Pollution in the marine environment can be broadly categorized by origin/source, namely land-based, ship-based and atmospheric. Land-based (municipal, agricultural and industrial) waste accounts for 80% of marine pollution (UNEP, 2017). Marine, as well as coastal, pollution is detrimental to the marine and coastal environment, and resultantly has a detrimental effect on ecosystems, and organisms (humans included). It is therefore of extreme importance that legislative measures are taken in order to control and regulate marine and coastal pollution, in terms of laws and regulations. In terms of the South African Constitution (108 of 1996), Section 24 (b) (i) safeguards this, by addressing the right to have the environment protected through legislation …show more content…
Furthermore, international customary law is important in terms of regulation of marine pollution. International organizations and conventions are highly important when considering marine pollution, as these provide consensus in terms of marine pollution control and regulations. In terms of South African legislation, many of these conventions form part of the country’s legislation, generally by becoming acts, such as the Marine Pollution (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act (2 of 1986). International organizations and conventions which play a role in marine pollution regulations, control and principles …show more content…
Relevant national legislation pertaining to marine pollution control in South Africa includes but is not limited to the
It is important to establish preventive measures because once present invasive species are hard to eliminate and also cost a lot of money. An example is law passed by Canada and the United States in 2006 which requires ships to treat and flush its ballast water before discharge, this aid in the control of zebra mussel. Electric barriers are also being used in Romeoville, Illinoi to control Asian carp and restrict them from swimming to Lake Michigan. In Ontario the possession and sale of several invasive fish is prohibited. Educating people about the impacts of these invasive species can also lead to enlightenment and boost control.
Moncrief identified the environmental crisis as having three major areas of improvement - an absence of personal moral direction concerning our treatment of our natural resources, inability to adjust to stress, and a faith in technology. The area of improvement that pertains the most to the Salton Sea crisis is moral disparity. As stated within the article, corporate executives are often praised for increasing profits by ignoring pollution abatement laws. As discussed by Bullard, the current law requires a person to sue a polluter to invasion of human rights which can be difficult for those who cannot economically afford the lawyers needed to sue these large companies. For this reason, pollution and other environmental issues disproportionately impact oppressed groups.
The Acts helped reduce the amount of PCBs, raw sewage, and mercury in the lake. The creation of both Acts proves that pollution in the
Water Pollution: Harming the Human Health The release of chemicals affects water pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, affecting the health of the human population. There are several chemicals which are more common in the Chesapeake Bay than others. A growing concern for the Bay is the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus there is since it continues to grow each year.
Marine organisms are animals, plants, and other living things that live in the ocean. A Marine biologist is a scientist who studies marine organisms and studies the bodies, behavior, and the history of marine organisms. They also study how marine organisms interact with each other and their environment. I have chosen to research about Marine biology because I would like to learn about sea life, the ocean, and its surrounding environment. To start off, a Marine biologist might study coral, crabs, fish, microscopic marine organisms, sea stars, seaweed, squid, or whales.
About 71 percent of our planet Earth is covered by water, and the majority comes from the oceans (about 96.5 percent of all Earth’s water). It remains as the most expansive, diverse, and mysterious places on planet Earth. But it is being threatened by the pollution by people and nature itself. By polluting the habitat of marine organism will indirectly affect the ecosystem of the marine life. Marine life is dying and as the result the oceanic ecosystem is threatened.
“ Natural gas industry has been identified as a major source of water pollution “ ( source 1 ). This quote from source 1 explains how out of all the ways of polluting the oceans, oil is always one of the worst. “ 8 million metric tons of plastic trash enters the sea from land every year “ ( source 4 ). This quote from source number 4 explains how every year tons and tons of plastic from land, gets into the oceans and continues to pollute. Garbage is polluting the oceans so much that the water is getting so bad, people are getting ill from drinking
According to world wildlife organisation, overfishing occurs when more fish are caught than the population can replace through natural reproduction. Gathering as many fish as possible may seem like a profitable practice, but overfishing has serious consequences. The results may not only affect the balance of life in the oceans, but also the social and economic well-being of the coastal communities who depend on fish for their way of life. According to the research world wildlife organisation, 1.6% of the world’s oceans have been declared as marine protected areas (MPAS), and 90% of existing MPAS are open to fishing.
While researching about how pollution affects sea turtles, we faced some issues on finding different types of pollution. As most people know, the plastic waste that is being dumped into the oceans and onto the beaches is becoming a main food source for sea turtles. When sea turtles see this trash, they consume the plastic causing death or severe sickness which has caused this species to become endangered. They also get tangled with the plastic in the ocean restricting them from normal movement and function. During our research, we found that there are more types of pollution affecting sea turtles than just plastic waste in the ocean.
Plastic pollution in the ocean Introduction Rachel L. Carson said in her book “Water, soil, and the earth´s green mantle of plants make up the world that supports the animal life of the earth” (63). In other words, our planet was always a place which was dominated by nature and it had essential relations between plants and other plants and between plants and other animals (Carson, 1962). Since the modern human started to conquer the world a lot of things have changed and technology has taken over. My essay is about a quite new but very big problem which affects our wonderful planet; it is about plastic in the ocean.
However, it still cannot avoid some issues such as the piracy and terrorist issues. Besides that, the increasing of the ships and other maritime related activity will bring the issue of the environmental pollution issue. It will bring the threats of maritime pollution because of the accidental spills, illegal dumping of waste, and so on. As well as, that will influence the health of the human and organism inside the sea. Therefore, to address maritime security concern requires international efforts.
Pollution is the introduction or release of substances or energy that decrease the quality of the marine environment. Many pollutants are toxic of harmful to marine life (Castro and Huber, 2010). South Africa is known around the world for being one of the most diverse marine environment in the world, with 83% of the known fish families residing in South Africa (Van der Elst, 2007). There are also many marine species that are endemic to South Africa, which means they are only found in South Africa. Almost 30% of the South African population lives on the coastline (Taljaard et al. 2006), which has led to the urbanization of the coastlines and which then led to the industrialization of these areas.
Big Data in Ocean Pollution Analysis Abstract Ocean pollution analysis is entering into big data era with the exponential growth of information technology and increase in the possible sources of ocean water contaminant as well as advancement in ocean observation techniques. The data collected by the various ocean observation and water analysis platforms answer a range of important research question which are crucial in reducing ocean pollution. Given the huge and diverse types of data, sustained measurement and the potential use of the collected data, ocean pollution can be analyze by big data theory. Marine pollution occurs when chemicals, particles, residual agricultural wastes, residential waste and invasive organisms find their way into ocean either through land run off or through point source into the water sources.
Most of the waste produced on land is either intentionally or unconsciously discharged into the oceans. Marine pollution and aquatic debris can utterly destroy the oceans causing extinction of the marine creatures. Innovative techniques should be implemented in the law to prevent the marine environment from any further damage. In order to improve the marine environment, the government and the Environment Public Authority of Kuwait should take immediate actions that can influence the society and help in minimizing aquatic debris and pollution. Aquatic littering and marine pollution can be caused by a number of different sources.
Water pollution is happening everywhere but this investigation is focused on water pollution in Ga-kgapane and how the increase in population has led to an increase in this pollution. One of the main causes for water pollution in this town is: • The disposal of waste products in the streams • The washing of clothes and other things in these streams • Human activities such as swimming and playing in these streams Water pollution has become a growing problem in this town and has led to a lot of other issues that should be