This document discusses various definitions and types of pollution that affect the oceans. It provides definitions of pollution from the U.N. in 1982 and from Pinet in 1998, both of which refer to the introduction of substances or energy by humans that cause harm to the marine environment. The document also discusses several ways in which humans pollute the oceans, such as through oil spills, trash, sewage, and excess nutrients from rivers, and the impacts of this pollution on wildlife, tourism, and human health. Finally, it notes that the oceans' ability to handle human waste is not limitless and that pollution is most severe near large urban areas and major shipping lanes.

1. Today’s Music:
“The New Pollution” -
Beck
Chapter 15
The Human Presence
in the Ocean

2. “By acquiescing in an act that can cause
suffering to a living creature, who among us is
not diminished as a human being?”
-- Rachel Carson, The Silent Spring
“By acquiescing in an act that can disrupt
and destroy delicate ecological balances,
who among us is not diminished as a
human being?”
– textbook paraphrase

3. Pollution - U.N., 1982
Pollution is the introduction by humans, directly or
indirectly, of substances or energy into the
marine environment (including estuaries)
resulting in deleterious effects such as harm to
living resources, hazards to human health,
hindrance of marine activities including fishing,
impairing quality for use of sea water and
reduction of amenities.

4. Pollution - Pinet , 1998
Pollution is the introduction OR extraction by
humans, of material and energy from the
environment, such that concentrations of these
substances are raised or lowered below “natural”
levels to such a degree that environmental
conditions change. This contamination by direct
or indirect human activity is pollution whether the
impact happens to be the living or to the
nonliving parts of ecosystems.
e.g., erosion of the coast or a barrier island...

5. Why Should We Care???
Over half our
population lives within
50 miles of the coast
We eat at least 15 lbs.
of seafood per person
each year
Just about everything
bought sold goes
thru ports in cargo
ships
15 million species in
oceans wetlands,
each one vital to
balance of nature
17% of our oil and
25% of our natural
gas come from
offshore
PB is spreadable
because an ingredient
found in the ocean

6. Why We Should Care (cont.)
Most of the world’s weather/climate
patterns...
The oceans are fun to be near or in...

7. Pollution tends to be concentrated in
three parts of the ocean
UCAR, www.windows.ucar.edu

8. Blowout of exploratory well Ixtox 1 in 1979 (Gulf of Mexico). When workers were able to
stop this blowout in 1980 an estimated 140 million gallons of oil had spilled into the ocean.
This is the second largest spill ever, smaller only than the deliberate oil spills that ended
the Kuwait-Iraq war of 1991

9. 1000 miles of shoreline
198 damaged
9

15. “The Curse of the Carissa”
Feb/Mar ‘99

16. “The Curse of the Carissa”

17. “The Curse of the Carissa”
Navy torpedoes!

18. “The Battle for the Beach”
70,000 gallons of oil
2400 seabirds killed

19. Human Foibles
Relatively little pollution occurs due to tanker
accidents.
Mostly “standard operational discharge”
related to pumping bilges on ships.
Rivers…

20. More of the spectacular and sadly comic
“Quick and clean” environmental cleanup?
Qui c k Time™ and a GIF dec ompres s or are needed to s ee thi s pi c ture.

21. Our Trash Kills!
20 billion tons per year!!
Needles and syringes
from NYC sewer
$3 billion in lost tourism
N. Jersey sperm whale
party balloon, ribbon still attached,
blocking the animal's digestive tract.

22. Boston Harbor:
one of the most
polluted in the
country
Sewage dumped
from 48
communities

23. Boston Harbor Outfall Tunnel

24. The Ocean’s Future
A commonly held belief is that the ocean’s
capacity for accepting human refuse and
for self-cleansing is limitless.
NOT TRUE!!!
coastal ocean
capacity
already
exceeded.
© Wolcott Henry 2001, Marine Photobank

25. The Ocean’s Future
(Cont.)
most seriously polluted = coastal zones
that border large urban centers.
open ocean showing signs of pollution.
major shipping
lanes
© Wolcott Henry 2001, Marine Photobank

26. The Ocean’s Future
(Cont.)
Since the ocean is a dynamic system and water
is exchanged regularly, no part of the ocean and
for that matter the Earth is truly free of human
influence.
© Wolcott Henry 2001, Marine Photobank

27. The Ocean’s Future
(Cont.)
The human population of ~6 billion
people is expanding at an exponential
rate.
© Wolcott Henry 2001, Marine Photobank

28. Simple Living Collective
of San Francisco, 1977
Does what I own or buy promote activity,
self-reliance, and involvement, or does it
induce passivity and dependence?
Are my consumptive patterns basically
satisfying, or do I buy much that serves no
real need?

29. Simple Living Collective
of San Francisco, 1977 (cont.)
How tied is my present job and lifestyle to
installment payments, maintenance
repair costs, and the expectation of
others?
Do I consider the impact of my
consumptive patterns on other people and
on the Earth?
What will YOU do to help?

30. What will YOU do to help?
“…Things YOU Can Do to Save Our Ocean”
dusk.geo.orst.edu/oceans/yoto.html
www.saveourseas.org
www.seaweb.org