How Does Ocean Pollution Affect the World?

One of our main worries for the future is the condition of the ocean. For years, human-caused pollution has been making its way into the oceans, impacting coral reefs and marine life. To put it simply, ocean pollution has an impact on our entire environment. What are the environmental effects of ocean pollution? This article will examine the effects of ocean pollution on the ecosystem and how they affect both marine and human life. Ocean pollution can have a massive impact on every environment it touches. The debris and chemical waste which can damage the coral reefs, the home of many aquatic species. It can also contaminate and degrade the quality of products that came from the ocean, such as oxygen, water, and food supply. Beside that, ocean pollution also affects the world by:

• Risking human health; A considerable portion of the world's population relies on the availability of seafood for consumption, making ocean pollution a direct hazard to human health. Chemicals that can contaminate water supplies and our food chain include oil, mercury, lead, pesticides, and other heavy metals. Metals, plastics, chemicals, petroleum, industrial waste, pharmaceutical compounds, farm and agricultural runoff, sewage, and urban trash are all included as contributing factors to ocean pollution in studies.
• Threatening marine life; Millions of marine species' lives are being threatened by plastic. What we see on the surface or that has washed up on the coast is only a small portion of the whole issue. In the food chain of marine animals, microplastics—tiny particles that have progressively degraded over time—cause health problems and even death. Whales, turtles, dolphins, sharks, fish, and seabirds are all impacted by ocean pollution and frequently damaged by debris and unable to live. Debris such as fishing nets and trash quickly entangled marine animals. Microplastic-eating fish are then harvested for human consumption. Life-threatening plastic waste is devoured by marine animals like turtles and whales. Healthy ecosystems and reefs can be disturbed by marine organisms and microorganisms.
• Affecting tourism; Beach and sea are the main destination for tourism for people around the globe. Sadly, the beauty of those places sometimes are affected by the plastic waste that ends up in there. Fun activities such as scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming, and surfing are also disturbed by the presence of the plastic waste in the ocean.

Ocean pollution has harmful effects on the ecosystem, marine life, and public health, as we can now observe. There has never been a better time to start thinking about how we can protect the ocean; start with easy actions like supporting campaigns, participating in beach clean-ups, watching educational documentaries, rethinking your seafood consumption, and developing a daily habit of saying no to single-use plastic. Let's protect The Big Blue!

References:

Contributor, D. (2021, August 17). How Does Ocean Pollution Affect the Environment? DOWN TO SCUBA. Retrieved September 16, 2022, from https://www.downtoscuba.com/ocean-pollution-affecting-the-environment/

How Ocean Pollution Affects Humans. (n.d.). Planet Aid, Inc. Retrieved September 16, 2022, from https://www.planetaid.org/blog/how-ocean-pollution-affects-humans

Lonne, T. (2022, March 10). How Ocean Pollution Affects Humans [Video + Infographic]. DIVEIN. Retrieved September 16, 2022, from https://www.divein.com/diving/ocean-pollution/