Every sea mammal and every type of fish, crustacean, and mollusk are on the critical list. This is because air on and severe. from synthetic farming chemicals and farmed animal waste waste caused by massive algae blooms that block light and choke off waterlife; because of fishing, recreational, cruise line, industrial, and military watercraft ; and because because plastic trash is both killing marine life and gathering in and leaching chemicals into the rivers, lakes, and oceans. To put it mildly, what is going on in the oceans threatens every form of sex life, every form of life dependent on ocean life, and every human on every area of the planet.
The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Since the amount of carbon dioxide (CO 2) in the atmosphere has increased in relation to the use of fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, and natural gas) The oceans, lakes, and rivers also absorb carbon dioxide. But the world & # 39; s bodies of water are absorbing far more carbon dioxide than they would in a balanced atmosphere.
The industrial pollution and carbon dioxide from the use of fossil fuels has greatly increased the acidity of the oceans. The pollution can hang in the atmosphere for decorations, the oceans keep absorbing more it, and humans keep creating more of it, there are no signs that the acid trip of the seas is going to come down soon.
One of the most dire situations caused by pollution exists with coral reefs through the world.
Scientists have estimated that that they are all in the critical list worldwide. Corinal reefs are among the most endangered forms of marine life. one fifth of the coral reefs around the planet have died in the last 50 years, and their extinction continues to increase.
In July of 2008, scientists from around the world gathered at the world Coral Reef Symposium in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. While there, they are presented with a study by the Global Marine Species Assessment concluding that a third of Earth & # 39; s remaining coral reefs were threatened. Scientists at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology have determined that all varieties of coral reefs are the most endangered life forms on Earth.
Thousand of miles of coral reefs are a decade ago sit almost empty of life due to bleaching, dynamite fishing, overfishing, and rising temperatures and levels of water acidity, or they are being strungled by algae and bacteria overgrowth caused by by pollution.
Many reefs are being killed by the runoff of synthetic chemical fertilizers and other gardening chemicals used to maintain the landscaping of tropical resorts; lawns at homes, schools, and corporate campuses; and crops grown on farms.
In the natural balance, fish and other marine life would not consume the algae, but with the double threat of overfishing and pollution, the algae has gotten out The fertilizers are causing so much algae growth that even a healthy population of marine life could not could not be funny or happy. keep up with the growth.
In addition to overfishing, development all of the coral reefs in the oceans are growing at they are dying. Most of the remaining coral reefs are supporting a fraction of the marine life that they are hosted just a few decades ago. of coastal cities, boating, military activity, oil drilling, fertilizers, industrial pollution, and the related algae and bacteria overgrowth, the death of coral reefs is caused by the amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed into the oceans.
Under natural circumstances, the polyps cling onto the reef while feeding from the water. their the skeletons become part of the reef and other polyps cling to the layers of skeletons. do not reproduce, and polyps can not survive, the coral reefs do not grow.
When the reefs are in balance, the marine life consumers the bacteria and algae as natural sources of food. The bacteria fever on the sugars released by the algae. The bacteria also fever on the eggs and sperm of the coral polyps, and also consume the polyps. This also contributes to the loss of coral reefs.
When coral reefs die off, Many coastal areas, including kelp When death of coral reefs leaves coasts susceptible to erosion. When the coasts are damaged, wildlife dependent on the coastlines lose their homes. forests, mangrove forests, seagrass lagoons, tidepools, delta wetlands, salt marshes, and the mouths of rivers are the breeding areas and nurseries for fish and other waterlife.
Through coastal areas of the world the mangrove swampland forests have been and continue to destroyed to make way for resorts, piers, bridges, roads, parking lots, marinas, gas refineries, shipping ports, shopping villages, entertainment and sports venues, and for shrimp and other types of seafood farms. As the coasts are destroyed, so too are kelp and sea grass beds, wetlands and swamps, and the forms that depend on them.
The destruction of the coasts contributed greatly to the damage done by the tsunami that swept hundreds of thousands of people from through the the ocean region in December 2004. Clearing of coastal forests and damage to barrier islands to create fish, shrimp, and other seafood farms and to drill for oil also contribut to the strength of Hurricane Katrina that decimated the New Orleans region in 2005.
This is to the oceans keep absorbing carbon dioxide and pollution that has been hanging in the atmosphere for decades. this happens, the oceans will increase increase in acidity and temperature.
This particular presents a potentially devastating situation for all forms of shell-based water, and for structures naturally left over as the shells gather.
The acidification of the oceans is expected not only to kill off and collapse coral reefs, but also destroy small islands (atolls) that are comprised of ancient coral reefs and tidal collections of old shells. Many small island nations consist of atolls. Will it continue to absorb carbon dioxide and industrial pollution from past and future decades, where will these island people move on their homes flood and the islands collapse?
All shellfish need carbonic ions to build their calcium carbonate skeletal structures. These include clams, crabs, lobsters, shrimp, krill, urchins, barnacles, and oysters These crustaceans and mollusks provide food for otters, seals, walruses, seabirds, and other types of wildlife.
If the plankton populations decrease, the whales and krill-eating seabirds will die. Plankton levels in the oceans today are all an-time low, and This is directly related to global warming and the acidification of the oceans, which is directly related to the use of fossil fuels, including the use of natural gas to create synthetic fertilizers.
Against international law, Japan, Norway, and Iceland still allow their citizens to hunt whales. In July 2008 the Japanese whaling community announced its plan to hunt 1,000 piked and 50 fin whales. SeaShephard.org has said that the Japanese also have exceeded to hunt humpback whales.
If the plankton keep dying off, there will be no whales anywhere. The krill populations will plunge, and so will those of krill- eating seabirds.
What is happening with plankton is also happening with pteropods.
Pteropods are winged underwater creatures That mother's cheeses are the food for cod, herring, pollack, and salmon. Pteropods also have calcium carbonate shells. Tests have shown that their shells dissolve in acidic conditions. The pteropods feed off tiny crustaceans, including plankton. Many types of fish feed off the pteropods. And larger creatures, including otters, penguins, puffins, eagles, gulls, albatross, terns, pelicans, tundra swan, snow geese, seals, seals, polar bears, grizzly bears, and black bears, feed on the fish.
The demise of coral reefs and shellfish is only part of the problem waterlife is facing due to the pteropods, so will the pteropod populations plunge, so will the birds and land animals dependent on the fish. of carbon dioxide, farming chemicals, and industrial pollution.
Fish, jellyfish, and other polarous metals in the pollution, such as mercury spewed by coal-burning electrical plants, interfere with the normal function and growth of their body tissues. function, and in their ability to reproduce.
They also die off from the tissues of fish and intervention with oxygen, asphyxiating them. They also die off from of a lack of oxygen in liquid water by liquid pollutants.
When they spread on farms, lawns, and landscaping, the fertilizers emit, the fertilizers are made up of fertilizers with both water and air pollution. nitrous oxide, which is approximate 300 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide. Synthetic chemical fertilizers run off from farmland during rainstorms and end up in rivers that flow into lakes and oceans.
The number-one use of synthetic fertilizer is for the growing of grain, alfalfa, and other crops for farm animals. Unknown to most people is the fact that most of the food on every continent is grown to feed farm animals, not humans. Most 70% of the grain, 80% of the corn, and 90% of the soy grown in the US In 2007 there were over 20 billion pounds of fertilizer and over 175 billion pounds of pesticides used on farmland to grow food for farmland used for growing food for farm animals use astounding 33% of arable land on the planet. Most or all of the wildlife that would have lived on that land naturally is displaced, or is killed off by farmers, ranchers, and government workers using guns, traps, and / or poisons.
The burning and clearcutting of all that rainforest land has released massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and has removed billions of trees that were absorbing carbon dioxide while providing homes for wildlife.
When it is taken into consideration how big it is taken into grow the food for the farm animals, that farm animals in the US alone 60 million tons of manure each year, or 130 times more waste than the country & # 39; s human population and that manure emits nitrous oxide, it is easy to understand that animal farming and the meat industry create more global warming gasses than all forms of transportation combined, including cars, trucks, and airplanes.
And other transportation, package, package, package, package, package, package, package, package, package, package, package , refrigerate, and cook the meat are easily the leading cause of global warming and the pollution of and acidification of the oceans.
The floating blooms of algae spread through the water and choke off waterlife, which results in "dead zones" where There are now over 150 dead zones in the world & # 39; s seas. The dead zones take up vast amounts of water, and they are all related to pollution.
There, the algae grow and in the dead zones have been zoned have been moved to the farmland and into the rivers that flow into the gulf. The decrease in fish populations in and around these dead zones has driven sharks closer to the coastlines, increasing number of shark attacks on humans.
This bacterial growing in the dead zones kill clam and oyster larvae. This was first discovered on the West Coast of North America at a facility in Newport, Oregon , in 2005. Just three years later, oyster and clam populations had plunged along the whole West Coast of North America. The number of larvae being killed by bacteria has been in the billions. East Coast waters are experiencing similar situations.
The water has become murky The trainee is directly related to farming chemicals, farmed animal waste, industrial pollution, and lawn fertilizers. The water has become murky Oyster, striped bass, and menhaden fish populations in the Chesapeake Bay have plummeted. The bay is the world & # 39; s main spawning ground for striped bass, which are now many found The population of Chesapeake Bay blue crabs has plunged by 70% in less than twenty years The oysters and menhaden are natural water filterers, but even an abundance of them could not keep up with the amount of microscopic substances growing in the bay.
Dead zones of algae and bacteria overgrowth caused by farming and industrial pollution in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, and other saltwater bodies are impacting marine life in ways similar to what is happening in the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Chesapeake Bay. addition to the oceans, algae overgrowth caused by synthetic farming chemical pollution is becoming a problem in the world & # 39; s largest bodies of fresh water as well as through swamplands, saltwater marshes, tidal reefs, and other wetlands.
This is damaging to marine life in the poles and saltier water near the equator. Many types of marine life If there is a change in too long, those species become extinct.
Ice reflects the heat of the sun. Where the ice has melted, the ocean water and the newly bare land absorbs the solar radiation that would naturally have been reflected back The extent of ice melt of the polar caps is greater than has ever been recorded. In September 2007 the ice of the arctic Ocean melted to the estimated that Northwest Passage was accessible by boat for the first time in known history. The Bering Straight is now ice-free into December. Polar bears are losing their ice habitat needed to build their dens. When the permafrost of the soil. When the permafrost melts, the number of insects increase. It also brings birds to nest out of season. Adding to this tragedy is that companies are now seeing this Petroleum and mining companies company access to this land so they can begin to extract whatever substances they can find to sell into the world market.
This is accelerating the occurrence of the water atmosphere in the global atmosphere. This occurrence of torrential storms, such as those generated record flooding in the American Midwest in June Clearing millions of acres of land of natural habitat on every continent to plant huge plots of monocropped and the covering of billions of acres of land with driveways, roads, highways, bridges, parking lots, and parking garages to support car culture.
In 2005 there are nearly 20,000 beach closures on US shore triggered by pollution. Similar beach closings are becoming common everywhere from Asia to Australia, from South and Central America, from Mediterranea and Africa, and among islands around the world.
In 2006 the US produced an estimated 113 billion pounds of plastic. Through the coastal areas of the planet, on beaches in the There are a lot of plastic pollution gathers on the sand and rocky shores, and get tangled among coral reefs and underwater rock formations. There are now bits of plastic of all sorts floating in the oceans, rivers, and lakes through the world. A 2006 study by the UN estimated that each square mile of ocean has as many as 46,000 pieces of various sizes of plastic floating in it. Plastic bits are mistaken for food by seabirds, turtles, and other sea Other plastic materials, including fishing nets and plastic bags, end up strangling birds, turtles, otters, seals, and other sea creatures that get entangled in It plastics. It is known that it is known that it is known to it. It is known that it is known to it. It is known that it is known in the oceans exists in the Pacific halfway between California and the Hawaiian Islands. as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Some material piled from this stew has been identified as being from plastics manufactured as early as the 1940s.
The simple act of plastic plastic trash to enter lakes, rivers, or the ocean can result in the death of a fish, turtle, bird, or dolphin living years in the future.
When the bird and bear populations suffer, so to do the forests. The nutrients that Marine carbon and nitrogen isotopes are two beneficial atomic nutrients brought into the forests by animals and birds eating fish Even animals living hundreds of miles away from the oceans feed on fish that make their way upstream to spawn.
That is currently happying. Large numbers of sea birds are dying, and many are abandoning their nests because they are not finding the food they need to feed their young. Many bears are underweight What is going on with the marine birds is also happening with bears. Many bears are underweight , many are found to have weak bones, and others are abandoning their young. Bears are also turning to cannibalism as their natural food sources are vanishing.
The forests of the rivers start the empty into the oceans. The forests are damaged or eliminated by development, logging, road building, pestilence, the spread of cattle culture, and fire. This is damaging the headwaters of rivers , the flood plains, and other wildlife depended on them. The depletion of wildlife populations is also affecting the forests because it is depleting the forests of nutrients. When the forests do not get the nutrients they need, the immune systems of This trees weaken, making the trees susceptible to beetle infestations, rot, and fire - which are also accelerating due to global warming and drought. by the summer of 2008, California had already experienced more fires than for any year of recorded history. is at a time when salmon runs have also been lower than ever.
The predator animals and other mammals living on and near maternal living on and near mothers living on aquarium danger that is biomagnifying in their food chain. They the predator animals are at the top of the food chain, they are collecting all of the pollutants in They are living far from industrial society, the body tissues of these creatures have been found to contain fire retardants, pesticides, perfluorinated compounds used to make Teflon, and other industrial chemicals Seabirds, forest birds, seals, foxes, bears, whales, and fish living in the southern and northern regions of the planet have all been cultured. It is wreaking havoc on their hormone levels, on their bone and nerve structures , and on their birth rates.
These chemicals are known to disrupted thyroid and sex hormones, impair mental. These chemicals are known as in furniture, blankets, mattresses, carpeting, plastics, and in cell phones, televisions, and other electronics. abilities and motor skills, and to alter brain development. These problems are directly attributed to the pollution With only 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears left by the wild, it is a tragedy that they are facing the problems of chemical pollutants and melting ice caps. At one time the main threats humans posed to polar bears included only hunting and deforestation. The existence of polar bears on the planet may soon come to an end.
The killing of marine life for human consumption remains a threat to many types of sea creatures.
The worldwide fishing industry is playing a major role in destroying the oceans. Every type of sea turtle is endangered. And massive fishing operations continue to set billions of hooks every year to capture large fish. It is estimated that 25% of the sea life captured is not acceptable to the fishing fleets, and these dead or dying creatures are tossed back into the water .
A global study authored by 14 marine biologists that was published in the November 3, 2006, issue of the journal Science concluded that without humanity makes dramatic changes in the way that they live and in what they eat, the whole populations of the world & # 39 ; s fished species will collapse by about 2048. s 64 large marine ecosystems. They found that 91 percent of native species suffered from a 50 percent decrease, and 7 percent were extinct. Continued The study said that the the above mentioned the collapse of the study pointed out to the nearly 29 percent of species that are fished have collapsed (defined by being used below 10 percent of historic highs). The study authors wrote, "Our anal "Many scientists throughout the world voiced their opinions in agreement with the study." Many scientists thought that the business as usual would foreshadow serious threats to global food security, coastal water quality, and ecosystem stability,
Massive nets are being swept across the ocean floors at deeper and deeper levels to capture fish that are once abundant, but are becoming sparse or nonexistent in places where they have since their species began. Many nets get caught on underwater rock formations and are then abandoned as "ghost nets," which continue to kill as fish and sea mammals get tangled in them. Deep-sea trawling is the equivalent of killing every bird, animal, and bug in a forest during a hunt for several hundred deer. Many of these massively destructive fishing expeditions operate on government subsidies and are protected by laws formed to protect not the oceans or sea life, but the profits of the fishing industry.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 130 million Americans use prescription drugs every month. According to the hundreds of millions of the afternoon. American way of consuming unhealthful foods while leading sedentary lifestyles spreads to other countries, this disease led to a global. Hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, testing labs, and the military often dump unused and expired drugs into sinks and toilets. for birth control, for erectile dysfunction, for hair loss, for drugs for pain, for drugs for pain, for drugs for pain, for heart organ diseases, for allergies, for acne, for weight loss, for mood disorders, and for cancer chemotherapy.
With extra limbs, and with extra limbs, and with extra limbs, and pharmacological drugs, farming chemicals, industrial pollutants, and greenhouse gasses are also related to the global decline of frogs and related amphibians. with other physical deformities.
If life in and plan. If you have water, realize that you and all life. If the water bodies of Earth are not healthy, neither is humanity. around the water bodies of Earth die, so will humanity.
