12 of the Biggest Threats Facing Our Oceans
As we spend our summer days enjoying beach days and fresh seafood, please considerthe biggest threats facing the health and future of this most important of ecosystems.
1. Ignorance
We know less about the oceans than we do about the moon. And yet, the oceans are far more essential to our survival.Less than 0.05 percent of the ocean floor has been mapped to a level of detail useful for detecting items such as airplane wreckage or the spires of undersea volcanic vents, reports Scientific American.
2. Indifference
Maybe it’s because they’re so big. Maybe it’s because they’re so deep. Or maybe it’s because things sink out of sight. Whatever the reason, people generally seem to worry less about the health of the oceans than almost any other ecosystem on Earth. Here are six reasons why you should be more concerned about ocean conservation.
3. Climate Change
The oceans are vast heat sinks that, despite their size, are highly susceptible to climate change. A “mere” 1 degree Celsius increase in ocean temperatures hascaused marine life to die, set off superstorms and hurricanes, and changed weather patterns around the globe. Climate change is among the most serious threats the ocean faces because it will take so long to reverse the impact it is having on the oceans. Even if today we stopped emitting the carbon dioxide, methane and other “greenhouse gases” that cause climate change, it would be decades before the ocean would benefit, because they are so large and in constant flux.
4. Trash and Toxic Runoff
Untreated sewage, garbage, fertilizers, pesticides and industrial chemicals are common on land, and sadly, they eventually find their way into the ocean, as well. Sometimes they’re deliberately dumped. Sometimes, they “run off” because they’re not contained properly when they’re disposed. TheGulf of Mexico suffers daily from the chemicals routinely carried into it by the Mississippi, says Ocean.org, especially the nitrogen and phosphorous doused on agricultural operations. Rivers carry these chemicals steadily to the oceans, creating “dead zones” in many gulfs, bays and estuaries all over the world.
5. Oil and Gas Development
Speaking of dead zones, when an oil spill happens, thousands of square miles of undersea life can be affected for decades.When the Deepwater Horizon oil rig blew up, it was called the”worst environmental disaster the U.S. has faced,” by White House energy adviser Carol Browner.The spill was by far the largest in U.S. history, almost 20 times greater than the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Though disasters of that magnitude don’t occur regularly, smaller oil spills plus the oil that finds its way to the sea from improper disposal on land, still take a serious toll killing marine animals, polluting waters and reducing the productivity of fisheries.
7. Air Pollution
Just as air pollution causes smog in our cities and sends acid rain falling on our forests, it threatens the oceans, too.Ateam of climate scientists and coral ecologists from the United Kingdom, Australia and Panama discovered that pollution from fine particles in the air, like those emitted by coal-burning power plants as well as volcanoes, can shade corals from sunlight, which is needed for the coral to grow. Acid rain falling on coastal areas makes them more acidic, threatening the ability ofsea urchins, corals and certain types of planktons to create the hard outer exoskeletons they need to survive. And if these animals don’t survive, the entire oceanic food chain could be affected.
8. Plastic
From plastic microbeads to plastic bags, the amount of plastic filling up the oceans has reached epidemic proportions. Each year, 8 million tons of plastic are added to our seas,equivalent to one municipal garbage truck pulling up to the beach and dumping its contents every minute, reports Fortune magazine. Areport by the Ocean Conservancy, in partnership with the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment, warns that by 2025, the ocean could contain one ton of plastic for every three tons of finfish.
9. Unsustainable Fishing
Ninety percent of the world’s fisheries are already fully exploited or overfished, while billions of unwanted fish and other animals die needlessly each year when they are trapped as the “by catch” of other fishing operations.
“Unsustainable fishing is the largest threat to ocean life and habitats … not to mention the livelihoods and food security of over a billion people,” says World Wildlife Fund. Greenpeace concurs. “Weve already removed at least two-thirds of the large fish in the ocean, and one in three fish populations have collapsed since 1950. Put simply, there are too many boats chasing too few fish.”
10. Lack of Protection
Though they cover over 70 percent of our planets surface, only a tiny fraction of the oceans has been protected: just 3.4 percent, reports Oceana. Even worse, “the vast majority of the worlds few marine parks and reserves are protected in name only. Without more and better managed Marine Protected Areas, the future of the oceans rich biodiversityand the local economies it supportsremains uncertain.”
11. Tourism and Development, Leading to Habitat Destruction
All over the world, our coastlines have become burgeoning sites for housing, vacationing communities, commercial development, and factories and refineries. Coastal wetlands are filled in, waste gets dumped into the seas, and habitat for fish, birds and other marine life gets destroyed.
12. Shipping
More freight is moved via ocean cargo vessels than any other method; more oil is carried on tankers than through pipelines. Unsurprisingly,oil spills, ship groundings, anchor damage and the dumping of trash, ballast water and oily waste are threateningmarine habitats around the world.
What Can You Do? Startwith these helpful articles from Care2.
5 Human Habits Harmful to Ocean Health
There’s a Better Way to Protect Our Ocean Ecosystems
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
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