How Pollution is Affecting the Ocean

Pollution in the ocean is becoming a bigger issue everyday.  Conservation International tells us that some people think the big problem is oil spills, but only 12% of the oil in the ocean is from spills.  Three times as much is runoff from rivers, roads, and drainpipes.  There is also 8 million metric tons of plastic dumped in the oceans every year.  There will be more plastic than fish by 2050 if we don't change something. (Ocean Pollution)

With all of this pollution in the water it is affecting many ecosystems.  Other polluters cause the global temperature to rise. When the temperature rises it affects the coral reefs in a tragic way.

(Jane Jenkins Before & After Clown fish and Anemone)

Coral reefs are very important to millions of people.  They protect the coastline and provide homes to the fish many people survive on.  For the past decades more corals have been dying.  With rising temperatures in the ocean it makes it very hard for them to survive.  Once they die, all that is left is the bleached skeleton. (Why I still have hope...)  

Although it seems like there is nothing we could really do to help these creatures, if we cool down the water and stop producing as much pollution, there is a good chance they can survive.  One organization has been extracting corals and growing them in good habitats where they grow 50 times faster.  They are then put back into the ocean. (Hannah)

(Satellite Image of the Gulf of Mexico)

The Gulf of Mexico is another part of the world that has been negatively impacted by pollution.  In a TED Talk by Nancy Rabalais, the pollution is around the size of New Jersey. where there is such low levels of oxygen that animals are unable to live there.  (Rabalais)

Rabalais says that this is caused by the runoff from the Mississippi River.  The agriculture along the river doesn't use natural farming practices.  This means that they use nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer.  This doesn't hold well with the mass produced crops like corn that are grown in the Midwest (Alder).  We don't actually need all this food.  Most of it is grown for the animals.

A solution to this is to eat less meat.  Everyone should be worried about this runoff because it is also affecting lakes where many towns get their drinking water from.  All of the nitrogen creates blue green algae(Alder).  This is definitely type of algae isn't algae at all.  It is actually a bacteria that produce cyanotoxins.  If it comes in contact with you, you will most likely get sick and vomit and get a sore thought.(Blue green algae...)

These are just two of the problems that are occurring in our oceans.  The ocean creates lots of oxygen and food for us.  We need it to survive.  We need to stop polluting the oceans now or the fish won't be the only ones drowning in the consequences.

Works Cited

Alder, Karen. "Reducing Dead Zone through Organic Practices." ofrf.org, Organic Farming Research Foundation, 17 July 2019, ofrf.org/blogs/reducing-dead-zone-through-organic-practices.

"Blue-Green algae and harmful algal blooms." Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, www.pca.state.mn.us/water/blue-green-algae-and-harmful-algal-blooms.

Hannah, Jaye. "This company has found a way to regrow our dying coral reefs." contiki.com, Six-two, 2017, www.contiki.com/six-two/company-regrow-coral-reefs/.

Jenkins, Jayne. Before & After - Anemone With Clownfish. Before and After - Coral Reef Image Bank, The Ocean Agency, www.coralreefimagebank.org/before-after.

"Ocean pollution- 11 facts you need to know." conservation.org, Conservation International, www.conservation.org/stories/ocean-pollution-11-facts-you-need-to-know.

Rabalais, Nancy. "The 'dead zone' of the Gulf of Mexico." Ted.com, TED, Nov. 2017, www.ted.com/talks/nancy_rabalais_the_dead_zone_of_the_gulf_of_mexico#t-710714.

Satellite Image of Gulf of Mexico. serc media, NSF, 25 May 2018, serc.carleton.edu/details/images/5430.html.

"Why I still have hope for coral reefs." Ted.com, uploaded by Kristen Marhaver, TED, Apr. 2017, www.ted.com/talks/kristen_marhaver_why_i_still_have_hope_for_coral_reefs/discussion#t-421585.