Welcome to Water Pollution Guide
Marine Pollution 101 Article
by Beverly Saltonstall, environmental writer
from:The United States Geological Survey estimates that there are 346 quintillion gallons of water in the oceans of the world. They also say that 95% of the water on this planet is contained in our oceans. With this unimaginable amount of water you would think that it is an infinite resource. In reality is that that kind of thinking is far from correct.
For years, man has been dumping pollutants into the world’s oceans, and as a result, all this water contains some degree of pollution. It is estimated that almost half the world's population lives within 100km (62 miles) of the coastline. This fact alone makes one realize that marine pollution affects a whole lot of people.
What Does It All Mean?
Decades ago, law makers realized that marine pollution was a problem and passed legislation that made it illegal to dump toxic chemicals and human waste directly into the oceans. Prior to this law, all sorts of nasty stuff was flowing, unfiltered, through pipes, directly into the ocean. This type of pollution, called point pollution certainly has decreased over the years, but non-point pollution such as fertilizers, and automobile runoff has increased due to the population increase.
Marine Pollution can be defined as the harmful effects caused by the entry of toxic chemicals of particles into the oceans. These particles are often very minute in size and tend to stick to the live cells that are then eaten by plankton. Plankton is a food source for man y species of fish found in the oceans. As the smaller fish eat the plankton, they are consumed by larger fish, so it goes up the food chain until it reaches humans.
As if that is not bad enough, much of the animal feed used for our livestock is fed food that contains high levels of fish oil and fish parts. These feeds are contaminated with the pollution from the waters and the ultimately contaminate the very food we eat. Most often affected are products made from meat, eggs, butter and milk, which are all staples in our diets.
Who is to Blame”
It would certainly be easy if we could point a finger at one problem source, clean up that problem and then clean up the oceans. The problem is that we are all part of the problem. Our unending appetite for gadgets, automobiles and “stuff” is all contribution to this ecological mess.
Some of the most common sources of marine pollution are”
1. Oil Spills: Illegal ocean dumping from ships at sea, industrial accidents and fault equipment have all caused many marine catastrophes over the years.
2. Toxic Materials: As metals and chemicals degrade they often enter our waterways on a daily basis. Chemicals that are used every day for household cleaning, industrial waste, animal waste, and oil leakage from automobiles.
3. Trash: Plastics are non-biodegradable and are entering our oceans at an alarming rate. Marine life is getting tangled in them or mistakes them for food and die.
4. Mining Operations: Mines and other similar operations located near the coasts are polluting our waters with the runoff from their operations. They not only contaminate the water, they are contaminating the air which eventually ends up in the oceans through fallout.
5. Raw Sewage: Over the years, businesses, sewage disposal plants and ships have been sited for dumping raw sewage into the oceans. Sewage contains all sorts of toxic chemicals that are causing irreversible damage to our marine plants and animal life.
What Can We Do?
Just as there was no one source for marine pollution, there are no easy cures for the problem. Some of the solutions that have been proposed are:
1. Government: Many governments around the world are passing stricter laws that impose fines for industrial waste dumping. But until all countries cooperated, there will still be marine pollution. All countries must realize the need for protection of the oceans.
2. In The Home: We as individuals can do a lot to help reduce marine pollution and other forms of pollution. The use of green cleaning products that are phosphate-free can be your first step. “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Pollution But Were Afraid to Ask” is available at http://pollutionwebsite.com, and is a great resource to not only learn about pollution but what you can do to help clean up our environment.
3. Frugal Fuel: Ending our dependence on fossil fuels by developing clean energy resources will reduce the number of ships on the seas. Less ships mean less chance of oil spills.
Conclusion
It doesn’t matter whether you live on the coast or not, we all need to be serious about marine pollution, because it does affect everyone. Solving this problem will require the cooperation of everyone and will certainly require that we make some changes in our lives. This is the only way that we can assure a bright future for our oceans.
Beverly Saltonstall is an environmental writer who deeply cares about the environment. This article may be reprinted as long as the entire article is published. Further information about pollution can be read at http://pollutionwebsite.com