Aman Sharma
Humans: The Dirty Species
Humans leave behind a big mess: the industrial world we live in today results
in a polluted environment, a large carbon footprint, and damage to the planet. For
example, African waters are experiencing a controversial problem. The waters
where whales bearing young live are clashing with humans drilling for oil. Whales
share these waters with offshore oilrigs, shipping routes, and harmful toxicants. The
overlap of whales with industrial development is threatening the whales and
putting them in harm. A study was conducted using satellite-monitored radio
tagging of large whales that allowed the science and conservation communities to
discover seasonal migration routes that can reduce potential impacts of human
activities on whales. Gaining a better understanding of the movement of whales and
the overlap with human activities helps to assess the risks to the population and
effectively implement conservation strategies.
Whale immersed in oil after oil spill in ocean
The ocean is a source of food for many peoples. This is not the problem. The
problem is that the increased technology in fishing equipment, larger ships and new
tracking equipment result in a diminished fish stock that is over exploited. Fishing
techniques like dredging cause damage to the marine habitats such as the whales in
Africa.
The oceans are serving as an international garbage disposal: the water serves
for a place to discard sewage, industrial run off and chemicals. The human
consequence on the ocean is bioaccumulation, the process where levels of toxic
chemicals in organisms increase as they eat each other at each successive trophic
level in the food web. Humans eat fish that eat other fish. All the marine pollution
created by humans can seriously damage marine habitats and life at sea.
Another problem in the sea is carbon. The significant carbon footprint results
in ocean acidification. Evidence suggests that human activities caused the amount of
carbon dioxide in our atmosphere to rise dramatically. This creates a problem for
oceans, because oceans absorb up to 1/3 of all carbon dioxide emissions in our
atmosphere. The CO2 absorption causes the pH to decrease, creating a more acidic
environment for marine populations.
A cascade of unfortunate events results from marine pollution. Another
unwanted result is eutrophication, which is caused by the release of excess
nutrients into coastal areas via streams and rivers. Extra nutrients in the sea lead to
an abundant amount of phytoplankton growth. When they die, there is a rapid
increase in decomposition of the dead organisms by oxygen using bacteria, so
oxygen levels are depleted, and death via oxygen starvation occurs abundantly in
organisms such as fish.
Overall, the issue of human impact on the environment is problematic and
needs to be addressed particularly in the oceans regarding marine life. We cannot
afford to spill our sewage, leave a carbon footprint, or create an environment that
kills off marine animals.
http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Life-in-the-Sea/Science-Ideas-andConcepts/Human-impacts-on-marine-environments
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140205143804.htm
http://seawayblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/exxon-valdez-20-years-afterecological.html