Running head: OCEAN POLLUTION 1

Ocean Pollution: The Unknown Facts

Ivan Jaquez

University of Texas El Paso

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Abstract

Ocean pollution has been increasing for many years. It has only gotten worse with more and

more trash, chemicals, and noise affecting the oceans and sea life. Plastic is the leading indicator

for pollution all over the world. Plastics are not biodegradable, so it leads to it floating around

the oceans for many years. This in turn cause sea life to mistake it with food and leads them to

eat it causing them to get ill and die off. Land runoff brings in many fertilizers, pesticides, and

minerals into the ocean which lowers the oxygen levels and kills off sea plants. Humans and

other species depend of a clean ocean for life. It provides food and natural resources to benefit

off. The government has created many laws such as The Clean Water Act, in which it prohibits

cities from dumping trash into the ocean waters. It is an issue that will not clean itself and needs

for many parties to be involved to clear up and clean up the oceans.

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Ocean Pollution: The Unknown Facts

Introduction

Ocean Pollution has been an issue that has become worse over the years. The pollution

that is seen in the ocean waters has many types. Plastics, noise, chemicals, and oil spillage create

the different types of ocean pollution seen today. Each form of waste is unique but produce the

same type of harms to the environment. Each form of pollution is defended differently but

ultimately it is the prevention of further pollution that needs to be attended to. The government

has taken further measures to reduce the amounts of ocean pollution and have worked with many

scientists to develop equipment to help clean the pollution inhabiting the oceans. This ocean

waste will remain in the waters until it is cleaned up and stopped from further damage. Most of

this pollution such as plastics, which is one of the leading indicators of ocean pollution, is not

biodegradable, meaning it will not dissolve and will only break down into smaller pieces

allowing for sea life to confuse it for food. This causes these sea creatures to get sick from

eating the plastics and eventually die if not treated by professionals.

The issues of ocean pollution seem like a difficult task to clean up. It is an issue that

affects the entire world. The simple fact that it involves many different parties is a near

impossible task. However, to begin talking the necessary steps, four important questions need to

be considered:

1. What caused ocean pollution?

2. What is the nature of ocean pollution?

3. How serious is ocean pollution?

4. What needs to be done to solve this issue?

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The following review of literature will: provide information regarding the origins of

ocean pollution, discuss the impact ocean pollution has around the world, inform on the actions

and policies that have been implemented and provide the measures needed to take to fix this

issue.

What Causes Ocean Pollution?

There are many causes of ocean pollution around the world. Each type of pollution is

equally dangerous and provides a harmful environment. One cause of ocean pollution is through

sewage. Sewage waste or polluting substances travel through rivers and drainages and finds its

path into the oceans carrying minerals from mining camps. This reduces oxygen levels and

destroys plant life leading to affecting animals and plants. Another source for causing this waste

is through the littering of plastics and other trash and debris. Between California and Hawaii,

there is what is called the “Pacific Garbage Patch”. This patch is a large trash vortex caused by

wind and water currents. This patch of trash consists of debris from over 100 years old. It is

estimated that 1.15 to 2.41 million tons of plastic are entering the ocean each year from rivers.

More than half of this plastic is less dense than the water, meaning that it will not sink once it

encounters the sea (The Ocean Cleanup, 2018).

The main cause of ocean pollution is through land runoff. Water mixes up with the soil

to its maximum extent and the water picks up contaminants that harm the ocean such as

fertilizers, petroleum, and pesticides (Conserve Energy Future, 2018). Ship pollutions cause a

great amount of ocean pollution. They create noise that deters sea life such as whales and causes

them to get headaches leading them to deep dive and losing oxygen. Chemicals such as oil is

another indicator for ocean pollution. Oil last a long time in the sea and causes for animals to

drink it making them very ill and dying off.

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What is the Nature of Ocean Pollution?

Earth is covered by 70% water. It is one of Earth’s most valuable natural resources. It

dictates the outlook of the weather, cleans the air, and help feeds millions all over the world.

The largest animal on the planet ‘The Blue Whale’, resides in these waters. With all this to

consider and look after, society still pollutes these waters in many different forms. The health of

the sea continues to lessen at an alarming rate. Plastics is a form of pollution that will continue

to get revisited due to its large impact around the world. A study was conducted in 2010 to show

how much plastic is contributed to the ocean in pounds. It shows the countries who dump the

most plastics into the

ocean. The graph shows

that China produced

nearly 5 billion pounds

of plastic pollution in

2010, followed by

Indonesia. The United

States came in at

considerably less than 1

billion pounds. These

numbers have increased

since then a provide a more horrific statistic. “We are drowning marine ecosystems in trash,

noise, oil, and carbon emissions (Denchak, 2018).”

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How Serious is Ocean Pollution?

Humans and other living species depend on the ocean for life. Keeping a clean

ocean is vital for the future of everyone living on planet Earth. Ocean pollution is currently at a

state where it will not get better by itself. This issue is far to into the problem to wait for it to

clean itself. Most garbage is not degradable and will linger in the waters for years. Chemicals

also tend to stay in the waters for a very long time. The picture below illustrates a different

perspective to this giant problem. Comparing the amounts of trash to the size of an iceberg is

terrifying to see.

Ocean pollution is continuing to

make waves as the world come to grips with scale of the plastic pollution problem. News reports

show a whale washed up on a beach with a stomach full of plastic bags, a tide of trash, or a

beach strewn with plastic waste (Craven, 2018).

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What Needs to be Done to Solve this Issue?

There are many methods to help reduce ocean pollution around the world. Ocean

activists fight for the protection of the oceans and its beaches to insure a better life for the

environment. Recycling all plastics and other recyclables to decrease the amount of debris ends

up in the beaches and eventually the ocean. Though we can make a difference through our own

habits, corporations obviously have a much bigger footprint. If you believe a company could be

smarter about its packaging, make your voice heard. Write a letter, send a tweet, or hit them

where it really hurts: Give your money to a more sustainable competitor (Engler, 2016).

Leading Causes of Ocean Pollution

Plastics Landfill Runoff Noise 4th Qtr

The survey I conducted was a

series of 10 questions and it was to gauge how much others knew about the topic. One question

that I felt was important, is the one shown in the pie graph above. This question allows for

readers to see if people pay attention to what is occurring with the oceans and what measures can

be taken to not worsen the issue. Questions were asked to learn how many individuals knew

about the largest garbage patch located in the Pacific Ocean. The results came in with only 3 out

of 15 people who took the survey knowing what the garbage patch was about. It was interesting

to see what other individuals thought about ocean pollution.

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Summary

The greatest issue with clearing up pollution in the oceans is that it requires a very large

group of people to help clean all over the world. Plastic is the leading indicator for pollution in

the oceans. It led to the creation of the ‘Pacific Garbage Patch’ between Hawaii and California.

This vortex circles around increasing in size every year. Cleaning up the beaches and the ocean

will help reduce the amount of sea life that dies due to the amount of plastic they intake. The

government has enacted laws to prevent from this issue worsening. As more people get

involved, the cleaner the oceans can get, and will allow for longer life on Earth.
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REFERENCES

The Ocean Cleanup, w. (2018). The Great Pacific Garbage Patch - The Ocean Cleanup. [online]

The Ocean Cleanup. Available at: https://www.theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-

garbage-patch/ [Accessed 21 Nov. 2018].

Conserve Energy Future. (2018). Causes and Effects of Ocean Pollution - Conserve Energy

Future. [online] Available at: https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-and-

effects-of-ocean-pollution.php [Accessed 21 Nov. 2018].

Denchak, M. (2018). Ocean Pollution: The Dirty Facts. [online] NRDC. Available at:

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/ocean-pollution-dirty-facts [Accessed 21 Nov. 2018].

Craven, S. (2018). A front-row seat to ocean pollution. [online] UN Environment. Available at:

https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/front-row-seat-ocean-pollution

[Accessed 22 Nov. 2018].

Engler, S. (2016). 10 Ways to Reduce Plastic Pollution. [online] NRDC. Available at:

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/10-ways-reduce-plastic-pollution [Accessed 22 Nov. 2018].