Samantha Amparado - Ocean Pollution by Samantha Amparado

asi064429 — 2024-06-06 16:43:33 UTC

Over 40% of the world's population relies on coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods (UN Chronicle, 2017).

This is why it's incredibly important we work towards a fully protected ocean, which is what Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Life Below Water wants to do.

What's Happening?

asi064429 — 2024-06-06 16:50:59 UTC

The ocean absorbs an incredible amount of emissions to help mitigate the impact of climate change. This seems great on the outside, but is devastating for the ocean.

Ocean temperatures have been incredibly high, changing the way coral reefs and ecosystems live. The mating seasons are no longer the correct conditions for many species and coral reefs are disappearing fast.

Shipping and waste discharge in the sea has been a concern for years. Subsea oil spills and harmful chemicals are being dispersed into our oceans everyday. With how often this happens, it has been culminating fast.

Prevention

asi064429 — 2024-06-06 16:54:18 UTC

One way that we are protecting our oceans is the Subsea Capping Stack. Any site where people are working with oil or gases will have this there. The purpose of this device is to safely mitigate the mixing of oil, gas, water, and other substances. This keeps the lives of workers out of danger and is a good temporary response while the higher-ups do more discussion.

Why should we care?

asi064429 — 2024-06-06 16:57:34 UTC

The ocean is critical to life on Earth. Without our oceans, many populations would no longer have business, nutrition, and entertainment that many seek for.

Fishermen and coastal tourism rely on the ocean for their money and tourism brings in roughly US$ 134 billion (Sustainable Development Goals, 2016) a year and gives many people jobs. Without these people, we would not have as many food and entertainment options as we do today.

Water Pollution Definition

asi064429 — 2024-06-06 17:06:08 UTC

"Water pollution occurs when harmful substances—often chemicals or microorganisms—contaminate a stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer, or other body of water, degrading water quality and rendering it toxic to humans or the environment."

NRDC

Personal Reflection

asi064429 — 2024-06-06 17:08:31 UTC

All my life, I have lived in coastal regions where the ocean is celebrated and important to the community. The Cayman Islands, Florida, the Philippines, there are many beautiful beaches where people appreciate this part of nature. Based on personal experience, I have seen what water pollution has done to my community and my family has to. I want to see a better future for the next generations in my family, and you should too.