protection of aquatic Animals & Environments

  The water on our planet works in a cycle, and every waterway connect to another. This grants many species to migrate throughout the world, but this also makes pollution in any body of water a problem.  All it takes is a single piece of trash to take a life. Animals world wide suffer from the pollution created by humans. The world is extremely fragile and we need to be at the very least aware of what we are doing to it.

It’s not only major corporations that are responsible for polluting the environment that animals need to survive in. According to the Clean Air council, “Every year, Americans use approximately 102.1 billion plastic bags, creating tons of landfill waste.” Some environments have become so polluted that it’s even hostile to humans. Even some of everyday waist can lead to a higher risk of cancer. To see a chart of contaminations and what illnesses they can lead to click here. In the United States of America and the majority of the first world; we need to understand that the phrase “Out of sight, out of mind.” doesn’t apply to this problem.

There are many grants and laws set to protect pollution but some things aren’t enough. Although the Safe Drinking Water Act protects American sources, it only protects our drinking water, and not the water of the marine life. Perhaps one of the most famous aquatic environmental destroyers is BP or British Petroleum. On April 20th, 2010  high pressured methane gas poured into the gulf of Mexico, destroying an exceptional amount of wildlife. As of July 9th 2013 BP had spent $25 billion, PBS stated, but that doesn’t bring back the thousands of marine animals that died from the pollution. For more information on the BP oil spill click here. However, BP isn’t the only source responsible for marine destruction. Whaling, a common activity done in many asian countries like Japan, is another source that’s done, even when it’s opposed by the U.N. Whales are a huge part of the Marine cycle and without whales the possibility of krill rapidly arrises. Krill live off the same nutrients that many other micro-organisms need to live. This could end with many more marine animals on the endangered species list.

Wetlands are homes for almost infinite number of life, spanning from crane to small bacterial animals. Since the European settlement of the United States, 53% of wetlands in America have disappeared according to WARPT. Wetlands are destroyed to aid the growth of urban communities. On top of the destruction of wetlands, the creation of factories, farms, and towns creates a large amount of waste that potentially endangers aquatic and semi-aquatic animals. Tourist can also endanger marine environments; scuba divers and scouclers can bring humans dangerously close to marine environments that are already extremely fragile. Since the boom of gasoline, growth of technology, and the expanse of human population, we as a species have hurt our ocean more than any other species boom.

You don’t need to give money, or start a major protest, all you need to do is care. Just be an advocate for the world; when you see a piece of trash just pick it up. The world is a fragile place and it’s so easy to destroy but we can make a change. As human beings we can do amazing things when we put in effort; if everyone tried to make a difference for just one day we could reverse 25% of potential damage done to marine life. As human beings we can take the damage we have already done and fix it.

Annotated bibliography