Be the Solution to Ocean Pollution Essay Example

with water toxins and pollutants are the negative effect it has on the ocean water and the marine life. )

BODY 

Some of the most common toxins and pollutants are in a destructive group called organochlorines and include toxaphene, PCBs, DDT, dioxins, and more. . According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, PCBs are Polychlorinated biphenyls, which are mixtures of organic chemicals that are non-flammable, chemically stable, and have high insulating qualities, which make them ideal to use for paints, plastics, and rubber products.  Despite the beneficial qualities they hold, such as being an inexpensive material for everyday items, they are considered to be substances that build up in the food chain and accumulate to levels that are harmful to environmental health (www. blueoceansociety. org/plastics).

Step into the ocean and you will encounter everything from PCBs and dioxins to plastic bags, cigarette butts and bacteria from human waste. Sanoe Lake and Steven Jarett, authors of A guide to the surfing life, tell us that in polluted seas, ear and skin infections are common, and diseases including Hepatitis A have been known to be contracted. If this is how much contamination affects humans, just imagine the effect pollution has on smaller organisms.

Oil is one of the most widespread pollutants in the marine environment.Most oil spillage is caused by oil leakage in refineries, cargo ship and tanker accidents, and problems with blown out pipelines and drilling rigs.  A local and severe oil spill took place on November 7, 2007. A cargo vessel spilled 58,000 gallons of heavy bunker fuel into the San Francisco Bay when it hit a tower of the Bay Bridge.

Oiled sea birds are one of the most emotive

images that come with the term oil spills. For every oiled seabird that lives long enough to be washed, many more have died at sea. The oil clogs their feathers, which provide insulation and buoyancy in the water.As stated by the UC Davis environmental toxicology newsletter, The Cosco Busan spill led to the death of 1,803 birds on arrival, 634 birds in a cleaning environment, one harbor seal, one northern fur seal pup, three marbled murrelets, two brown pelicans, and one western snowy plover.

These numbers show what a vast impact only one oil spill has on an environment. In the past, detergents and steam cleaning were used to clean up oil spills, but the damage made by those “treatments” were worse than just leaving the shore alone.

Chemicals and foreign liquids are not the only factors causing harm in the ocean. Many tangible objects, especially plastic, glass, and other trash, contaminate the deep blue sea.The main problem with plastics is that they will virtually never go away. Most consumers throw them away, but they do not go away, they just go elsewhere. Out of sight, out of mind. Animals suffer injury, and in many cases death, from their encounters with plastic. Animals can be harmed through entanglement, laceration, suffocation, and ingestion.

Dependingon which body of water and the buoyancy of it, plastics thrown into the water can either float, sink, or stay in the water column, leaving nowhere for animals to hide. The animals often mistake plastic pieces for food and ingest them. Discarded plastic packaging, fishing nets, and ropes usually take several years to break up. Meanwhile marine animals become entangled and trapped.

Each year, enormous numbers

of plastics, ropes, fishnets, glass and metal are dumped in the sea. Some broken down by wave action, but most are non-biodegradable and stay in the water for years on years. . Anything glass will theoretically be in the water for eternity. Glass is non-biodegradable and chemically stable in seawater.

It can remain unchanged for an unrestricted period of time. A motorbike dumped in the water will take 50 years just to rust away. The engine will take at least 200 years to dissolve completely (Hutchinson). The oil and petrol residues will harm animals for a very long amount of time.

Some people may not care about these effects because they “do not have anything to do with humans”, but think about how the food chain works.Small organisms will feed on this rust and oil residue. The larger fish will feed off those small organisms. All the while, we, humans, are catching these fish and eating them. At the rate that people are catching and eating fish. Who knows how many fish have been distributed that had harmful residue on their surfaces.

Other debris that is more ocean-based comes from boats, specifically merchant ships. Plastic is used for a plethora of uses on a merchant ship. This includes plastic strapping bands, sheeting, and shrink-wrap, which all interfere with marine wildlife. Recreational fishing holds home to one of the deadliest forms of debris imaginable - monofilament line. This is the strong, clear, common fishing line used with common fishing poles. Fishermen often cut this when it becomes snarled or snagged on an object. It is not unusual to find a single segment of line with several dead birds entangled

in it.

The amount of junk in the sea has a lot to do with the amount of junk on the beach. “Urban means city, city means people, and people mean trash.Add an adjacent ocean to the equation, and trash means marine debris. About 70% of the United States population lives within fifty miles of a coast (Including the great lakes); it should be of no surprise that a big portion of marine debris comes from land.

Candy wrappers, cigarette butts, plastic straw and drink lids, Styrofoam cups, and plastic bags all find their way to coastal waters by storm drain (Coombe). Anything that can fit through the grate of a storm drain or anything of the like is usually untreated and end up in the oceans in which we swim.Everyone has seen it; Six-pack rings, beverage cans and bottles, cigarette butts, plastic bags, fireworks, and suntan lotion bottles are common things to find on the sandy beaches. Everyone has seen it, yet few people actually do something to get rid of the outlandish waste. All of the trash we see on the beach find their way into the waves, and soon enough to the bottom of the ocean. (Transition: Now that we know the affect this marine litter and pollution has on ocean life, how can we help fix it? )

Even though human impact and pollutants have caused damage, it does ot mean it is too late to help and improve quality of the ocean. Many conservation and restoration efforts have been made already, and there are many efforts people can make to keep the ocean clean. 1. For example, artificial reefs have been a significant

factor in restoring marine animal populations as well as quality of the ocean.

Artificial reefs are the deliberate placement of items, such as an old ship, that will be safe for the water and animals. These serve as a mock habitat for marine animals to dwell and restore any sort of decrease in population. B.What we can do is continue the acts we have started, and perform them on a regular basis. Also to start or be a part of beach clean-ups on a local coast. (Transition: Let‘s imagine having a clean ocean and see how it would impact our lives for the better. )

CONCLUSION

There are many organizations around the country, specifically near the coast, that are dedicated specifically to helping keep the beaches and oceans clean. I want to tell you guys about the next local, organized beach cleanup. It is in Half Moon Bay at the Jetty, also known as Surfer’s Beach, on July 7th. It’s only for a couple hours, and you get to spend it on a fun beach with a beautiful view. C. Until then, there are easy changes you can make in your everyday lifestyle that will benefit the well-being of the ocean.

Recycle your appropriate plastics, glass, aluminum, and paper. Do not dump anything into storm drains; they are for rainwater only. Garbage should go into cans and old motor oil should be trapped and taken to the proper receptacle, usually found at your nearest gas station. Use less herbicides and chemicals in your landscaping needs. When you water your lawn, those same pesticides will be going down storm drains and eventually into the ocean. Use phosphate-free and chlorine-free laundry

detergent and use baking soda or environmentally friendly cleaning agents instead of products with hazardous chemicals.