Ocean Debris
How pollution affects our oceans
What are the threats to the environment
Plastic enters the ocean through human carelessness, about 20% of the trash comes from ships and platforms that are offshore. The rest is from litter being blown into the sea, pulled in by tides on the beach, or garbage being dumped. The worse part is, these plastics aren't biodegradable, they brake up into small parts that are eaten by fish and other sea mammals. Plastic is killing more than 100,000 sea turtles and birds a year from ingestion and entanglement.
Conservation measures to protect the marine ecosystems
Our tendency as humans to litter is getting us in trouble. We risk losing countless species in the ocean also negatively effecting ourselves. The average person produces half a pound of plastic waste every day. The best approach is to limit plastic use.
Benefits to protecting our oceans
clean water
less plastic in the oceans means cleaner water
Healthy ecosystems
With no pollutants in the water the ecosystems can grow with no problems
Healthy people
With clean water the food that we harvest from the ocean will be much more healthy for you
Sources cited
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/health/case_studies/plastics.html
image 1: http://brandoncase.empowernetwork.com/blog/peanut-the-turtle
image 2: http://www.ewallpapers.eu/view_wallpaper/clean-sea-water-1920-1080-6982.html
image 3: http://www.noaa.gov/features/economic_0708/coralreefs.html