Marine Pollution

Marine pollution is a serious ocean water resource challenge that can affect human and animal food resources. Unfortunately human activities are the largest contributor and cause of problems resulting from the oceans being polluted.

Many species of fish are harvested daily as a valuable food resource for the world’s people and the fish population largely depends on a clean healthy ecosystem and an abundant marine food chain to survive. Marine ecosystems are polluted by the direct littering and dumping of human garbage into water ways that flow into rivers which then carry human by-products and waste to empty into oceans. Additionally atmospheric containments in air pollution related to human activities are transformed into precipitation that falls into the oceans adding to pollution levels.

Oil drilling operations and boat motor fuels add considerably to the overall pollution of the ocean and are a direct result of human activities. Consequently marine life and fish that humans and other animals eat are in jeopardy because the oceans are a vast and complex ecosystem that includes a variety of tiny to large life forms which feed on each other along with vegetation dependent on a clean environment.

Also industries and communities living on shorelines contribute to ocean water pollution with many of the cities dumping sewage and barges of garbage directly into waterways creating hazards for marine life from entanglement, less oxygen for fish to breathe in overly contaminated areas plus lowered health and survival rate in offspring eventually resulting in a poor food source for humans and animals.

Shoreline forests and vegetation are affected by contact and additional problems with a decline in marine life or food can arise on land around river outlets and marshes.

Do we want to keep contributing to climate change?

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a prime example of what is happening in the world due to marine pollution. Much of the disposable trash and garbage people use does not biodegrade or fall apart in time to become part of the natural surroundings.

No most of our trash remains with humankind for generations to come.

The book below is a great read I enjoyed about the pollution in the pacific ocean and how an island of trash is floating aimlessly into our future because we continue to be human.