Ocean pollution is a serious issue for everyone. It affects both the marine creatures and humans. It can give a huge negative impacts to the human life. Humans heavily depend on the ocean for food, recreational activities and even medicines. To know more about how bad the ocean pollution can be to humans, read these 35 Effects of Ocean Pollution on Human Life.
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- Function of the Phytoplankton in Ocean Ecosystem
- Prevention of Marine Pollution
- Prevention of Ocean Acidification
1. Water Source Contamination
The ocean provides the biggest water source on Earth. Most of the water that you drink comes from the ocean. But ocean pollution will surely contaminate the water. The contamination will make the water undrinkable. Moreover, it means less source of drinking water for humans.
2. Poison in Fish
When waste end up in the ocean, it accumulates the amount of pollution in the water. The marine animals suffer too. Vulnerable fish can get their whole body contaminated by the toxic chemicals. These fish are what you consume. Therefore, humans will eat plenty of fish with poisonous components.
3. Loss of Natural Environment
The ocean is an important natural environment in the world. It houses a great ecosystem filled with many varieties of plants and animals. Humans also need this natural environment as it also works in the bigger system of the earth’s ecosystem.
4. Reduction in Medicine
Most of the medicine that we have today are available from the ocean. The marine plants, sponges and small creatures help in creating all sorts of medicine. When the ocean is harmed then there will be less production for those ocean creatures and we will have less medicine.
5. Halt in Research
The ocean provides a big environment for research. Through the ocean, scientists are able to study the past environment, the climate of the ocean and everything else. However, ocean pollution creates an obstacle in these studies. They halt the research that is useful for humans.
6. Stomach Ache
Polluted water means more cases for stomach ache. Although stomach ache may seem like a small illness, it can turn into a deadly one if it becomes an outbreak. Ocean pollution makes it easier for dangerous bacteria, viruses and parasites to live. The more dirty the water is, the higher the chance for humans to get sick too.
7. Less Oxygen in Air
The ocean has this natural ability to clean the earth’s air. It is able to absorb the poisonous gas in the air such as carbon dioxide. All this time, the ocean water regulates the air that we breathe. However, pollution will make this ability to become less and less effective.
8. Less Beautiful Beaches
Many of us love to spend our vacation to go to the beaches. We love to swim or to simply soak in the sun along the beaches. But this will no longer be possible as the ocean becomes more and more polluted. Beaches will become full of trash and the water becomes toxic. In the end, we may no longer have any beaches to go to.
9. Worse Global Warming
The ocean also plays a role in global warming. Since it is able to regulate the air in the earth, it can also contribute to the whole global warming process. It can also speed it up because of all the pollution. Global warming have devastating effects on human lives such as acid rain and rapid change of weather.
10. More Ocean Storms
There are many ocean currents at work in the ocean. Those are water movements that can determine the formation and the strength of an ocean storm. However, all the poisonous pollutants can make the ocean storms more frequents since the nature of the ocean currents are changed.
11. Less Food Supply
Pollution in the ocean means less food supply for humans. The crabs, lobsters, fish and other things that we eat from the ocean will suffer from the pollution. As a result, we won’t be able to enjoy all those delicacies anymore.
12. Job Loss
Fishermen and the people who works in the fishing industry can lose their jobs. There would be nothing left to fish for since the pollution will kill most of the marine creatures population. More people will experience a job loss due to the lack of fish in the ocean.
13. Losing Homes
Pollution in the ocean can raise the sea level. Each year, there is a Causes of sea level rise in the level of the ocean. As the sea water becomes higher and higher, the coastal area loses more land. Thus, the people who live there will also have to lose their homes and find somewhere else to stay.
14. Less Income
Polluted ocean water can mean less income. Restaurants and other tourism activities rely on the ocean for money. Without a healthy ocean, there would be nothing left to offer to the tourists who would rather spend their money elsewhere.
15. Ruined Tourist Sites
Ocean salinity is a product from polluted ocean water. Salinity is an important aspect of the ocean. Too much of it can kill many ocean creatures. The coral reefs for example are dying due to ocean salinity.
Other Effects from the Pollution (16-35)
Besides all those ones, here are more effects from the ocean pollution on human life:
- Kidney Damage: Caused by toxic ocean water.
- Reproductive Problems: From poison in ocean water.
- Hormonal Problems: From harmful pollutants in ocean.
- Nervous System Damage: From mercury in ocean.
- Diarrhoea: Caused by virus.
- Respiratory Diseases: Caused by dirty air.
- Dirty Ocean Water: Accumulated waste in ocean.
- Worse Storm Surges: Rising sea level from unhealthy ocean.
- Reduce in Salt Production: Unsuitable ocean water.
- Parkinson’s Disease: From chemicals in ocean water.
- Heart Disease: From toxic pollutants in ocean water.
- Losing Land: Rising sea water worsened by pollution.
- Less Marine Creatures: Death by pollution.
- Frequent Change in Climate: From unhealthy ocean.
- Extreme Temperature Change: Ocean loses ability to regulate temperature.
- Less Recreational Activities: Dirty beaches.
- Less Ocean Discoveries: Blockage from pollution.
- Rashes: Bacteria in ocean.
- Alzheimer’s: Mercury in ocean.
- Decrease in Fishing Industry: Less marine creatures.
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All these ocean pollution can become worse if there are no prevention taking place. We can all contribute to reducing the pollution in the ocean from our behaviours and way of life.