Beach Pollution: The Plastic Dilemma

The ocean is nowadays undergoing numerous environmental issues that further lead to marine pollution. Marine pollution is a very serious environmental issue that most of the countries of the world encounter. Aquatic littering is considered as one of the major causes of marine environment. The misleading use of the marine environment is extremely impacting the marine life and ecosystems. Moreover, the total amount of toxins and debris discharged by human beings is incredibly increasing in today 's world.

Ocean polluting has big impact on human’s health too. As those chemicals are ingested by the animals, it is not good for humans. Because we are at the end of the food chain, we consume contaminated fish and mammals. We might consume much more toxic chemicals than the sea animals. There are different types of ways that plastic is dangerous for humans.

The first and foremost is the oil spillage in the ocean which leads to ocean acidification. This brings a huge threat towards the environment and the marine wildlife. Oil operation in sea bed often requires drilling fluids such as mud which are used to inject into the wellbore to lubricate the drilling bit. These devastating effects of numerous oil spills on the surface of the ocean could bring a long term environmental effect to the coastal areas as well as to the sea bed. Besides, drilling mud which contains toxic substances like benzene, zinc, arsenic, radioactive materials, and other contaminants are used to lubricate drill bits and maintain the pressure in the drill.

Not only does do offshore drilling rigs pollute the air but they also pollute the oceans and create a deadly environment for marine life and reefs. This shows how one small mistake made by oil drilling companies is extremely dangerous to the environment and could even wipe out populations of marine life which can create dead zones. Majority of pollution comes from storing toxic oils that are dangerous to the oceans. The amount of air pollutants is not that much compared to other contributors of air pollution but they all add up and will slowly destroy our

Materials such as these are not only toxic and harmful, but accumulate in the environment, also these materials are not biodegradable (ibid). Thus, increasing the rates of deadly diseases such as, cancers, physical birth defects, and now other health problems are being observed (ibid). The accumulation of these atrocious materials causes a worrisome in the biodiversity of the environment. There are many more contributions to ocean pollution that many people don 't know

Sixty percent of seabirds have plastic in their gut, and researchers expect that more than ninety percent of seabirds have eaten plastic before (“Seabirds”). Plastic microbeads are also in human digestive systems and are causing a threat to waterways (“Microbeads found” and “Subcommittee acts”). Plastic pollution is injuring marine life such as turtles, birds, and whales. There are huge clusters of plastic in oceans, causing animals to eat the pollution and get caught in it (“Seabirds”). Plastic pollution is a problem and needs prevention, or oceans, marine life, and our lives will be in even more danger than they are now.

It is also ruining the amazing marine biodiversity that South Africa has. Pollution not only comes from industrial sector such as oil companies, but also from littering and sewage. Plastic pollution is one of the types of pollution that effect the marine environment. It is impossible to give an accurate estimation of the amount of plastic that is being polluted into the ocean. However, in 1975 the global fishing fleet alone dumped approximately 135 400 tons of plastic fishing gear and 23 600 tons of synthetic packaging materials

Trash, Trash, Everywhere! Text By: Ashley Atkinson Edited By: Hannah Hunter and Jesse Lewis The life of your plastic water bottle can go way further than just the trash can. Our ocean is so polluted by our actions and carelessness that even us humans are being affected, sea animals, and surrounding animals are all being greatly influenced by the polluted waters. Our ocean is extremely polluted with plastics and other trash that humans have put in there. Specifically, 80% of the pollution that’s in the ocean, is because of us.

Agriculture immensely adds to the nutrient and chemical pollution due to the fertilizers used on crops. When rains or winds come through the fertilizer is carried from the fields into the rivers and streams that then lead into the ocean(Effect of Runoff). Red tide had been a huge issue that is unpreventable and caused by dinoflagellates (Red Tide). Red Tide is a type of algal bloom that takes up oxygen in the water. When the oxygen levels in the ocean are lowered it can kill many plants which is very unfortunate for the manatees considering they are herbivores and with their food supply being depleted they may suffer from starvation.

Interpretation of Data The pollution being exposed in downtown Montego Bay are mainly Water Pollution, Land Pollution and Air pollution. According to the first chart, the residents claim to have the greatest negative effects from Land pollution (49%) with Air pollution following (32%) then Water pollution being the least of their worries (19%). One person commented on the appearance land pollution gives to the town as if it were a squalor which offended her deeply. Another person from the Marine Park of Montego Bay stated that the bottles and sewage leading out into the sea has damaged the coral reefs and mangroves immensely, making our waters less clean than before. A smoker of marijuana admitted that his smoking habit and the habit of others