When searching for a topic to discuss I was lost, but while looking through National Geographic I resulted back to my affinity for animals and decided to discuss the issue of oil spills and pollution in the ocean. Oil spills affect not only life under the water, but also the life of birds and mammals on top of the water. The oil gets caked into the fur and feathers of ducks, otters, seals, and birds. National Geographic says: "Birds' habitats are destroyed and their bodies are covered with oil, which historically has ended in an extremely high mortality rate in the affected bird populations. "
Affects: Oil affects how a species breathes, sees, if it can fly or not, how it hunts for food, it can also be very detrimental to their health. Additionally, the oil can block essential sunlight for coral reefs and creatures in the ocean. Oil spills force "sea animals to move away from contaminated waters. Contamination can be removed through natural and man made processes. Animals like clams and oysters work as filters and clears the impurities." Oil spills can be next to impossible to clean up so the only thing we can do now is help those animals and areas that are already affected and then work to prevent more oil spills in the future.
Pollution is the introduction of harmful contaminants that are outside the norm for a given ecosystem. Common man-made pollutants that reach the ocean include pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, detergents, oil, sewage, plastics, and other solids. Many of these pollutants collect at the ocean's depths, where they are consumed by small marine organisms and introduced into the global food chain. Scientists are even discovering that pharmaceuticals ingested by humans but not fully processed by our bodies are eventually ending up in the fish we eat.
Many ocean pollutants are released into the environment far upstream from coastlines. Nitrogen-rich fertilizers applied by farmers inland, for example, end up in local streams, rivers, and groundwater and are eventually deposited in estuaries, bays, and deltas. These excess nutrients can spawn massive blooms of algae that rob the water of oxygen, leaving areas where little or no marine life can exist. Scientists have counted some 400 such dead zones around the world.
Solid waste like bags, foam, and other items dumped into the oceans from land or by ships at sea are frequently consumed, with often fatal effects, by marine mammals, fish, and birds that mistake it for food.
If we can't learn to clean up our messes and protect the environment then animals will be affected by our actions. We can still help! We can stop pollution in the oceans if we only try and get the government to pay better attention to this issue. We can help oil spills by changing oil rates, getting out there and helping clean the animals with oil spills, and encourage safer transportations oil that reduce the risk of spills. Ship Smart System says: " With the increasing demand for safety at sea and protection of the environment, it is of great interest to be able to predict ruptures in ship hulls as early as possible to prevent oil spills. Damage to ship hulls, especially in ships that are used to transport crude oil, may harm the marine population in the area of the oil spill. In this study, an innovative technique was developed to design a smart ship that had the ability to both detect the existence, and determine the location, of a crack that might occur in its body. The designed system is an innovative solution to the problem of fissures and can be applied to all ships, especially those that are used to transport oil. It can also be applied to pipe lines. The designed system is simple and based on the resistance theory technique. It can be inserted into the structure of a ship in order to detect and specify the location of a fissure." Another way to help out oil spills is to be less dependent on them. If we find another source of energy to replace oil, the need for transport of large amounts of oil will decrease and therefore so will the amount of animals being affected by spills. There is always something that we can do to help!!
"Bird Baths: Cleaning Up Wildlife After Oil Spills." n. pag. Web. 23 Jan 2011. <http://www.nationalgeographic.com/expeditions/lessons/14/g35/dawnducks.html>.
"Marine Pollution: Centuries of Abuse n. pag. Web. 23 Jan 2011. <http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-marine-pollution/>.
Smart Ship System: Protection of the Marine Environment. Environmental Engineering Science Mar2009, Vol. 26 Issue 3, p501-508
Walsh, Don. Troubled Waters: Oil Spills and the Big Picture. U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings Jul2010, Vol. 136 Issue 7, p88-89
