Keeping the Oceans Blue

If 71% of the world is water, it's hard to imagine how the ocean looks considering what we've done to the land. Simply because we can't see the damage of the oceans, doesn't mean it's not there.
Oil spills contribute hugely to the pollution of our waters. Oil spills are classified as major (700+ tonnes), medium (7-700 tonnes) and small oil spills (-7 tonnes). The oceans witnessed 1 major oil spill and 7 medium oil spills in 2008 alone. Just one oil spill is enough to severely impact marine life. And although an oil spill can cause far more damage, a cruise ship creates a million gallons of waste water per week. So while an oil spill might do more damage in one swing, this only occurs on a few occasions. Cruise ships are running constantly. Not to mention the "floating pollution" that occurs around the world from people being too lazy to walk to a garbage can, and instead, throw their debris into the ocean. One place that is especially effected by this is the North Pacific. Scientists estimate that the trash carpet created here has reached the size of Texas, and is still growing.
The second leading cause of fish death other than overfishing, is ocean pollution. More than a million sea birds, like pelicans and gulls, have also met a watery grave owing to the domino effect triggered due to the depletion of fish population in the oceans. Pollution in the ocean not only affects ocean or marine life, but also affects the rest of the planet indirectly. The ocean is a significant food source for humans, therefore humans will face a serious food shortage if the marine life suffers for long enough. Not to mention the effects the pollution has on the fish that live long enough to be caught and eaten. This could result in a wide spread of disease throughout the human race. It will also alter the natural cycle of the planet which will again have a disastrous impact on humans.

The majority of the earth's fresh water is stored in underground aquifers.  Water that enters an aquifer remains there for an average of 1400 years, making them extremely difficult to clean or purify once pollutants have reached them.

If we think that the waters here are bad, we should take a look around the world. 40% of the rivers in America, and 46% of the lakes are too polluted for swimming, fishing or aquatic life. 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, storm water, and industrial waste are discharged into US waters annually. The US EPA has warned that sewage levels in rivers could be back to the super-polluted levels of the 1970s by the year 2016. Asia's rivers are the most polluted in the world with their water containing three times as much bacteria from human waste and 20 times more lead. In 2004, water from half of the seven major rivers in China were found to be undrinkable because of pollution.  The Sarno river is the most polluted river in Europe, featuring a mix of sewage, untreated agricultural waste, industrial waste, and chemicals. Pollution of drinking water is a problem for about half of the world's population. Each year there are about 250 million cases of water-related diseases, with roughly 5 to 10 million deaths.

Each year, plastic waste in water and coastal areas kills up to:

• 100,000 marine mammals,
• 1 million sea birds, and
• countless fish.

3459 species live under the California Coast. Only one is killing them.