How Ocean Pollution Affects Humans
With the oceans covering over 72% of the world’s surface and providing 70% of the oxygen we breathe and 97% of our water supply, without the oceans mankind would not exist today. The ocean is the most beautiful, diverse and mysterious environment on the planet however; everyday our oceans are under attack from pollution caused by natural causes and mankind.
The most common cause of pollution that is affecting our oceans is plastic. Did you know that over 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into our oceans every year? It is shocking to think that this plastic takes 400 years to break down into smaller fragments. These smaller fragments often get mistaken for food by marine life and by adding more and more of these plastic into our oceans it will lead devastating consequences.
Another form of pollution entering our oceans is toxic chemicals, these are either deliberately dumped into the ocean, or run into the ocean via surface run-off which is where rain or large amounts of water from flooding run over the land, washing toxic chemicals such as fertilizers, oil, petrochemicals, pesticides and animal waste, straight into our rivers and storm drains, which eventually lead to the ocean. The small broken down plastics can easily absorb these toxins, which are mistaken for food by marine life and can cause damage to their livers, kidneys, nervous systems and even their reproductive organs, which can affect their population numbers.
There is so much to learn about the oceans and if you would like to learn more about ocean pollution and how it affects marine life, habitats and mankind then take a look at the fascinating infographic below, created by the team at www.divein.com
How ocean pollution affects humans – Graphic by the team at DIVE.in
