Different types of pollution in the ocean

1. Ocean sewage Different types of pollution in the ocean Oil pollution Are cars polluting our oceans? Coastal waters receive a variety of land-based water pollutions, ranging from petroleum wastes to pesticides to excess sediments. Marine water also receives wastes directly from offshore activities, such as ocean-based dumping. (e.g., from ships and offshore oil and gas operations.) CLICK ON THE HYPERLINKS TO SEE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF POLLUTIONS The Exxon Valdez oil spill Bibliography

2. Human sewage BACK TO FRONT PAGE Human sewage largely consists of excrement from toilet-flushing; wastewater from bathing, laundry and dishwashing; and animal and vegetable matter from food. Garbage dumping is the dumping of harmful materials into the ocean like human waste, ground-up garbage, water from bathing, and plastics. Most of the waste that has been dumped into the ocean in the early 1990’s is still there today. One main cause of garbage dumping occurs when sewage pipes share their space with storm water drains. Rainfall causes the sewage pipes to overflow and the sewage waste mixes with the storm water drain, which flows into another water source such as a lake or river. After that, the garbage pollutes the ocean, kills plants and animals in the water (for example, the plastic rings that are around pop cans can get around an animal’s neck, causing it to suffocate), and makes the water dirty. Cause by human sewage

3. Oil pollution BACK TO FRONT PAGE Oil pollution is extremely bad for the ocean and environment. Thirty seven million gallons of oil are accidently spilt into the ocean. Even more oil gets poured deliberately into the ocean. The oil “glues” bird‘s feathers together, clogs fishes gills and blocks out sunlight, making it harder for underwater plants to go through photosynthesis. Oil pollution also slows down coral reefs growing and their reproduction. Coral reefs are also very sensitive to oil, especially crude oil. OIL SPILLS Oil spills happen when people make mistakes or are careless and make an oil tanker leak into the ocean. There are a few other ways to create an oil spill. Equipment breaking down may cause oil to spill. If the equipment breaks down, the tanker may get stuck on shallow land and when they start to drive the tanker again, they can put a hole in the tanker causing it to leak oil. When countries at war sometimes one country decides to dump oil into the others ocean. Terrorists may cause an oil spill because they will dump oil into a country’s ocean. Many terrorists will do this because they are trying to get the country’s attention, or they are trying to make a point to a country.

4. The Exxon Valdez Spill The Exxon Valdez incident was a major spill. This oil spill took place on March 23, 1989 at Prince William Sound in Alaska. The drivers of the Exxon Valdez noticed icebergs on their planned route. So instead of trying to weave through the icebergs, they decided to go another route. On the new route, the oil tanker hit shallow land. The shallow land was not a beach, it was called Bligh reef. So imagine the size of one school gym. The oil that was spilt would feel up 9 of them. The Exxon Valdez affected many animals at the Prince William Sound in Alaska. The spill greatly affected sea otters and sea birds. There were about 2,800 sea otters and 250,000 sea birds killed in the spill. Harbor seals, bald eagles, killer whales and salmon were also greatly affected by the spill. Because the spill impacted 1,300 miles, it took the Exxon Valdez Company four summers to clean up the spill. Some oil may still remain on the beaches. It took 10,000 workers, 1,000 boats, 100 aeroplanes and the Navy, Army and Air force to clean up the spill. Exxon spent about $2.1 billion for the cleanup. BACK TO FRONT PAGE

5. How are cars polluting the ocean? Cars pollute the ocean a lot. Whenever a car gets driven, you may have noticed a lot of smoke that is coming out from the back of the car. This smoke doesn’t go directlyinto the ocean. It ends up being in acid rain. Acid rain is pollution mixed with regular rain, and when acid rain gets into the ocean, it pollutes the waters and kills many fish over a period of time. Cars are big pollution source. If pollution from cars cannot be stopped or at least cut down, then pretty soon the amount of fish and other creatures in the ocean will decrease. BACK TO FRONT PAGE

6. Bibliography http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215471/oil_spills.htm http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Po-Re/Pollution-of-the-Ocean-by-Sewage-Nutrients-and-Chemicals.html