Ocean Pollution

Think about it….• How could ocean pollution

affect your life?

• Think of ways you contribute to ocean pollution in your daily life.

Review

• Non-Point Source Pollution – – comes from many sources

• Point-Source Pollution – – one specific source

Non-Point source pollution

• Most ocean pollution is non-point source

• Human activities on land pollute streams and rivers which flow to oceans

• Stormwater runoff and agricultural runoff are the most common sources. They increase nutrients too much and cause algal blooms. Dissolved oxygen levels drop and cause fish to die = EUTRIFICATION!

• Difficult to control and clean

Plastics- the beginning

• Cheap and durable

• Alternative to glass and animal products such as ivory

• Could be used to replicate a variety of materials

Plastics- the problem

• Most types created from the fossil fuel, petroleum, a non-renewable resource

• Used in a lot of packaging- a large part of the waste in our landfills

• Takes a long time to break down- we don’t know how long!

Plastics- the problem

• A lot of plastic never makes it to a landfill

• Ends up in habitats of many animals

• Pollutes the ocean

Albatrosses on Midway atoll. Photo Source: dailylife

  Haitian Coast. Photo Source: unknown http://www.wavesofchange.org/articles/view/204530/?topic=17098

Ways to reduce plastic waste…

• Reduce- use less plastic by using reusable bags, containers, bottles.

• Reuse- plastic bags from the grocery store can be used multiple times

• Recycle- plastic is recyclable! And please don’t litter…

• Re-buy- buy goods made from recycled materials whenever possible!

Recyclability of Common Materials…

• Aluminum cans: infinitely, and aluminum is a valuable resource!

• Paper: 5-7 times to make new paper, after that must be mixed with something else or used to create something else.

• Cardboard: many times• Glass: infinitely, doesn’t lose quality, and cheaper to

recycle than make new glass• Plastics: once to make same item, then must be

created into something else such as fabrics, furniture, and carpet

Trash Patches• Pacific – World’s worst example of pollution

• Twice the size of Texas

• Floating soup of plastic bags • and other goods which has • collected over many years • because the clockwise, circular • current and lack of wind drives • floating debris into the center • of the gyre.

click on picture to see video

So what?

• A turtle found dead in Hawaii had over a thousand pieces of plastic in its stomach and intestines.

• It has is estimated that over a million sea-birds and one hundred thousand marine mammals and sea turtles are killed each year by ingestion of plastics or entanglement.

• Animals can become entangled in discarded netting and line.

CAUTION

Not for those with weak stomachs!

There is more than one gyre…

Point-source pollution

• Clean-up is still difficult but it’s easier than cleaning up non-point source pollution– Trash dumping– Sludge dumping– Oil spills

Trash Dumping

• 1980’s scientists became alarmed at the kinds of trash in our oceans (bandages, vials of blood – contained AIDS, syringes)

• Found that hospitals dumped 3 million tons of medical waste/year = 6,000,000,000 pounds of trash

• Stricter laws created and now it is buried in landfills

• Some trash dumping still occurring in deep ocean by some countries

• EFFECTS: trash (especially plastic) harmful to animals b/c they mistake it for food

Sludge Dumping

• Sludge from raw sewage dumped into oceans

• Dumped offshore with hopes of it sinking to bottom, BUT due to currents, often it is moved closer to shore where it pollutes beaches and kills animals/plants

• Banned in most places but some countries still dump

Oil Spills

• Oil is in high demand all over the world• Transported in huge tankers across oceans• Oil spills occur when oil is not handled properly

• EFFECTS: – Countless animals and plants die.– Even after clean up, environment will suffer for

decades

Only 5% of oil pollution is from oil spills

Most of oil that pollutes oceans is non-point source from cities and towns

BUT…

Saving our Ocean Resources• Citizens of countries have acted by petitioning their

government for stricter laws and starting events like “beach clean-ups”

• United States – 1972 – “Clean Water Act” put EPA in charge of issuing permits for ocean dumping

• United States – 1972 – “US Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act” – prohibit dumping of any material that would affect human health or welfare, the marine environment or ecosystems, or businesses that depend on the ocean.

• 1989 – Several nations joined together to pass a treaty that prohibits dumping of certain metals, plastics, oil and radioactive waste

• Dumping and oil spills still occur• Enforcing laws is difficult b/c oceans take up 71 % of the

Earth, hard to monitor

Cleaning it upImagine that you are in charge of the ocean plastics clean up design a way to clean up the plastics with minimal harm to the ocean biosystem.

Now compare and contrast your solution with

click on picture to see video

Quick Quiz

1. List three types of ocean pollution.

2. Raw sewage dumping is which type of ocean pollution?

3. What would be an example of non-point source pollution? Point-source pollution?

4. How can trash dumping and sludge dumping affect food webs/chains in the ocean?