Marine Madness

When people dump trash in the sea, where does it go? What happens to it? People dump trash in the sea and it goes into marine animal bodies, making them struggle and die. We know what causes it, but what are the effects? 150 million metric tons of plastic are in the ocean, and 8 million more tons are added every year.

People think that pollution is not okay, but it’s more than not okay, it's deadly! Marine organisms entangled in pollution can suffer from suffocation and starvation which lead to their death. And improperly disposed of chemicals are polluting marine life and killing sea mammals, corals, and fish. At the same time, sea birds are affected because they eat contaminated fish. The long-term effects of pollution in the sea are reproductive system failure, behavioral changes, cancer, and death. And all that can lead to severe and drastic changes to our whole ecosystems.

But there are always more, maybe medium-sized effects, that can lead to big effects. These land-based sources of pollution threaten coral reef health. Excess nutrients result in poor water quality, leading to decreased oxygen and fewer nutrients in the water. This can lead to enhanced algal growth on reefs, crowding out corals and significantly degrading the ecosystem. Coral reefs are starting to die out, they are vanishing, which means life in the sea is vanishing too. Plastic kills fish, birds, marine mammals, and sea turtles. This destroys habitats and even affects animals' mating rituals, which can have devastating consequences and can wipe out entire species. It’s just sad, knowing that pollution can be deadly, but medium effects have a great impact on this world.

To make it even worse, small effects are changing the world bit by bit! The population on coral reefs is slowly decreasing, and it has been known to be a plant, but it is a cherished item in marine life. Bad changes to the marine environment are caused by light availability, oxygen levels, water movement, salinity, and density. Worldwide, hundreds of marine species have been negatively impacted by marine debris, which can harm or kill an animal when it is ingested or they become entangled and can threaten the habitats they depend on. Marine debris can also interfere with navigation safety and potentially pose a threat to human health. Sometimes and most times, the smallest of changes can turn into deadly changes later, so people have got to make a change and make the future a future with many animals and the world being a great place to stay!

We can make a change in life in the sea, you just have to believe it. There are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic waste estimated to be in our oceans. So there’s a lot of work to do. Now we know that when people dump trash in the sea, it harms animals and threatens to destroy their environment, now that you know the effects, what’s your idea in changing the sea life for marines? If anyone can do it, so can you!