Ocean
Pollution
By:
Marina S.
Did you know that more
than 10 million tons of plastic pollutes the ocean per year? Have you ever considered how much all of that
plastic affects and harms the ocean and the things living in it? Ocean
pollution even affects humans!
The most common thing
that pollutes the ocean is plastic. Plastic and styrofoam compromise 90% of the
ocean. 100 million marine animals die every year from just the plastic in the
ocean, but it doesn’t stop there; 100,000 marine animals die every year from
getting entangled in all of the plastic. Did you also know that plastic takes
500-1000 years to decompose in the ocean?
What
is ocean pollution? Ocean pollution is all of the plastic and trash that goes
into the ocean. Ocean pollution can be caused by many different things, some as
small as tiny microplastics to fishing gear and abandoned vessels. Natural
events like storms can cause ocean pollution. After storms the water travels to
the ocean, but it takes along the oil in the streets that is caused by cars.
Oil spills can last years in the ocean. Ocean mining also causes pollution
because when humans drill for substances deep in the ocean it creates harmful
sulfide deposits.
How is ocean pollution
harmful, and what are its effects on humans and animals? Ocean pollution is
very easily mistaken as food by animals, which is then transferred into humans
when the animal is being consumed. Consuming all of those toxins can affect the
human’s health. One of the many toxins in the ocean is mercury. If mercury is
exposed to humans, it can increase heart disease and Dementia. If it is exposed
to unborn babies, it damages their brains, reduces their IQ, increases risk of
autism, ADHD, and other learning disorders. Ocean pollution affects animals even
more. Animals can entangle themselves in the debris and get hurt. Pollution
also causes there to be less oxygen in the ocean, and low oxygen can kill the
animals.
Littering and poor waste management also take
part in causing ocean pollution. Some ways to prevent ocean pollution are to
use less plastic; learning to properly dispose of trash and plastic can also
make a big difference. Chemical fertilizers also cause pollution, and using
less of them can help make the lives of many humans and animals safer.
Fishing properly could also result in a
safer environment for ocean animals.
We
need to stop polluting the ocean. Think about how many human and animal lives
are being affected by ocean pollution and how worse it’s going to get in the
future if we don’t stop now.
I agree with you, that pollution should stop. I agree because when the animals get sick from the plastic, or something happens, that will not only affect the creature but humans too. Or, other animals that eat the sick one, could also get ick making it like a chain.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100%. and it's sad to know that we pollute our oceans every day. it's also sad to know that the marine life is dying with the ocean. it's also sad to know that pollution is affecting humans too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and I believe pollution should stop. The reason I agree is because when an animal gets hurt it will affect the predator and prey. Not just the animal getting hurt. If that one animals species goes extinct that means more of the predator that hunts it. So humans could be in danger. So that puts every one and thing at risk. For example let's say sea turtles go extinct that means over population and certain fish and shark. Sharks are a predator and will hunt until it is full so that puts all land and water animals at risk.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you a 100% that we need to stop pollution, and the reason I agree with you is that we are hurting marine lives and that seems to hurt us and if one animal is sick and other animals eat it then it causes something similar to a chain making all the animals that eat that one sick animal sick, and if a human eats that sick animal it can cause a lot of harm to that human being like increase in heart disease,but if an unborn baby consumes it they have a higher chance of being autistic,and have a lower IQ. We need to stop this.
ReplyDeleteI agree I mean you physically can´t disagrees with this but yeah we have but sadly most people don't listen so I don't really think the pollution issue will ever be solved.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your opinion of pollution. Pollution is a problem and the rate needs to be slowed down. I agree because we are jeopardizing our future generations because of it. It isn't fair that because of our actions future kids may have disabilities and trouble learning. I think that this is a big problem that we need to spread more awareness about. We cannot continue like this.
ReplyDeleteI agree that pollution is bad because it's bad for humans and animals. When animals consume mercury it affects the food we eat from the ocean and increases brain defects in humans.
ReplyDeleteI agree that plastic pollution is a huge problem, specifically ocean plastics. The journal 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences' published a paper that showed how an estimated 90% of birds have ingested plastics, a lot of which are deadly to birds. Plastics are killing already-endangered species, and if it continues at this rate these animals will soon become extinct. There are a lot of innovate solutions to plastic packaging, like the mycelium packaging made by the company 'Ecovative'. But if the plastic pollution in the ocean doesn't stop and get cleaned up soon, who knows what will happen to this planet?
ReplyDelete