Marine animals are getting caught in trash every day and dying, "small scale" oil spills are going unnoticed, and it is our fault. If ocean pollution is not addressed in a more serious manner, and soon, our whole planet will be in serious trouble and ocean countless species will be lost.
As many people already know, ocean pollution is a major problem that is plaguing the world’s oceans worldwide. However, many people do not really know the types of different pollution that are destroying these marine ecosystems. In the article "What is Ocean Pollution?", the author states the various causes of ocean pollution, which they say are due to sewage overflow, toxins and chemicals from industries, land runoff, large scale oil spills, ocean mining, and littering. Of course, each of these causes are detrimental to the marine life, yet some are causing more damage than others. In my opinion, littering, oil spills, sewage, and chemicals and materials from industries are the most severe causes of ocean pollution today.
Littering is obviously widely known to be harmful to marine life, yet it is something many people know about and don’t really pay attention to. Sewage overflow is a very similar topic to littering, yet the sewage can be toxic to the ecosystem and creates bacteria in the water and around the shores where various types of marine life thrive. Animals living in the oceans are struggling to adapt to these harsh changes, and the populations of many species are taking a turn for the worst. While some species are not affected as greatly, many species are adapting in all of the wrong ways, which if not prevented can lead to serious issues in the future.
The effects of the intensifying ocean pollution are taking serious tolls on the marine life that live in the oceans. As I previously mentioned, I think that toxins and materials from industries are extremely detrimental to the health of the animals. The chemicals and oil that are constantly being spilled into the ocean have serious effects on the wildlife, especially if nothing is done about it. Large scale oil spills usually do not unnoticed, and conservationists and marine biologists are almost always there to help the cause. But what about chemicals and other harmful toxins that spill into the oceans from nearby companies?
While these may be accidents, they often go unnoticed, leaving only the animals themselves to notice. Toxins and oil that get into the water effect animals by seeping inside the gills of fish and getting smeared into the feathers of marine birds. “The long term effect on marine life can include cancer, failure in the reproductive system, behavioral changes, and even death” (“What is Ocean Pollution?”). Some negative behavioral changes among birds are the incapability to fly due to oil and other chemicals ruining their feathers, therefore some birds are no longer able to fly and get food as easily, so many are snacking on small creatures found near the shores since they cannot dive into the water for fish. This is one adaptation that is very small scale, yet it could affect future generations and is already harming the food chains.
The marine food chains are in great danger because due to littering and agriculture from companies being spilled into the water. “These chemicals do not get dissolved and sink at the bottom of the ocean” and small animals become curious and eat the spilled agriculture and litter because it is easier to eat right away than to hunt for food (“What is Ocean Pollution?”). The bigger issue of the matter is that once those small animals get eaten by ANOTHER predator species, that predator ingests the same chemicals as well, which again, can lead to cancer, other internal conditions, and most commonly death.
I think that ocean pollution is a very severe problem that we are sadly facing, and it needs to be paid more attention to, not simply by marine biologists and conservationists, but by the whole world. We use the ocean water and so many fish and other animals in our daily lives, and if action is not taken to end the pollution, we will not have the access to the oceans that we have always had. A few years ago, I remember reading a very sad article about a baby sea turtle that got caught in a plastic soda ring. As the turtle matured, its shell and skin grew around the plastic, and the plastic was then embedded in the turtle. When the plastic was cut out, the body of the turtle remained forever in the same shape. The turtle itself survived, but countless other animals and turtles get caught in plastics and other man made materials and die. Also many sea turtles have been reported dead from ingesting plastic bags in the ocean, mistaking them for jellyfish. It is things like this that we do not pay attention to, and when people do, it usually is a major headline story on the news. We have to act quickly, or the ocean and the ecosystems inside it could vanish right before our eyes, being our fault for the littering and pollution that are hurting our planet.
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