A professional marine biologist, John Edmondson, has been working in the Great Barrier reef for the past 18 months. Due to the rising temperature of the ocean, the Great Barrier Reef’s main challenge to stay alive is the warmth of the water today. This problem has caused the single greatest loss of coral ever recorded among all reefs. (Schmitz, 2017). During Edmondson’s 18 month time period, he has seen two-thirds of the coral, along the 400-mile northern stretch of the Great Barrier Reef, turn into un-natural coloring and eventually almost all dead. Healthy coral is never a neon color. The color of a healthy coral reef is always an earthy tone. The bright colors found in Australia like bright red, blue yellow colors are the first sign that the reef is dying.
Due to the drastic increase in greenhouse gas emissions, our atmosphere has been getting significantly warmer. Our ocean has been absorbing this extra heat that is in our atmosphere which is creating the ocean to get hotter. Marine life is very similar to human lives. When a human body is exposed to a sudden change in temperature or temperature swings, a few degrees can lead to illnesses and potentially death. The coral reef reacts the same. The average ocean temperature has risen by more than 1 degree Fahrenheit. (Schmitz, 2017).
Not only are the coral reefs that are suffering but it’s all the marine life. Marine life refers to all the plants, animals, and other organisms that live in the ocean. The Oceans provide about 99 percent of the living space on the planet. Through my personal experience scuba diving, I have personally seen the changes in coral and fish habitats depending where in the world I was diving. Comparing the water in Dubai and the water in the Maldives are polar opposites. Dubai is situated on the Persian Gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates while the Maldives is located south-west of Sri Lanka and India in the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean is known as the warmest ocean in the world. Its rate of warming is the fastest amongst all tropical oceans, this is due to the increase in greenhouse gasses and climate change. The Indian Ocean’s warmth makes it not conducive to marine life compared to the other world oceans. However, when in the Maldives, marine life was present due to the purity and cleanliness of the water. The coral was an earthy color and the locations visited haven't ever been touched or manipulated by human activity. This is a complete contrast to what is in Dubai. The beaches of Dubai have become so clogged with raw sewage, toilet paper, and chemical waste that they have become dangerous to public health. My experience was very similar to the Telegraph article. The water was gloomy and oily. No marine life was present during the dive. The water in the Persian Gulf is perfectly suitable for living organisms to survive, however, due to human implications, the water is not even suitable for people to withstand. This raises a red flag for the future of Dubai’s sustainability. There are various ways in polluting the ocean, however, the main source is from the land runoff into the sea.
Eighty percent of pollution to the marine environment comes from the land. The biggest source comes from Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution. Nonpoint source pollution is unlike pollution from industrial and sewage treatment plants, it comes from many diffuse sources. NPS pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground carrying debris to our sea (National Ocean Service, 2008). Other factors such as construction sites can runoff into waterways which then harm fish and wildlife habitats. An example of runoff harming marine life is that more than one-third of the shellfish-growing waters of the United States are adversely affected by coastal pollution.
Today, plastic is a necessity for our everyday life. Even though for the last couple of years, we have been improving in reducing the amount of plastic used, it is still a major worldwide resource. At the moment, we are producing nearly 300 million tons of plastic every year, half of which is for single use only. Out of the 300 million tons of plastic produced, more than 8 million tons of plastic are dumped into our oceans every year.
Debri, such as plastic, can absorb toxic chemicals from ocean pollution. This absorption contaminates the bottle which then poisons whatever eats it. In fact, plastic pollution is on par with the number one source of pollution in the ocean next to oil spills. The reason oil spill is equally as bad as all the plastic in the ocean is that when oil spills occur, such as Deepwater Horizon, it causes major damage. However, oil spills are much rarer, therefore, can not be considered to be the first main source of pollution because the amount of plastic on earth is unreachable. Not only is plastic mass-produced, Plastic does not degrade; instead, it breaks down into progressively smaller pieces, but never disappears. Different kinds of plastic can degrade at different rates, but the average time for a plastic bottle to completely degrade is at least 450 years. They then attract more debris. It poses a significant health threat to the various sea creatures, and to the entire marine ecosystem.
Plastic has become an addiction. The second form of reducing acid in the ocean is by reducing plastic addiction. Plastic being extremely mass-produced, it is very difficult to cut all plastic away from someone's life. Therefore, the easiest and most efficient way to reduce plastic addiction is by say no when offered plastic products such as bags and straws. The less waste created, the less waste in our oceans.
John Muir, a world-renowned environmentalist, once said, “In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” This quote really highlights the importance of taking care of Mother Earth. We only have one earth, therefore, taking correct care of it must be the population's priority. Because our society is developing at a rate so fast that it has never been seen before, today, there are many external factors that harm the environment. Therefore, we have to act now to try to reverse as much damage as possible before it is too late.
I love the John Muir quote. Going into nature has always been a source of relief in my life. It has recently become a place of bewilderment. The natural world has existed for millions of years without humans and after only a couple thousand years our species has destroyed much of it.
Going into nature unifies us with it. We understand how fragile it is and desire to preserve it not only for our own sake but for its own sake.
Hopefully, we can find a way to make up for all the harm that we have caused. Practicing sustainable habits is a fine place to start. Great piece!
The situation of the Great Barrier reef is suffering from such a tragedy due to the pollution and industrial evolution. Due to the rising temperature of the ocean, the Great Barrier Reef’s main challenge to stay alive is the warmth of the water today. As plastics are being mass produced these oceans are dying and it is terrifying to watch. Your article was so informative and interesting to read! I never realized how so many factors can contribute to the death of our oceans. If people would just do their part and try to reduce their use of plastic, they could be doing so much for the oceans to help them stay healthy and alive. We definitely need to keep…