Seventy per cent of the earth’s surface is covered in water — approximately 96.5 per cent of which is saline water, or, our oceans.
The remaining water on earth is found in groundwater and freshwater lakes and rivers — lakes and rivers containing the least amount of water.
The sheer volume of water in our oceans may cause it to seem like the dumping of sewage, industrial runoff and garbage, would need to be greatly increased to cause any major changes in aquatic life.
This assumption is wrong.
Our outlook on the health of our oceans needs to be drastically reformed. Many coastal wildlife species are suffering from human ignorance when it comes to the health of our oceans.
It’s only a matter of time before this problem for marine species becomes a major problem for humans and other terrestrial organisms as well.
Rachel Merriman
Parkland Secondary School
