Environmental Issues

Environmental Issues

Environmental issues such as ocean dumping are a public concern; it is not only an issue of concern for America. The entire world must take a stand as the destruction of the tropical rainforest, the widespread damage done by acid rain, global warming, ocean dumping, and ozone
depletion are but, a few of the concerns for countries throughout the world.
Although policies on ocean dumping in the recent past took an “out of sight, out of mind” approach, it is now that accumulation of waste in the ocean is detrimental to marine and human health. Ocean dumping can and does destroy entire habitats and ecosystems when excess debris and deposits build up and toxins are released.
Even though ocean dumping is managed to some degree and the dumping in many critical surroundings and at critical times is regulated, toxins are still spread by ocean currents.
Over the last 150 years, all types of wastes have been ocean dumped. These include sewage (treated and untreated), industrial waste, military waste, (ammunition and chemicals), entire ships, trash, garbage, dredged material, construction debris, and radioactive wastes (both high and low level). (Ocean Pollution, 2009)
It is important to note that significant amounts of waste enters the ocean through rivers, atmospheric, and pipeline discharge; construction; offshore mining; oil and gas exploration; and shipboard waste disposal.
Sadly, the ocean has become the ultimate dumping ground for all of civilization.
The detrimental environmental effects of ocean dumping are physically visible at trashed beaches, where dead fish and mammals entangled in plastic products may sometimes be observed.
While there are laws regulating the dumping of trash at sea and on shore, the global nature of debris, its inability to be confined within territorial boundaries, and the complexity of identifying debris sources have made effective laws difficult to draft and even harder to enforce.
The federal government decision is...

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