One Ocean

Every 2.59 square kilometres (one square mile) of the global ocean contains an estimated 46,000 pieces of floating plastic. One area, twice the size of the state of Texas, stretches from California to Japan. The fact that two-thirds of the world’s largest cities are situated along coastlines is a major contributing factor to this proliferation. Vast amounts of pollution drain into the ocean daily and ocean currents carry it thousands of kilometres from its original source. Sewage, toxic chemicals, fertilizers, radioactive and manufacturing waste enter the ocean through run-off. Add to this the waste from cruise ships, the oil dumped from tankers flushing ballasts, and the oil and gas spills that occur yearly, and it’s no wonder the ocean is in trouble.

Our pollution has over-run the ocean’s natural filtering and recycling capabilities and kills seabirds and sea creatures by the hundreds of thousands yearly. Ocean going vessels carry alien species in their ballasts, discharging them in new territory. A newly introduced species can overwhelm a marine ecosystem, or, as in the case of one US city, clog its water and irrigation systems. Oil pollution in the Persian Gulf twenty years ago was so extensive that it could be seen from outer space. Recently, an oil spill from a damaged tanker covered 800 sq. km of the same region. Two months later, dead dolphins were found on the beaches. None of this is necessary and all of it needs to be stopped. We only have one ocean. Keep it clean. Stop using plastic products. Demand safer packaging. Pledge to do more about pollution.