Pollution In Our Oceans

    

    Pollution in our oceans is getting worse. Not only does the sea life suffer from the plastic in the ocean, but also us human beings. We, the people, are the ones who are destroying the ocean with all the trash we toss on the floor. 

What causes ocean pollution?

    Human litter causes pollution in the ocean. One piece of trash thrown on the floor could lead to the ocean when it rains. Pollution in the ocean comes from a variety of sources like agricultural fertilizers they can be washed from farm fields and into the drains where the water pipes lead to the oceans, and those have high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus, which can cause eutrophication meaning it is deadly to the sea life. Another major reason why there is so much pollution in the ocean is marine litter, marine litter is what humans create, and we create waste that we tend to accidentally release the waste in the oceans. But is it really an accident? I do not think so. Many of the human beings are so lazy they deliberately release the waste into the ocean.

Marine litter pollution includes:

• Sewage  treatment and combined sewer overflows
• Shore-based solid-waste disposal and processing facilities
• Poorly managed or poorly resourced landfill sites

 How much plastic is in the ocean?      

    The amount of plastic in the ocean is insane. A new study examined global plastic particles from the river of the world into the ocean. They estimated 1.15 - 2.41 million tons of plastic that enter the ocean per year. Food containers and packaging are the largest components of the municipal solid waste stream, along with plastic bags, and those three represent the largest component of marine litter. The quantity of marine litter is increasing in oceans worldwide. China has more plastic pollution than any other country. It is sad to know that many people do not seem to care about their ocean or their own environment. 

   

How can we prevent ocean pollution?

    We all have to stop throwing our trash on the floor that is one way to start. We need to start where the problem starts.

Ways to help our ocean:

• Reduce pollutants by choosing nontoxic chemicals and dispose of any cleaning products properly
• Reduce waste by not throwing trash on the floor. Throw it in the trash can or keep the trash with you until you see a trash can.
• Recycle
• Volunteer, anyone could volunteer for cleanups at the beach or in your community. Or if you see trash around where you are walking, pick it up and toss it in the trash. That is one way to help the ocean if there is no time to go and volunteer. We have to work together to produce and save the ocean for the sake of our future. We have to save our planet.

        

Community Responses

    I've asked two questions to some people in my community, and these were their responses about ocean pollution. They were not comfortable having their picture on the blog, but they were okay with having their names on it.

1. How do you feel about the plastic pollution in our ocean?
2. What can we do to stop the trash from going into our ocean?

Gali Vazquez 

    "I feel very disgusted with the amount of plastic that pollutes our oceans. It's upsetting to me that the plastic that we use in an everyday life is slowly killing a very important ecosystem of this planet.

One thing I recommend is using fewer plastic water bottles and start using reusable ones instead."

Mayra Chuman 

    "It is killing Wildlife, it makes me feel sad and guilty for not taking action and not spreading awareness on that subject, and it can affect human health.

Recycle more, pick up trash on the floor, start enforcing littering and more maintenance for main road garbage bins, and avoid taking plastic utensils or products to the beach."

Aracely Barreno 

    "It's very unfortunate. It's killing marine life. It is also bad for the environment in general.

Try and use less plastic. Try to recycle if you do use plastic. And advertise NO LITTERING in every block."

Horacio Guerra

    "I feel like it's our wrongdoing. No one else to blame for the pollution of the ocean other than ourselves as a society. It affects everything from marine life to climate change, temperature, ecosystem. It affects the economy in ways that we don't realize.

First, we need to accept that we are all at fault. Everyone is a part of the problem, but everyone needs to be part of the solution. Next, be knowledgeable of the severe effects of pollution and considerate. It's crazy to think that species are going extinct because of our actions. Environmental policies need to take place. However, I feel like beach clean-ups should be a requirement as extra credit. Or classes that focus on the environment should give that option. This way, the clean-ups are more frequent. The use of less plastic would be ideal. There are other countries that are ahead of the game in that sense. WE CANNOT BRUSH OFF POLLUTION AS IF IT DOES NOT EXIST!"

    I have noticed that everyone I have interviewed feels the same way about the pollution in our oceans. We need to make a change. We need to take care of sea life (fishes, turtles, dolphins, whales, sharks, etc) if we do not, the ocean will not have any living organisms, just trash. Human beings will start getting sick and die as well. Our beaches will look disgusting and ugly, and no one would want to step foot near the beach. Let us make a difference and recycle. Throw the trash into the trash can, not the floor, where it could easily go down the drain that leads to the ocean.

We do not want to see this anymore. It is ugly. 

What do you think about pollution in our oceans?

Would you make a difference?

References

• California Coastal Commission, "A Plan of Action for Reducing Land-Based Discharges of Marine Debris, from the Plastic Debris Project," 2005, p. 14.
• Charles Moore, Algalita Marine Research Foundation, presentation at California District Attorney's Association, Sept. 2006.
• The Independent, (2018). "Great Pacific garbage patch may be 16 times bigger."