My mood board represents a type of phobia: fear of being alone. The term for this fear is autophobia or monophobia. For someone with this condition, being alone, even in a typically reassuring environment like home, can cause intense anxiety. People who suffer from autophobia or monophobia believe that they need the company of another person or groups of people in order to feel secure and comfortable. I paid thoughtful consideration to the color, emotion, background, or setting of each of the 30 photographs as I looked for them in order to find ones that would best express my phobia to the audience. As you can see, my overall first impression of the theme or mood of my board is probably depressed, lonely and/or dark, etc.

Introduction: 

Today, many environments are being polluted by humans across the globe. If I asked right now, I’d estimate that more than half the people on the street would know about marine pollution. Why? Marine pollution is a type of pollution that terribly harms marine animals through daily human actions. Today’s world sees a big problem with marine pollution, which is problematic as this not only harms the marine environment but makes a massive impact on our lives as well. 

 

What Are Some of the Cause and Effects of Chemicals and Trash? 

Marine pollution has five causes: the main two being chemicals and trash. According to Important India, among the major polluters of the world’s oceans are plastic bags, aluminum cans, trash and other human waste. Recent discoveries found a massive trash island piled up together near the Pacific Ocean, which shows the severity of the problem. Based on information from Important India, trash and littering are known to hurt animals by choking them. Marine animals, like fish and turtles, are increasingly dying from choking on trash or being unable to digest it–plastic has been found in their stomachs on a regular basis. Another cause of pollution is chemicals. There are two different ways chemicals can get into the ocean. First, when it rains, chemical compounds get washed into rivers, where they are carried to waterfalls and eventually end up in the ocean (Espinoza). The second way is through industrial processes (Sensorex), for instance, lead, oils, phosphates, asbestos, nitrates, and petrochemicals. As a result of toxic chemicals, our oceans are becoming more acidic. These toxic substances harm marine life like fish, marine mammals, and marine plants and corals as well (Important India). In addition, they can reduce oxygen levels. Seawater is full of dissolved oxygen, however decomposing sewage and other biomatter in oceans can result in a condition known as ‘hypoxia’ or oxygen depletion. This makes it hard for oxygen loving marine life – plants, fish and animals – to survive in the ocean (Important India).  

 

Ways We Can Solve This Problem! 

As time passes, the ocean becomes more polluted by humans, which leads to the death of almost one million marine animals every year (Sea Turtle Conservancy). Therefore, we must act quickly to minimize future deaths of marine animals. A few solutions were provided by Oceanic Society, they talked about a few points for us to help solve the marine environment from getting polluted.  

Reducing Your Use of Single-Use Plastics 

Using single-use plastics, such as bags, water bottles, straws, cups, utensils, dry cleaning bags, and takeout containers, could be reduced. As an alternative to single-use plastics, there are two ways. One is to avoid using single-use plastics and two is to purchase and carry reusable versions. These would include reusable grocery bags, produce bags, bottles, utensils, coffee cups, and dry-cleaning garment bags.  

Recycling  

Recycling single-use plastics whenever possible. Not only does this reduce the amount of plastic getting into the ocean, but it also helps to clean the marine environment by removing debris. Swimming in the ocean becomes more conductive as a result, as no plastic will get in the way of swimmers, prevents animals choking from plastic, and the ocean does not become polluted with plastic particles.  

Staying Away from Microbeads 

The ocean has become a more polluted area due to tiny plastic particles called microbeads. Our sewer system allows microbeads to easily enter our oceans and waterways, and they have an adverse effect on hundreds of marine species. Microbeads can be found in face scrubs, toothpastes, and body washes. We humans can help by using items that do not contain plastic microbeads which prevents microbeads from entering the marine environment.  

Participate In Activities That Help Clean the Beach or River 

Participate in, or organize, a beach or waterway cleanup in your locality to prevent plastics from entering the ocean. A direct approach to reducing ocean plastic pollution is one of the most rewarding. A simple cleanup of the beach or waterway can be done on your own, or you can participate in an international event, such as the International Coastal Cleanup, or you can simply collect plastic waste on your own. 

 

Why Should We Help? 

We should help because first oceans support life on Earth since they’re the largest ecosystem on the planet. Because the ocean is so closely interlinked with the earth’s other ecosystems, if the ocean becomes polluted, it will affect not only marine life but also plant life and human life (Marine Conservation Institute). Another reason why we should care about marine pollution is how it influences the weather and climate. “The ocean absorbs about a third of carbon dioxide produced by humans… [and] also buffers us against the worst fluctuations in climate, by directly absorbing heat (Mustoe biog).” So, without a healthy ocean, the air we breathe everyday will be affected and climate would become more unstable. Ultimately, we should do the right thing protect our oceans, our animals, and our ecosystem.  

 

Conclusion: 

Chemicals and trash affect the natural environment negatively. Each year, millions of marine animals and seabirds die from marine pollution. With people all starting to help the environment, together we can make a whole new healthy environment for marine lives and ultimately ourselves, “Even the largest avalanche is triggered by small things (Vinge). ”  

 

Works Cited

Brainy Quote. www.brainyquote.com/quotes/vernor_vinge_223818#:~:text=Vernor%20Vinge%20Quotes&text=Even%20the%20largest%20avalanche%20is%20triggered%20by%20small%20things.

“Chemical Waste That Impact on Aquatic Life or Water Quality.” Chemical Waste That Impact on Aquatic Life or Water Quality, Richard Espinoza, 1 Oct. 2014, blog.idrenvironmental.com/chemical-waste-that-impact-on-aquatic-life-or-water-quality#:~:text=As%20it%20rains%2C%20those%20chemicals%20are%20washed%20into,life%20and%20kills%20sea%20mammals%2C%20corals%2C%20and%20fish.

“How Does Ocean Pollution Affect Humans and How Do We Mitigate It?” 8 Minute Read, sensorex.com/2020/04/21/ocean-pollution-affect-humans-how-to-mitigate/#:~:text=Toxic%20chemicals%20enter%20the%20ocean%20water%20every%20day%2C,yet%20another%20cause%20of%20the%20ocean%20being%20polluted. Accessed 2020.

Hutchinson, Brian. “7 Solutions to Ocean Plastic Pollution.” Oceanic Society, 24 Feb. 2022, www.oceanicsociety.org/resources/7-ways-to-reduce-ocean-plastic-pollution-today/.

7 solutions to marine pollution

Marine Pollution. www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/marine-pollution/.

-the ocean is being flooded by 2 different pollution: chemicals and trash

-they come from land source and is often blown/washed to the ocean

-the increased concentration of chemicals, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, in the coastal ocean promotes the growth of algal blooms, which can be toxic to wildlife and harmful to humans

-fishes become tangled and injured from the trash, and some animals mistake items like plastic bags for food and eat them.

-solutions to marine pollution include prevention and cleanup

-disposable and single-use plastic is abundantly used in today’s society, from shopping bags to shipping packaging to plastic bottles

-cleanup after yourself, don’t throw trash everywhere

-more than sixty countries have enacted regulations to limit or ban the use of disposable plastic items

Marine Pollution: Meaning, Causes, Effects, Control Measures. LightHouse, 3 Aug. 2016, importantindia.com/23704/marine-pollution-meaning-causes-effects-control-measures/#:~:text=Effects%20of%20Marine%20Pollution%201%20Oxygen%20depletion.%20Seawater,a%20polluted%20sea.%20Be%20careful%20with%20our%20chemicals.

common causes

human, litter and human waste:

plastic bags, aluminum cans, trash and other human waste constitute a major pollutant of the world’s oceans. a huge ‘island’ of trash roughly the size of Texas was recently found in the Pacific ocean for instance, demonstrating the vast scale of this problem

dissolved greenhouse gases:

greenhouse gases from human fossil fuel consumption are making the sea more acidic

 

effects of marine pollution

oxygen depletion-makes it hard for oxygen loving marine life plants, fish and animals to survive in the oceans

higher acidity-toxic chemicals would make our oceans more acidic, this poisonous marine life and harms fishes, marine mammals, marine plants and corals.

choking marine life-small pieces of plastic and other litter were found in the stomach of animals

spoiling birds feathers-oil spills coat the feather of the marine birds, as a result they would find it hard to stay afloat as their feather get soggy, and they would also find it difficult flying since their feathers are full of oil

dangers to human health-human swimmers and water sports lovers can become endangered by swimming in a polluted sea

Mustoe biog, Simon. “Top 5 Reasons to Conserve Ocean Animals and Ecosystems.” Wildlife in the Balance, Simon Mustoe biog, 5 Mar. 2021, simonmustoe.blog/top-5-reasons-to-conserve-ocean-animals-and-ecosystems/.

30 Ocean Pollution Facts, Stats, and Solutions. Drew Bruck, www.rubicon.com/blog/ocean-pollution-facts/. Accessed 9 Oct. 2017.

-marine pollution affects more than 817 animals species

-plastic is one of the most common causes but their are more

-waste we produce on land reaches the ocean by: littering, oil spills, toxic chemicals agricultural runoff, ocean mining, etc

-these effects the animals and us humans for example: depletion of oxygen content in the water, effect of toxic wastes on marine animals, failure in the reproductive systems of marine animals, contamination of the food chain, effect on human in heath, disruption to the cycle of coral reefs

-some ways you can prevent trash washing in the ocean are: picking up trash and properly dispose it, reduce reuse recycle, educate people around you tell them whats happening to the oceans by the actions they make

“Why Protection the Ocean.” Marine Conservation Institute, marine-conservation.org/why-protect-the-ocean/.