Industrial Ocean Pollution
The story of how humans have degraded more than 70% of the Earth's surface. Inspired by the documentary Mission Blue.
Photo by Ursula Krapf on Unsplash
Introduction
The 2014 documentary, Mission Blue, examines the life of scientist and oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, and the anthropogenic stress society is placing upon the oceans. Through this film and further research, a deeper understanding of the importance of the ocean and all of the organisms that live within it, the damage industries and a growing population are placing upon them, and the possible solutions to this problem can be gained.
Dr. Sylvia Earle
The Importance of Oceans
An ocean is defined as a continuous body of saltwater. Oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth's surface and are divided into 5 major basins: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern oceans. Oceans play an enormous role in the stability and health of the planet. As oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle explains, everyone is connected to and dependent upon the ocean. Oceans help to regulate the Earth's temperature through absorbing carbon from our atmosphere and heat from the sun. Oceans also provide more than 50% of the world’s oxygen that sustains life on Earth. The ocean is an important habitat to many marine organisms and crucial for the biodiversity of our planet. There are also many industries that depend on the wellbeing of the ocean that provide economic and employment opportunities globally.
TED Talk by Sylvia Earle: My wish: Protect our oceans
"In a way we're all sea creatures ... No ocean no life, no ocean no us." -Dr. Sylvia Earle, Mission Blue
Photo by Valeri Terziyski on Unsplash
Industrial Ocean Degradation
Anthropogenic ocean damage has been happening for decades. It was a common belief that the ocean was so vast and resilient anything could be done to it or put in it without causing harm. In modern day, the flaw of past beliefs are exposed, demonstrated by the tangible evidence of our presence everywhere in the ocean. Only 13% of the ocean remains untouched by humanity. In recent decades, an increase in global population and consumption has driven the demand for more goods and products. This increase has caused unsustainable growth and practices in industries that rely on the ocean, such as fishing, land development, and oil and gas. These industries have an immense impact on the ocean and its well being and, therefore, also have an impact on aquatic systems, environmental health of our planet, and the wellbeing of societies globally.
Overfishing
Overfishing began as early as the 1800's, when the whale population depleted for blubber in lamps. During the late 1900's, the world saw the decimation of many fish stocks due to overfishing such as the Canadian Atlantic cod, Bluefin tuna, and Chilean sea bass. Currently 30% of commercially fished waters are over fished and 60% of the world's bodies of water are fully fished. It is predicted that if fishing rates continue at this rate all of the world's fisheries will be collapsed by 2048.
Sources to this problem include: unsustainable fishing rates due to increased consumption and illegal and unreported fishing, developments in technology that has allowed for boats to fish for longer while being more efficient, making it easier to catch and deplete fish stocks, and bycatch, where by large nets such as bottom trawls skim the ocean floor damaging important habitats.
Land Development
The increase in global population has required an increase in the housing and agricultural industries. This increase has impacted many terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and habitats.
Construction and development of the coastline and an increase in tourism have altered many habitats beyond repair.
The agricultural industry has an immense impact on the ocean through chemical runoff from fertilization causing the pollution of lakes and rivers, and in turn oceans. This is very evident in areas such Lake Erie (See map and satellite imagery on the right) or in the Gulf of Mexico where the run off of excess chemicals create algae blooms to grow and suffocate the entire ecosystem in a process known as eutrophication.
Oil Industry
In 1947, first offshore oil drilling site was established. This industry has seen a massive increase in demand which lead to there being over 33,000 offshore drilling sites globally in 2014.
When building these offshore oil rigs, the environment and marine life are not always considered, meaning rigs may be built near environmentally sensitive areas. The construction and use of these rigs, even if usually for a short period of time, can create irreversible damage if policies aren't created to ensure the steps are taken to protect the aquatic ecosystem. In many developing countries, companies are allowed to operate without regulations, which leaves the environment vulnerable and unprotected.
Offshore oil rigs and vessel transportation of oil also present a very real potential of spills or disasters such as the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon tragedy where a damaged oil well spilled crude oil into the Gulf ecosystem for 87 days before it was capped. This environmental disaster will affect just about everyone on the planet despite the root of the issue being located in one area, showing how much of an impact the oil industry can have.
Impacts of Ocean Pollution
There is Tangible evidence of human presence found everywhere in the ocean, to the point where even 2 ½ miles down on the ocean floor trash can be found. Only 13% of the ocean remains untouched by humanity which shows the true effect our growing society and population has on the ocean. Ocean pollution has an immense impact on the organisms that live within the ocean and the organisms outside of the ocean.
"With every drop of water you drink, every breath you take, you're connected to the sea. No matter where on Earth you live." -Dr. Sylvia Earle
Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash
Economic Issues
The ocean plays a large role in global economy. Industries such as fishing, transportation, tourism and oil and gas all depend on the ocean for revenue.
The transportation industry will be affected by the decrease in sea ice. Without the same amount of sea ice in the northern oceans more shipping passages will open up which could benefit economies globally. There is currently a Proposed Route in Arctic Canada (Transpolar route) because of the significant decrease in sea ice (see map on the right). However despite these benefits ocean degradation causes storms and higher waves, making sea accidents more common which will negatively impact the industry.
A rise in sea level from global warming and industrial ocean degradation also effects ports and industries located along the coast. One of the industries that will be negatively impacted is the oil and gas industries. The change in composition and levels in oceans will have a negative impact on offshore oil and gas rigs and the production rates.
The fishing industry is also at risk of collapse. The unsustainable procedures and production rates in the fishing industry may destroy fish stocks globally, if they continue to be exploited at the cost of the environment.
Social Issues
The ocean is a crucial part of many societies and economies around the world. Many Industries depend upon it to supply jobs and products for consumers. This means the absence of a healthy ocean has the capability of destroying many economies and lives. A damaged ocean may impact the production or transportation of many goods such as oil, fish or products that arrive via the ocean through shipping. These limits placed on production and transportation will lead to many social issues including unemployment in related industries and lack of services and goods globally.
Photo by: chuttersnap on Unsplash
Environmental Issues
Industrial degradation destroys vital habitats such as coral reefs. Coral reefs contain vital biodiversity and help to sustain ocean life and produce food for millions of people. Approximately half of the corals gone globally, from where they were just a few decades ago (see map to the right).
Industrial ocean degradation has a large impact on the overall health of the ocean which also has an impact on the health of terrestrial environments. If less heat is being absorbed by the ocean, average temperature of the Earth will rise and impact the entirety of the ecosphere.
Statistics and data can show the true impact the increase in population and in consumption has on the ocean. Dead zones are defined as areas in the ocean where life cannot survive due to a decrease of oxygen in the water and increase in carbon dioxide, this causes the ecosystem in this zone to suffocate and die off. In 1975 there was only 1 dead zone within the entirety of the ocean, but in 2014 there were 500+ dead zones within the world's oceans.
Legal Issues
There are laws that exist to protect the ocean, but are they are very dependent on the country. In 1982, 150 countries signed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Treaty which outlined the boundaries and territories for each country, and established guidelines for the management and use of marine resources.
- UNCLOS identified six main sources of ocean pollution:
- Land-based and coastal activities
- Continental-shelf drilling
- Potential seabed mining
- Ocean dumping
- Vessel-source pollution
- Pollution from or through the atmosphere
There has been much difficulty enforcing and implementing this global treaty, due to national legislations or difficulties in developing states.
Marine protected areas (MPA’s) are areas created by federal, provincial and territorial governments to shelter vital areas of the ocean harmed by human activities to help them recover. Many countries have created new MPA's in their territorial waters (see map to the right), however in international waters, the majority of the ocean, creating MPA's becomes very difficult as no one country owns or operates these areas.
This map was created using the summarize within tool using a world countries layer and a csv file to create the choropleth.
Our Oceans by Sylvia Earle
Solutions to Industrial Ocean Degradation
Industrial ocean degradation is a wide-reaching issue with many different solutions however due to human ignorance and the need for a complete societal shift in consumption and growth, a solution has not yet been reached. If humans do not change their relationship between society and the environment then a solution to this problem will not be possible. Countries and individuals must change their lifestyle through a dramatic decrease in consumption or create more sustainable practices in production. Plans many countries have to solve the world’s issues such as industrial ocean degradation is found within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG). Many countries have also begun to create areas such as MPA’s and conservation areas in the ocean to help restore the ocean, or have begun to enact more enforcement and regulations to combat illegal and unreported fishing. Additionally, there are many organizations dedicated to repairing and helping the oceans have also been created such as Mission Blue. It is important to support these positive efforts being made by countries and organizations while making changes to your own lifestyle and personal consumption habits in order to work towards a solution to this issue.
Benefits of MPA's
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
The UNSDG aim to make the world a better place for all by creating 17 call to actions for all countries to ensure peace and prosperity now and in the future for all by tackling social, economic, political and environmental issues (UN, 2019). Goal number 14 is life below the water, currently some of the greatest threats facing the water are ocean acidification caused by the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and unregulated and unreported fishing (UN, 2019). Many countries are currently making efforts towards combating unreported and illegal fishing to help end issues facing the world's oceans such as overfishing, however there are many countries that continue to disregard this goal and do not contribute any efforts.
Countries Efforts to End Unregulated Fishing (1 being the least amount of efforts and 5 being the most amount of efforts)
Mission Blue
Mission Blue is an organization led by oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle created to explore and protect the ocean the same way we do the land (Sylvia Earle Alliance (SEA/Mission Blue, 2017). This global coalition has developed a worldwide network of MPA’s called Hope Spots. Hope spots are areas that are critical to the ocean due to factors such as the populations or types of flora and fauna present, their economic, spiritual, historical or cultural value, or the presence of natural processes such as spawning or migratory routes (SEA/Mission Blue, 2017). Hope spots have potential to recover from the negative impact of human activity if concrete action and protective measures are taken. On an individual level, consumers must buy sustainable and local goods to limit harm and the carbon footprint caused by good producing industries such as oil and fishing and the transportation industry.
What are Hope Spots?
Hope Spots around the world apart of Mission Blue
References
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