Written Statement

Marine pollution is a global problem that affects humans and marine animals and organisms alike. It occurs everywhere, not just in the oceans, but on the beaches as well. Everyone is to blame for it, therefore it is everyone’s responsibility to fix it. Although there are many different kinds of marine pollution such as oil spills, noise pollution, and chemical pollution, the type of pollution that affects the most organisms is litter and debris. Litter and debris gets into the ocean because of pollution on the beaches, shipwrecks, and even litter that is in rivers which eventually flow into the ocean. The weather conditions like rain and wind can affect the way litter gets into the ocean as well. Once the litter gets into the ocean, it becomes a lethal object to animals and organisms.

The litter most commonly found is plastic, glass, fishing nets, and Styrofoam. The plastic bags in the ocean can be mistaken by animals for squid or jellyfish. After having eaten a bag, the animal’s stomach can be clogged up, leaving the animal feeling hungry, when it will then die of starvation. Animals can also die by ingesting a broken piece of glass that appears to them as a fish because they are attracted to shiny objects. This glass can cut their throats, stomachs, or intestines leaving them to die. Fishing nets is one of the most dangerous way an animal can die from the litter and debris. Fishing nets that have been dropped by fishing boats can strangle animals, or trap them, leaving them to die. This is called “ghost fishing.” Other things like balloons and cigarette butts can kill animals because of how they mistake them for food.

Not only do animals die from mistaking objects to be food, but they also die because of the pollutants they absorb from the way plastic and Styrofoam biodegrades. Although Styrofoam biodegrades, plastic doesn’t- it photodegrades. Photodegration is when the plastic breaks down into little pieces because of the sun. This can also affect humans since we eat fish, who ingest pollutants.

Humans are affected by litter in the ocean not only by pollutants though. Surprisingly, pollution in the ocean and beaches affects the economy, a lot or a little, depending on where the litter is. If the beach is really dirty, then it will not be a popular tourist site, losing money for the local businesses. It also loses money for the taxpayers in states with beaches, like California. Taxpayers in California pay, overall, one billion dollars for taxes every year. If there was less pollution, people would not have to pay as much.

One situation in the North Pacific though, might raise the taxes for people everywhere because of how it will take so long to clean up. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean is a Texas-sized pile of trash floating around in the ocean. This goes under the water as well, because there is so much trash, kind of making it a big trash island. This not only destroys the habitat of many marine animals, but it also blocks the organisms closer to the bottom of the ocean from getting the sunlight they need for photosynthesis, killing them. This patch of garbage can not be cleaned up by one country specifically because of how much there is, and because of how it’s from many country’s waste.

Although there are many problems with trash in the ocean, there are also many groups, organizations, and companies dedicated to fixing this global problem. Organizations that rescue injured animals such as ones that accept donations toward “adopting a seal” help seals recover by paying for their food and medicine. There are also many local groups who host beach clean ups. I would recommend everyone partake in a beach clean-up, and so to refrain from littering. This global problem may not be able to be fixed globally, but on a local scale if everyone pitches in, can definitely be calmed down.

FAQs

1) Q: What is the main contributor to the litter in the oceans?

The main contributor to the pollution is plastic bags. Millions of plastic bags can be found in the ocean.

2) Q:What types of animals are affected by the marine pollution?

The animals affected by the pollution are ones such as turtles, seals, dolphins, whales, sea otters, sharks, smaller fish, and even birds. Everyone in the ocean is affected by it- especially if it is a different type pollution like an oil spill- then even seaweed is affected.

3) Q: If the problem is in the ocean, how are humans affected by it?

The marine pollution affects humans because it hurts the economy by losing money for companies around beach towns, it can cause injuries, and can eventually affect the food chain.

4) Q: What has been done to stop the marine pollution?

There are many groups around the world who organize beach clean ups and "adopt-a-beach" programs where people can donate money for the beaches to be maintained. Also, the public continues to find out about the problem by groups whose jobs it is to keep the public aware.

5) Q: How can we fix the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

Although there is no immediate course of action someone can do to clean up, especially because it's not one country's responsibility, biologists have been studying it and visiting it to see what can be done. An easy way for it to stop it from growing is to pick up litter on the ground because it can eventually lead to the ocean- and to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

6) Q: How much money goes into cleaning up beaches every year?

It's different everywhere, but in California, 1 billion dollars of the tax payers money goes to the cleaning up of beaches.

7) Q:Besides litter, what are other types of marine pollution?

There is oil spills, noise pollution, chemical pollution (which can come from litter), and many other types- anything that affects the ocean in a negative way is probably ocean pollution.

8) Q:What is being done to help the animals directly who have been affected by the litter in the ocean?

There are animal rescue centers that help animals who have been found and injured by pollution. There are many different types of injuries- from having their intestines clogged up by a plastic bag, to wounds from animals trying to eat pieces of glass.

9) Q:How did this problem start?

Marine pollution started in our industrial age when the world started to use oil, release more toxins into the air from things such as factories, and also when the use of plastic bags became a popular and easy solution to carrying things.

10) Q: What can I do to help the problem

There are organizations who take donations to "adopt-a-seal", where someone can pay $25 dollars to pay for an injured seals food and medicine. Also, DON'T LITTER!! and pick up any trash you see on the beach or ground.

Case Studies

1) Great Pacific Garbage Vortex

In the North Pacific Ocean, there is a garbage "island" the size of Texas rotating and floating. The garbage also is under the water, not just floating on top, which is part of the reason it's so hard to clean up. One of the reasons it is so dangerous is because most of it is plastic- which photo degrades into smaller pieces, making it harder for fish and other marine mammals to tell it apart from it's usual food. Other problems like entanglement and small surface debris also pose a threat to animals. Although we can't clean it up because of the economic effects it would have, environmentalists everywhere are encouraging people to recycle and alerting the public about this trash vortex.

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/what-is-the-great-pacific-ocean-garbage-patch

2)Microbial Answer to Plastic Pollution?

Cases where plastic is in the ocean in small pieces due to photodegration, researches think that marine microbes might be able to help clean up the plastic contamination in the ocean. Because plastics are a huge part of pollution in the ocean, having a bacterial source for cleaning up the ocean in groundbreaking. Although scientists are just beginning the research process for this, the microbes look promising because of how they succeeded in earlier tests. Scientists found that the bacteria stuck to polyethylene, a chemical used in the production of plastic bags, and colonized rapidly on it. The breakdown of these plastics would greatly help contribute to the cleansing of the ocean.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100329075919.htm

3)Plastics in Oceans Decompose, Release Hazardous Chemicals, Surprising New Study Says

Besides just decomposing, plastics in the ocean release harmful chemicals that can be absorbed by animals. Although many assume that plastics are on standby in the ocean and don't do anything because they take so long to decompose, new studies say plastics decompose rapidly when exposed to sun and rain. Another hurtful chemical in the ocean is styrofoam. Styrofoam also breaks down quickly and washes up on beaches in many places. Styrofoam is especially a problem because it breaks down in to little pieces and balls and is absorbed by animals.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090819234651.htm

Article Summary 5

Record Beach Litter Threatens Marine Wildlife	Seals, turtles, whales, dolphins, and seabirds are being endangered from pollution in Britain’s beaches. In this article, the increase in litter like cigarettes and plastic drink bottles is explained. It is becoming almost impossible to walk on a beach and not find some kind of litter. Around 4,000 volunteers took part in cleaning up 350 beaches in Britain in September of 2007, and found 2,054 items of litter per kilometer. Although some of the pollution that ended up on these beaches was not from Britain, it is still their responsibility to clean it up.
Peter Griffiths
April 9, 2008
ENN.com- Enviornmental News Network
http://www.enn.com/ pollution/article/34422

Article Summary 4

Marine Pollution: Centuries of Abuse Have Taken a Heavy Toll	This article is about how the man made pollutants are reaching the oceans and affecting the animals in them. It also points out that the pollution in the ocean also affects humans- since the fish we eat are ingesting pollutants, we are as well, but ingesting the fish. The pollutions don’t always start in the ocean though. Some of the pollution that ends up in the ocean is because it started in a stream by a farm, where pesticides and fertilizers got into it, and eventually flowed into the ocean. Pollution also occurs with boats dumping solids like plastic and Styrofoam into the ocean, where animals mistake it for food. Proof of this is the big “Pacific Trash Vortex” in the North Pacific- a big floating pile of trash the size of Texas in the middle of the ocean. This article also mentions noise pollution- sound waves from above water that confuse animals and mess up their natural patterns, like migration.
Unknown Author
2010
National Geographic Magazine
http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ ocean/critical-issues-marine-pollution/

Article Summary 3

Plastic Breaks Down in the Ocean, After All-- and Fast	This article is about the newly discovered dangers of plastic degrading and releasing chemicals into the ocean. Scientists didn’t know that plastic is dissolving so fast and at such low temperatures, which although is less of a threat for chocking and strangling, the chemical toxins released into the waters is just as harmful to marine animals as the solid form of plastic. Marine animals are faced with another problem with plastic because of how sometimes it will sink to the bottom of the ocean if it’s heavier then the water, making the areas of dangerous plastic to be much greater then it would be if it was just on the surface, or if it all sunk.
Carolyn Barry
August 20, 2009
National Geographic Magazine
http://news.nationalgeographic.com /news/2009/08/090820-plastic-decomposes-oceans-seas.html

Article Summary 2

Earth Day: Are We Destroying the Oceans?	This article is about many problems humans have created for the animals in the ocean. Problems like overfishing, habitat destruction, global warming, acidifying, pollution from land like sewage, fertilizer toxins, and litter. Only a small fraction of the philanthropic money donated to green cause goes to conservation of the seas. Although only 0.7% of the ocean is protected areas, these areas can make a huge difference in the marine life. “…the damage that humans are causing miles beneath the surface must be addressed as well. This is our life support system,’" …"’We take care of the ocean, and we take care of ourselves.’"[1]
Bryan Walsh
April 14, 2010
Time Magazine
http://www.time.com/time /health/article/ 0,8599,1982015,00.html

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[1] http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1982015,00.html

Article Summary 1

Environment: The Perils of Plastic Pollution	This article is about the island of Laysan, an island in the Pacific that has practically become a huge, floating garbage dump. Not only is Laysan home to 14 million birds, but also the possessor of “…thousands of pellets as well as toy soldiers, disposable lighters and one toy Godzilla--all made of plastic.”[1] This plastic is mistaken for food like jellyfish by many animals like turtles, sea lions, seals, and sea birds. Much of the plastic that appears on the island of Laysan is from washing up on shore from the Pacific ocean because boats “…dump at least 6.6 million tons of trash overboard every year. Some 639,000 plastic containers and bags are tossed into the oceans every day… Estimates of the plastic fishing gear lost or discarded at sea every year range as high as 150,000 tons.” 1
Jamie Murphy, Andrea Dorfman, and John D. Hull
June 02, 1982
Time Magazine
http://www.time.com /time/magazine /article/0,9171,961534,00.html

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[1] http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961534,00.html

Multi-Media List

Websites:

1. http://www.adoptabeach.org.uk/pages/page.php?cust_id=8

a. Effects of marine litter on wildlife, marine ecosystems, human communities, health, and economics.

2. http://seapics.com/feature-subject/environment/ocean-pollution-pictures-001.html

a. Picture of litter in the ocean that effects sea animals. Also talks about toxins that flow into the ocean and where it starts.

3. http://www.dbw.ca.gov/Pubs/Pollute/MarinePollution.pdf

a. Laws and requirements of marine pollution. Talks about litter, toxins, and oil spills and how to prevent it.

4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/6248366.stm

a. Statistics and primary source for “ghost fishing.” Old fishing nets lost at sea are killing animals.

5. http://www.seagrantfish.lsu.edu/resources/factsheets/litter_mess.htm

a. Fact sheet on marine litter. Includes: the problem, why it’s a problem, how long it lasts for, the laws about it, it’s origins, global solutions, and local solutions.

6. http://see-the-sea.org/topics/pollution/noise/noise_pollution.htm

a. The basics about noise pollution. Talks about how and what affects whales and other mammals. Tells individual and local solutions.

7. http://www.marlab.ac.uk/Uploads/Documents/Impacts%20of%20Marine%20Litter.pdf

a. Impacts of marine litter. Types and quantities of litter, behavior of marine litter, and controlling it. Talks about everything it affects like human health, aquaculture, and fisheries, etc.

8. http://www.alternet.org/water/76056/

a. An alarming article about how much trash is in the ocean and how it moves around. Talks about dangers of the trash being there.

9. http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215471/oil_spills.htm

a. Basics on oil spills and how it will affect specific animals. Talks about specific big oil spills like the Exxon Valdez oil spill- how it happened, and how long it took to clean up. Also talks about how they save the affected animals after a spill.

10. http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/gallery_gallery.php?RECORD_KEY(gallery_index)=joinphotogal_id,gallery_id,photo_id&joinphotogal_id(gallery_index)=171&gallery_id(gallery_index)=12&photo_id(gallery_index)=106

a. Pictures and information about the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

11. http://www.epa.gov/beaches/learn/pollution.html

a. Talks about how serious the beach pollution problems in the US are and where they start. Also says a little bit of the effects of the pollution.

Videos:

1. Short Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf5iHqT1Rzc&feature=related

2. Medium Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVwuPSLx2Xc

Long Video: http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Ocean/Our-Synthetic-Sea2004.htm

Science Behind Marine Pollution

Marine pollution is one of the biggest causes of marine animal deaths. Debris like plastic, plastic bags, cigarette butts, fishing nets, and even balloons are all dangerous items that cause the injuries or deaths of many animals like turtles, dolphins, whales, sharks, many types of fish, and even birds. Plastic bags floating around in the ocean are often mistaken for jelly fish or squid and are ingested by animals which block the flow of food to make them feel full, when they later slowly die of starvation. Balloons released into the sky from celebrations like birthday parties also sometimes end up in the ocean. Because of their bright coloring, fish are attracted to these balloons which are then eaten- killing them as well. A large percentage of the deaths are cause by fishing nets. Getting entangled in the nets, animals can choke or starve to death. Another lethal pollutant is glass bottles thrown into the ocean. As many people find out from fishing, sea mammals are attracted to shiny objects. Obviously, when ingested, a glass bottle can potentially cut the throats of anyone who tries to swallow it. There are many other forms of marine pollution like oil spills and noise pollution. Oil spills are when liquid petroleum hydrocarbon is released into the ocean due to mistakes humans make. These often take months or even years to clean up. Besides polluting the water, oil spills greatly affect marine animals and birds. For birds, diving into the water to catch a fish is their way of hunting for food. This is interrupted by oil spills, leaving birds without food- and can also cause injuries. When the oil covers a bird, it makes them heavier, which can go as far as preventing them to fly. Birds also ingest this pollution when they try to clean themselves, causing damage to their kidneys, liver, and digestive system. Along with affecting birds, this can also affect mammals like sea otters and seals. Because of how the oil covers their fur, a fluctuation of their temperature can mess up their homeostasis, which can cause hypothermia. Oil spills affect smaller organisms further down in the bottom of the ocean like seaweed and plankton. These organisms use photosynthesis to obtain energy. When there is an oil spill, it is like another layer covering the sun, keeping them from creating the energy they need to live. Another type of pollution is noise pollution. Noise pollution contaminants are not physical particles, but rather waves that interfere with naturally-occurring waves from whales or dolphins. These can distract, irritate, and confuse the animals who try to communicate with each other. Solutions to this would be less use of boats or industrial tools on land. Less vibrations and sounds waves above the water would also help reduce noise pollution because there would be less to interfere with the natural sounds of the ocean. Marine pollution is dangerous to animals and humans alike, and if it is not stopped the food chain can be obstructed because of extinction of animals.