We all know by now that most ocean pollution comes from the land. Here are some main reasons why eliminating ocean pollution just might save the world.

With unregulated trash dumping and most trash in the ocean coming from land based sources, it’s safe to say that by reducing our amount of ocean pollution, we might be able to save the world. Here is why.

Marine Life 

The fact that so much trash gets into the ocean has a huge impact on marine life. Because of all the plastic dumped into major waterways, many marine animals eat the trash in hopes that it is a yummy meal. Because they cannot digest the plastic in their stomachs, many of these marine animals end up washed up on the ocean shore with stomachs full of plastic. Without marine life, our whole ecosystem would suffer since over 3 billion people in the whole world rely on fish as their primary source of protein intake.

Oxygen 

Over the last fifty years, the areas in the ocean that are completely devoid of oxygen, have quadrupled. These areas known as “dead zones” are a huge threat to marine life and human life. These dead zones or hypoxia are created mostly through human activities like nutrient pollution. Without any oxygen in these areas, plants die and any mobile animals will leave in search of oxygen elsewhere.

Human Disease and Toxins

With most of marine animals eating plastic opposed to real food, studies are finding that we are consuming plastic as well. Did you know? “Plastic pellets were encountered in the stomachs of 22% of marine fish” in a recent study. Since fish is such a big part of our diet, not just in the United States but in the whole rest of the world, we are all at a huge risk of consuming this same plastic that they ingest. Toxins from sewage can also cause human disease to spread because of major bacteria.

Aesthetics/Enjoyment

Lastly, by reducing ocean pollution, our beaches and rivers will be all around enjoyable. No one wants to take their children or meet their friends at the beach only to find it polluted or closed due to extreme pollution conditions. We should all be able to take care of our oceans and enjoy them at the same time.

Scientists hypothesize that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050 if we do not change our plastic habits and plastic pollution.