The ocean covers roughly 70% of the Earth’s surface, and houses endless amounts of life. Mankind’s pollution is destroying the ocean, and killing it faster than ever before. The pollution not only directly in the ocean, but also in the air is contributing to the destruction of the ocean. Air pollution caused by an excessive amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is causing the ocean to acidify which makes life harder for many marine animals and in some cases taking their life. The plastic pollution dumped directly in the ocean does not decay and stays in the ocean for long periods of time. The plastic continues breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces referred to as micro plastics. These micro plastics are often mistaken for food by many marine animals and cause them problems because of the ingested plastic. This is also a problem for man because the plastic ingested by the fish is contaminating part the world's food supply. The larger pollution like fishing nets and plastic can packaging rings are known to strangle and kill ocean life. Lastly oil pollution contaminates the water in the ocean affecting lots of marine life and even animals that live near the ocean such as birds. The plastic pollution, oil pollution, and air pollution caused by man is not only affecting the ocean but slowly killing it, although this has become the lifestyle of the world something must be done to stop the pollution or else the Earths ocean will no longer be inhabitable.  

There are an estimated 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean weighing 269,000 tons (Lebreton). The amount of plastic in the ocean has been long out of control and is only getting worse. It is estimated that by the year 2020 there will be a piece of plastic in the ocean for every fish, the ratio now is one piece of plastic for every five fish (Lebretom). The most common forms of marine plastic pollution are fishing nets, plastic can rings, bottles, and other plastic debris. These large pieces of plastic can strangle marine life such as fish, sea turtles, and sea lion related animals ultimately ending their life. Dying by strangulation because the animal is entangled in nets and plastic debris is torture for these animals and could easily be avoided if the ocean was cleaned of human plastic pollution. The UN estimated that plastic kills around one million sea creatures annually, but Moore believes the estimation far underestimates the impact (monks). The increase in the production of plastics has increased globally from 1.7 million tons in 1950 to 280 million tons in 2011 (Reisser, 1). The disposability of plastic and its low recycling rate has contributed to the significant amount of plastic waste in the world and sadly a large amount of it ends up in the ocean. The large amount of plastic pollution in the ocean is spread worldwide, but some can gather and cause additional unpredicted problems.

Due to spiral currents located in the North Pacific Gyre a gigantic pile of trash has accumulated in the ocean known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has been described as, “a floating island of trash the size of Russia” (Monks). The large pile of trash has caused migratory problems for marine animals, but since the patch doesn’t directly effect humans due to its location it is overlooked. The garbage patch is a problem, but the largest problem is the smaller debris within the Great Pacific Garbage Patch known as Micro Plastics. 

Micro Plastics are pieces of plastic smaller than 5 millimeters that are either made that small when produced by man or are broken down overtime to this size. The large plastic in the ocean undergo fragmentation into increasingly smaller pieces by photochemical, mechanical, and biological processes (Reisser). Micro plastics are a newly discovered problem in marine plastic pollution and are full of unforeseen dangers for the world. There is an estimated four billion micro plastics per square kilometer in the ocean (Parker). The known problems as of now are limited but the predicted problems are frightening. The micro plastic is often being mistaken for food, such as plankton, by many marine animals and being ingested. A study conducted by a team of toxicologists at London’s Brunel University concluded that a quarter of the fish sold at markets in California and Indonesia contained plastic, and tests have shown ingestion by lab animals has resulted in tumors (Monks). Although this hasn’t resulted in public health warnings yet, it could be causing many problems to the world’s population. Something must be done before the tipping point is reached and the presented problems result in permanent damage not only to the ocean but the human population. 

Marine oil pollution is one of, if not the most underestimated forms of ocean pollution. Oil pollution does get large media coverage when large oil spills occur, but that’s only half of the oil pollution in the ocean. The damage of large oil spills are well recognized, but the overall damage of open ocean oil wasn't until discoveries with skimming nets. the open ocean was skimmed and the nets were riddled with oil and tar lumps 6cm in size (Blumer, 4). About one million tons of oil are lost at sea annually which is equivalent to one tenth of all the oil transported across the ocean (Blumer, 4). Almost 37 percent of all oil pollution in the ocean comes from ships leaking during transportation. The immediate effects of oil pollution are obvious and well known, but the long term effects in the open ocean are more of a mystery. The amount of oil tar far exceeds the amount of plant life floating on surface of the ocean(Blumer, 5). The immediate effects consist of trapping animals in thick tar, smothering marine fish and birds, damaging ecosystems and more, but the long term effects are worse. Studies show that the oil can cause anesthesia, narcosis, and at higher concentrations, cell damage and even death to lower level organisms (Blumer, 5). This happens because oil and its byproducts are toxic to many forms of marine life. The oil pollution may have a more damaging impact on the larval and other young forms of marine life (Blumer, 5). Not only is the natural oil toxic but the oil products such as; gasoline, cracking products, and petroleum are poisons to man and all other organisms. These mixing into the ocean multiply damage to marine and costal life. The oil killing lower level organisms could permanently disrupt the food chain in the ocean, and ultimately disrupting the food supply from the ocean for the human population (Blumer, 6). The future problems marine oil pollution will cause are unpredictable, but the estimated problems are enough to be catastrophic. If nothing is done the world will have to deal with the problems and who knows if the problems will be fixable? 

The air pollution by mankind is causing global warming, and while global warming is relatively easy to understand, how it is effecting the ocean is more complex. The main green house gas released by humans use of combustion machinery is carbon dioxide. The ocean naturally absorbs thirty percent of the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide (Nahigyan). When the ocean absorbs its portion of the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide it is converted to carbonic acid. Due to the decades of unchecked carbon emissions the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has greatly increased. The increased amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere makes more carbonic acid and has begun to unbalance the entire ocean’s ecosystem. The abnormal amount of carbonic acid in the ocean has dropped the oceans PH from 8.18 to 8.07 which is acidifying the ocean. Carbon acid dissolves calcium carbonate and limestone in the ocean. The acidification of the ocean is directly affecting life outside of the ocean as well, because the lower PH is making it harder for certain species of phytoplankton to absorb nutrients, and healthy phytoplankton are responsible for producing 60 percent of the oxygen on Earth (Nahigyan).  The phytoplankton can also become poisonous which contaminate the ocean and kill fish (Nahigyan). Calcium carbonate is a key mineral in shells of many marine organisms, and with less of it, less shellfish are surviving to adulthood. An oyster farm in Washington state reported that in ten years the production of oysters declined by 42 percent (Nahigyan). The tole carbonic acid is taking on shellfish is incredible, and evidence is obviously presenting problems. The limestone carbonic acid is dissolving is making it harder for corals to grow because they live in limestone rock beds in the ocean. This is a huge problem for the world because coral reefs house abundant amounts of marine life all over the world. Not only is the acidification killing the corals, but the ocean warming due to global warming is causing coral bleaching. The warming of the ocean is bleaching the “good” algae out of corals and leaving them a white color which leaves them more susceptible to disease and death (Nahigyan).  The coral bleaching and carbonic acid destruction is killing coral reefs and has even effected the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Coral reefs house copious amounts of marine life. Coral reefs near Guam hosts over 3,500 species of plants and animals, and over 200 diverse types of coral. Some coral reefs host certain organisms that live nowhere else in the world, for example, saddle wrasses and monk seals in Hawaiian reefs. Previously ocean acidification has been linked to marine mass extinctions, and the rate at which the ocean is changing now is unprecedented (Guinotte, 1). The evidence suggests that these changes will have dreadful consequences on all marine life, particularly shellfish. Corals are resilient organisms and could possibly recover from the damage they have received, but it could take a millennium for the ocean to recover from the damage humanity has inflicted (Nahigyan). The only way to prevent the destruction of the ocean is for humanity to break its dependence on fossil fuels and clean the ocean.  

Even though the consumption based world has little room for alternatives, there are still some solutions to possibly reduce the amount of pollution in the ocean. The argument for most of the world’s pollution is that it has become the way of life.  People drink water from bottles, drive cars to work, and landfills become full and countries resort to the ocean. This may be true but changes must be made so the ocean can be saved and ultimately restore balance to the world. The many solutions that have been presented to prevent pollution have never really caught on because the world has settled and become comfortable in their way of life but change must come and the ocean must be saved. 

Many solutions have been presented in many different forms all over the world for many different types of pollution. The problem is obvious and humanity wants to help but none of the solutions benefit everyone and the solutions do not catch on. Humanity doesn’t want to clean up their act and accept the solutions to pollution because they are inconvenient, but if the world doesn’t act quickly the earth could be doomed and become uninhabitable. Humanity must accept the destruction they have caused to the ocean and do whatever it takes to prevent further damage and do what can be done to save what is left. 

Solutions for plastic pollution have been the most relevant in the solutions for marine pollution. Alternatives to plastic water bottles have been made such as biodegradable water bubbles, and permanent bottles to refill rather than plastic bottles. Other products such as grocery bags, cups, and soda can packaging rings are being made biodegradable and even edible to prevent plastic pollution. Also, an organization called The Ocean Cleanup was created around an invention that passively cleans up floating plastic debris in the ocean using ocean currents, and stores it in large silos on the open ocean. The ocean cleanup project is estimated to clean half of the great pacific garbage patch in ten years. Many countries have banned ocean dumping or at least limited it and tried to do more incinerating rather than dumping. Recycling has also made huge strides in society making it easy to do and making people aware of how much it helps. Recycling bins are becoming more and more common and more people want to recycle rather than dump garbage into a landfill. The solutions for plastic pollution are evolving and well underway, hopefully taking the step towards cleaning the ocean permanently. 

The only true solution for oil pollution is for humanity to escape from its dependence on fossil fuels and find a separate source of energy. Alternative energy and clean energy are huge topics in research right now so steps are being taken in the right direction to clean up oil pollution. Once oil is obsolete and is no longer being mined and the usage is limited the ocean will become less polluted from ships and spills. Eventually the oil fields will dry up and force humanity to abandon its independence on fossil fuels, nut unless the pollution is dealt with prior to that event it could still spell disaster for the ocean. 

 Air pollution is one of the most researched solution topics, because it is not only killing the ocean but the entire atmosphere. Many countries including the United States has considered imposing a tax on carbon emissions. This would limit the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and slow down the rate at which the Earth is warming and the ocean is acidifying. Along with that many countries have banned materials and chemicals that are harmful to the atmosphere. Air pollution is effecting the world in the most impacting way so research for its solution is surging and although the solution may be inconvenient for humanity the world may have to accept their fate and deal with whatever the solution may be. 

Although society claims polluting the earth is humanity’s way of life something must be done to save the ocean which could ultimately save the world. The ocean covers three quarters of the earth’s surface and is the largest ecosystem on earth, without it humanity may not survive. The worlds dependence on fossil fuels, and disposable plastics is insignificant compared to the dependence on the ocean and life it hosts. The world uses marine life for a large amount of the food on earth. Humanity also uses the ocean to distil and make fresh water for drinking and farming in severe droughts and water shortages. Humanity does not realize the importance of the ocean and how it outweighs the importance of the lifestyle of polluting, but when the ocean is destroyed the world will be doomed. The world must recognize the problems and find solutions before it is too late. The tipping point is near and the ocean must be saved now because if the problems the ocean pollution is causing are ignored they will become so severe that they can no longer be ignored but by then it may be too late. Although polluting the ocean is humanity’s lifestyle and solutions have not yet had a big enough impact something must be done or else plastic pollution, oil pollution and air pollution will destroy the ocean and put the earth on the path to its demise.   