Every sea mammal and every type of fish, crustacean, and mollusk are on the critical list. So are the seabirds and the bears that depend on fish for their survival. Even the microscopic animals of the seas are in trouble. This is because air and industrial pollution is changing the acidity level of the oceans and poisoning sea life; because synthetic farming chemicals and farmed animal waste are causing massive algae blooms that block light and choke off waterlife; because of fishing, recreational, cruise line, industrial, and military watercraft; Whole Melt Extracts Live Resinand because plastic trash is both killing marine life and gathering in and leaching chemi cals into the rivers, lakes, and oceans. To put it mildly, what is going on in the oceans threatens every form of sea life, every form of life dependent on ocean life, and every human on every area of the planet.
Since the middle of the 1800s, the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has increased in relation to the use of fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, and natural gas). The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Plants naturally absorb carbon dioxide. But the amount of carbon dioxide being produced by humans is far beyond the amount that could be absorbed by the plants on Earth. The oceans, lakes, and rivers also absorb carbon dioxide. But the world’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 have greatly increased the acidity of the oceans. The oceans of the world are experiencing the worst acid trips ever. Because pollution can hang in the atmosphere for decades, the oceans keep absorbing more of 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.
The situation doesn’t damage the marine life only at the surface, but impacts marine life miles below water. One of the most dire situations caused by pollution exists with coral reefs throughout the world.
Coral reefs are among the most endangered forms of marine life. They support all forms of ocean life, and 24% of all marine life lives directly in and around coral reefs, all of which are now on the critical list worldwide. Scientists have estimated that 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 International Coral Reef Symposium in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. While there, they were presented with a study by the Global Marine Species Assessment concluding that a third of Earth’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.
Thousands of miles of coral reefs that were filled with life just a decade ago sit almost empty of life because of bleaching, dynamite fishing, overfishing, and rising temperatures and levels of water acidity, or they are being strangled by algae and bacteria overgrowth caused by pollution.