One of the main problems humans are causing to destroy our oceans is chemical contamination. PCB is one of the major contaminants to our seas, and more is waiting to escape from transformers and capacitors across the world. PCB is a general term when referring to oil, gas, or other pollutants. PCB's are not water-soluble and when released into the atmosphere they accumulate into the fat cells of living organisms. Marine mammals are said to have 10 million times more PCB's in their fat than in the water they exist in. That's a shocking number to compete with if you ask the average person. Does that make you wonder how much PCB's are in your fat cells? How much oil do you swallow when you take a sip of water? This is the kind of water our oceanic wonders are forced to live in. As a result many of them are dieing, becoming extinct, or getting very ill. If human kind is going to survive we have to make relative changes in our production technologies. So, in other words the best way to eliminate pollution is to change the way we live, Produce, and exist on planet earth.
Does this mean that we now need to outlaw oil and gasoline to end oils spill destruction? That might be the only answer. Once oil is spilled into the ocean the damage that is caused is irreversible. The oil rig companies use one layered tanks that are unsafe for transporting liquid murder through our exhaustible oceanic environment. Tankers "accidentally" dump oil into the ocean and a countless number of ships going to and from Central and South America dump trash as soon as they get far enough away from port that no one notices. You know the saying "What happens in New Orleans, stays in New Orleans" well at sea no one notices the infractions, no one is there to ticket, fine or revoke these blatant criminals. The public does not see the damage till dead, oil-suffocated carcasses wash ashore. The attitude of oil tankers is similar to that of the entire political world, brushing "accidents" under the rug and hiding evidence, although the evidence in this case is hard to hide.
An estimated 8.8 million tons of oil enter the ocean each year as a result of human activity. The ocean contains 280,000 tons of tar balls. Our oceans that seem an unlimited resource for us to take advantage of, are now showing their limits. These chemicals cannot be filtered out or washed clean from our most valuable natural resource. Ultimately we will destroy our ocean, and without the oxygen created by the ocean, the human race will cease to exist.
Small changes can be made in our habits as individuals and also as a Global Community. Such as: recycling or reusing plastic, paper, glass, and aluminum, proper disposal of engine oils and toxic chemicals, limiting water usage, and reduction of the use of plastic. It is non bio-degradable. Plastic does not break down, it photo-degrades, which means it breaks into millions of tiny pieces over several years, these bits are called plastic polymers. This plastic, in large pieces like bottles, or in microscopic bits like Styrofoam, will kill oceanic prosperity as we know it.
Through utter disregard for our environment all of these materials are ending up in our oceans, which have become a personal liquid grave for anything unwanted. Plastic not only kills our marine animals it also acts as a sponge for DDT's, PCB's, and other oily pollutants. Discarding our lives into the ocean will only kill off our species (and many others) even more quickly. Things like plastic should be used wisely and disposed of properly. There are advantages to it but plastic can become a disadvantage when not used properly. Obviously keeping plastic out of the ocean is extremely important. At the rate of its growth in our oceans it may have already created an island of plastic. Not exactly the vacation retreat you had planned for right? Well the change needed to save our ocean, starts at home.
The problem is that these days we humans do not use anything properly, (excluding the Laptop, and cellular phone.) Humans are making up the rules as we go and ignoring the examples set by pollution damage thus far, for instance, the hole in the ozone layer, which only grows more and more each day. Fisheries send divers out to poison or seas with cyanide and bomb our coral reefs, to provide fish for our fish tanks. Unable to catch life on the rebound, our marine ecosystem could be depleted. To prevent this loss of biodiversity in our oceans we must vote to implement no-catch zones and Marine reserves. Our ocean is a massive, almost unending, body of life. Our beautiful earth is just crumbling before our eyes, while we blatantly ignore the consequences. With such a big prize at stake, isn't it time to take the initiative?
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