was practically instantaneous, evidencing Walsh's contention that the marine environment simply cannot withstand the short-term effects of oil pollution (Walsh, p. 86). The implication here is, therefore, that the short-term effects of oil pollution on marine environments are unsustainable. If the short-term effects of oil pollution on marine environments underscore the adversity of the phenomenon, its long-term effects highlight the imperatives of eliminating the risk which this particular pollutant poses towards marine life. Apart from the fact that environmental studies have clearly established that species extinction is an inevitable long-term consequence of oil spills, Jones argues that it is almost impossible to fully articulate, or list, the multitudinous long-term consequences of marine oil pollution (Jones). These consequences largely arise from the impossibility of removing the pollutant in question from the marine environment. Expounding upon this, Jones points to the fact that while marine bacteria digest most pollutants, they are incapable of digesting crude oil. Given that science has failed to devise a technology or means for the removal of the sad pollutant, it remains in the environment and continues to exert a pervasive adverse effect on marine life for several years, even decades (Jones). In other words, once it enters the marine environment, crude oil remains in it for several years. Studies have incontrovertibly established the extent to which oil pollution exerts long-term pervasive negative effects on the surrounding marine environment. Accordingly to Rowland, the substance in question enters into the marine food chain and, even in very low concentrations, has a powerful toxic effect. Evidence indicates that it either kills food sources or changes their physiological composition. The said change, in turn, and as Clark points out, "can cause sublethal disturbances of physiology and behaviour in many organisms, as well as developmental and growth abnormalities" (Clark, p. 186). A study which was conducted on mussels which had been exposed to oil pollution indicated that the organisms in question ate and moved 70% more slowly several years following exposure to the said pollutant, than did mussels which had never been thus exposed (Rowland, pp. 4826-27). The implication here is, and as Rowland clearly expresses, is that besides having the potential to kill and actually drive some forms of marine life to extinction, oil pollution adversely impacts the functioning of marine organisms, causing them to become sluggish, lethargic and, importantly, quite toxic (Rowland, pp. 4826-27). The implication here, therefore, is that the environment in question simply cannot withstand the long-term effects of oil pollution. Apart from the short and long-term effects of oil pollution on the marine environment, studies indicate that this particular form of pollution adversely impacts human health. McIntyre notes that studies on the health effect of marine pollution on people living in the immediate vicinity evidence increased incidents of cancer. The reason lies in that the people in the immediate vicinity tend to eat substantial quantities of sea food. Following the pollution of the environment, however, the said food has become somewhat toxic, not to mention the fact that it has undergone certain physiological and physical changes. All of the stated, as scientists have theorized, undoubtedly impacts upon the health of the humans who subsequently consume food from that environment (McIntyre, pp. 402-403). The implication here is straightforward. Marine pollution has the potential to adversely impact the health of those living in coastal regions. This, in itself, evidences the fact that effects of marine pollution extends beyond the confines of the environment in question and, in essence, are almost impossible to contain. Further evidencing the claim that the consequences of marine pollution are far-reaching and highly pervasive, studies further indicate that marine pollution exerts a highly negative economic effect on the surrounding coastal areas. As McIntyre points out, coastal area economies tend to be reliant upon commercial fishing and other marine-related activities. Pollution, however, quite effectively functions as a "hindrance to marine activities, including fishing" (McIntyre, p. 402). Oil, being highly toxic in nature, kills marine life, especially those which are of commercial value and, indeed, has been known to decimate marine economies by as much as 90% (McIntyre, pp. 402-403). To further compound the problem, the oil slicks which appear on the surface of the water as a direct outcome of marine pollution, inhibit the ability of fisherman to shoot and capture the larger of the marine species upon which they depend for their livelihood. Even when and if fisherman can catch enough fish for commercial use, oil pollution is found to have so affected the flavor and smell of the fish that fisherman cannot sell their catch (McIntyre, p. 403). Studies, in other words, have established that marine pollution has economic consequences which directly impinge upon the survival capacities of coastal areas and towns, let alone residents therein. It is precisely because of this that one ca argue that marine pollution impacts humans as much as it does the marine life itself. Based on the foregoing research, it is evident that marine pollution is a significant and complex problem whose consequences extend far beyond the marine environment. Oil spills, the leading and most dangerous case of marine pollution, extends such short and long term effects on the environment in question that it not only threatens the integrity of that environment, but the capacity of all living on, near or around it to survive. Marine ecosystems are irrevocably changed, marine life is killed and driven to the brink of extinction, human health is threatened and coastal environments are brought to the virtual edge of survival. For these reasons, representing only a partial list of the consequences of marine pollution, it is absolutely imperative that action be taken to eliminate the threat which oil pollution poses to marine environments. Works Cited Clark, R. B. "The Long-Term Effect of Oil Pollution on Marine Populations, Communities and Ecosystems: Some Questions." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences. (June 1982), 185-192. Day, R. H. et al. "Effects of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill on Habitat Use by Birds in Prince William Sound, Alaska." Ecological Applications. 7, 2 (May 1997). 593-613. Jones, Nicola. "Spills' Lethal Legacy Lives On." New Scientist. 177, 2389. 5 April 2003. Kildow, Judith Tegger. "Keeping the Oceans Oil Free." Technology Review. 96, 3. April 1993. McIntyre, A.D. "Oil Pollution and Fisheries." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences. (June 1982), 401-409. Rowland, S.J. Toxic Effects Of Unresolved Complex Mixtures Of Aromatic Hydrocarbons Accumulated By Mussels, Mytilus Edulis, From Contaminated Field Sites. Environmental Science and Technology, 37, 4825-4830. October 2003. Hertsgaard, M. "Mutiny for the Bounty." Nation, 284, 4, 6-8. 2007. Walsh, D. "Oil on Troubled Waters." Naval Institute Proceedings, 132, 9, 86-86. September 2006. Read More