Sea Pollution | Ocean Pollution for Kids | Plastic Ocean Facts | Facts about Ocean Pollution |Oceans

Professor, look! How come there is so much garbage here? It's truly awful, James. The ocean seems sick. She needs our care badly. She is extremely important to the Earth and us human beings, you know? Yes, I remember my science teacher, Miss Ellie, told us that the first life on Earth was actually born in the primordial ocean. Yes, according to scientists' research, the primordial oceans gave birth to the first life on Earth over 3.6 billion years ago. It is the cradle of life. Wow! We really should protect the ocean even more. She would feel sad to see how the ocean looks now. You're right. To protect the ocean, we need to figure out how it gets sick first. Let's go find out why. That's great! Ocean rescue team, off we go! It stinks here, Professor. What's going on? This is the industrial waste water Oh, I see now. No wonder the ocean gets sick. In fact, the ocean itself is capable of self-purification. It can eliminate some of the slight pollutants with the help of waves movement and some organisms in the sea. That is so cool! So, the ocean actually can create its own self-remedy? Yes, however, with the development of industry, more and more factories have been built on Earth and the population has significantly increased. The sewage from the sewers gradually pollutes the clean ocean. I see. It seems what Miss Ellie taught us is a very good way to minimize the pollution. Recycle the waste water. For example, the vegetables cleaning water can be reused for bathroom flushing. Clothes washing water can be reused for floor cleaning and so on. What a great idea, James! I think you could give a great speech to let other people know about your ideas on recycling. Well, I am going to ask Aaron to help me make an ocean saving plan. That's a good idea, James. Other than contaminating the seawater, these waste waters often contain toxic substances which can cause large amounts of plankton to die. Subsequently, other creatures in the sea will also face extinction. This is really terrible! Not only that, the pollutants in the ocean can travel very far as the water moves. For example, some countries in North America release pollutants into the sea which will be carried by the seawater to the Arctic where the polar bears live. So, some pollutants have been found in the bodies of dead polar bears. Oh no! I really like polar bears. I wish they weren't in danger. So are the penguins. Scientists have found pesticides in their body, even in their eggs. But the North and South Poles are so far away from where humans live. How can they be affected so much? If you remember what we have learned in our previous adventures, the world's oceans are integral. They cover more than 70% of the Earth. When the seawater in one place is polluted, it can be carried hundreds or even thousands of kilometres away by ocean currents and winds. In addition to the sewage discharge, there are so many garbage bags and plastic bottles. It looks and smells awful! Ugh, yes! Most of this marine debris comes from the land. Some are dumped into the sea by people. Some flow into the ocean with the rain and river water. Others are discarded in the ocean by the ships coming and going. How do they get here though? Well, even though they come from all directions, the unique ocean currents can gather them together to form a huge dump, which looks like an island. The world's largest offshore garbage island is located in a current vortex between California and Hawaii in the North Pacific Ocean. That is absolutely awful! Yes, and most of them are made of plastics. They float on the sea, pile up and grow. I feel so sad hearing this, Professor. What will happen then? Well, what's scary is that most of these plastic products are toxic. They slowly break down into smaller plastic particles under the sunshine and are eaten by small fish and other sea animals. Oh no! Isn't that dangerous for sea animals? Yes, it is really dangerous. Not only that, some of them might be brought to our dining table. I don't want to eat poisonous. Oh, nobody wants that, James. Some seabirds even treat plastic as yummy food by mistake. It is reported that some of the stomachs of dead albatrosses are filled with plastics. Poor birds! I also heard on the news that many small fish and turtles were choked to death by plastic bags dumped in the ocean. Whales that eat plastic waste are often killed too. It's awful! Yes, there is also a big problem with marine plastic pollution. It takes an unusually long time to decompose. I know that Miss Ellie said that plastic can take hundreds of years to break down completely. That's right, James. So, Professor, what should I put into my ocean saving plan? Do you have any suggestions for me? Yes, I do have some tips here. We should try to reduce the use of disposable plastic products. For example, disposable plastic bags, mineral water bottles, straws. Instead, we should use our own reusable glass bottles. On a positive note, many countries are taking action. More than 60 countries have enacted regulations to limit or ban the use of disposable plastic items. Great! We just have to get rid of all this plastic and we won't have to worry about it anymore. It's not as easy as you think, James. The salvage operation was very difficult. First, it may harm marine life. And it takes a lot of energy and money. But it doesn't always work out, as clean-up may be impossible for some items. Oh, I see. The ocean gets polluted easily. But cleaning up can be extremely hard. You're right. There are also some marine pollutants that are invisible but extremely harmful. Really? What's that? Air pollution. Polluted air can fall into the ocean with rain, snow and hail, making seawater acidic. Sometimes even acid rain falls. Acid rain? I've heard of that. It is very unfriendly to marine life. For example, it can destroy the skeleton of coral and even lead to the extinction of coral. Yes, and it damages planktons, small fish and turtles. It is a very bad thing indeed. Hmm. I think we need to develop and use new environmentally friendly energy as much as possible and reduce the burning of coal, oil and other fossil fuels, right? Well done, James. You know a lot about it, don't you? I have been studying, Professor. What are those black things in the water? That's a petroleum that has spilled out into sea. Petroleum spill? It looks so dirty. Petroleum is the fuel oil we use. Its ingredients are very complicated. Most of them are harmful to living things, even poisonous. What's more, when it covers the surface of the ocean, it causes a lack of oxygen in the water and marine life suffers. On March 24, 1989, the cruise ship Valdez struck a reef, spilling roughly 50,000 tonnes of petroleum onto the surface, which caused over 200,000 seabirds, nearly 3,000 sea otters and more than 20 large killer whales to die. Oh, for creatures. That really is horrible. I hope these bad things don't happen again. It seems that my ocean saving plan That's great, James. I can help you. Thanks very much, Professor. I really have learned a lot today. Wonderful, James. You are really listening. I am so proud of you. Would you like to start your ocean words treasure hunter? Yes, I like the sound of this challenge. Welcome to today's ocean treasure hunter adventure. First, you need to find five ocean words hidden on the body of some ocean creatures in five minutes. And then you need to read them correctly and loudly and make sentences. If you complete them all right, this big prize is for you. Ready? Let's get started. The first word is pollution. That's pollution. The pollution of the city is very serious. The second word is sewage. There's sewage. Domestic sewage should be recycled. The third word is plastic. Here, plastic. Plastic takes a long time to break down. The next word is acid. Acid. Acid rain destroys corals. The last word is petroleum. Petroleum. Petroleum spills are dangerous. Well done, James. All correct. I hope it is helpful to your ocean saving plan. Thanks very much, Dr. Dolphin. Hello, everyone. It is time to say goodbye now. It is easy to pollute the ocean, but it takes a lot of people and money to save it. I hope you will also join the Ocean Rescue Team and try your best to protect our beautiful ocean. Goodbye.