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Paradise Lost

Have you ever wondered about what life on Earth would be like if there were no fish to eat and little water for people to consume, let alone grow crops with? Does not it sound somewhat like you were living on the moon instead? It is a sad and desolate picture to think about. However, if populations keep growing, industry keeps expanding, lack of care for our environment, and lack of sufficient methods to help the environment, continue at the rate they are currently at, someday our planet just might be that same desolate picture. Our Earth is a paradise compared to the other planets in the solar system. We have rich land and a great deal of resources both natural and man-made. An abundant supply of water, that is constantly replenished through the water cycle, and fish and animals for us to eat. What more could we ask for? Yet every year, every century and decade, our resources and things we hold dear but do not often think about, become increasingly depleted and will eventually run out. Is this what we want? Do we really want to lose this wonderful paradise of ours to our own greediness? That is highly unlikely.

In order to help our marine environment and the environment as a whole, one must learn of the things that cause the harm, how they cause it, what effects it has, and how it can be fixed. There is a great deal of literature out there that points to varying reasons and causes as to this degradation of the marine ecosystem. Some of them agree, others of course disagree, and some of the pieces that can be found only present statistics and facts. So who and what piece of literature do we believe? In a sense we believe all of them, but only to a certain extent. First the sources the author used must be reliable and not fabricated. Secondly, the author should be someone that is known and not just your every day Joe Bob that does not know the in depth aspects of the topic. The continuation of this paper includes reputable sources that provide good information on the topic of marine pollution as well as solutions, causes, and effects of it.

When someone asks you what causes marine pollution, what instantly comes to your mind? Oil spills, run-off of pesticides, and toxic dumping are the most common causes of oceanic pollution that come to mind as well as occur. Yet, that is not the whole story, but only one piece of the puzzle. According to the article �Marine Blues� written by Sophie Boukhari and published by the UNESCO Courier, sixty percent of marine pollution is land based, twenty-five percent is from ship owners, oil, and other hydrocarbons, while the remaining fifteen percent is generated by offshore oil-platforms. Boukhari goes on to include other causes such as run-off, toxic dumping, and our general thought of the ocean as a trash can, as causes to our problem.

In addition to Boukhari�s causes, Carrasco, an author for �Environment Bulletin� claims that high population and lack of money as well as qualified officials are yet more clues that show what has made this occur. Panamanian rivers have become so polluted that good majorities of the them have become sewers that collect large volumes of waste. Fecal bacteria in these waters that eventually find their way to the ocean, is more than two-hundred thousand per mL of water (Carrasco. Par. 7-8).

So far only common and most often thought of causes have been presented. Yet, listen to this, there are two more that you may never have even considered as harmful to marine ecosystems. Inappropriate fishing technology and trawling, are two of the major causes of disturbance to the aquatic ecosystem around Kenya, according to an article published in the Africa News Service. What makes fishing technology and trawling dangerous to marine waters? The fact that nets and propellers dragging along the bottom leave scars in the ground is one reason. Another is that when the propellers and such of boats, as well as anchors, get into the coral reefs surrounding the coast, they tear and damage the coral that live there. This first kills the coral itself, then proceeds to make many aquatic animals homeless and much more vulnerable to predation. With this in mind, one can see how such things can and do cause upset to the ecological activity and system, which live in these areas.

In the Bay of Bengal near Bangladesh, yet more pollution and causes of it can be drug up. The Xinhua News Agency says that illegal over-fishing, the ignorance of fishermen, as well as industrial toxic waste dumping have been an important factor in causing harm to the water and the organisms that inhabit it. There is an estimated one point five million people in Bangladesh that depend heavily on fishing in the bay (Xinhua New Agency. Par. 5). With the heavy degradation of the marine environment in the Bay of Bengal, fewer and fewer fish can be caught to provide for the people. In time, there will not be enough fish for all to have enough to eat.

There are ever so many causes that lead to the destruction and deterioration of the marine environment. Man causes all of them, sad to say. With the vast majority of pollutants and polutable situations available in the twenty-first century, it could be assumed that all of these causes go to individual effects and solutions. In one sense that is true, however, when you take a look at the big picture, they all lead to one problem. The degradation and destruction of our marine environments and ecosystems.