23.Jan.2012 Ocean Dead Zones – On The Rise

Sit back and think about the environment for a minute. Now, if you’ve managed not to click ‘Close’ before getting to the end of that sentence just to avoid having environmental issues rammed down your throat, what were you thinking of?

 

Global warming?

Deforestation?

Pollution?

Rising sea levels?

 

Indeed, each of these are inarguably a mitigating factor in the ways in which we must change the way we live in modern times (not including the diehard sceptic!) However, I bet I can find some things that you didn’t think about that are becoming major issues but managing to evade public opinion. These are problems such as the Ocean Dead Zones.

 

Ocean Dead Zones are popping up in oceans all over the world. A ‘Dead Zone’ is characterised by a lack of oxygen. This lack of oxygen renders a certain section of ocean uninhabitable.

 

So when we say ‘Dead Zone,’ there may well be a disparity between the image conjured up in your mind, that of hundreds of belly up fish is a sludgy black ocean, and the reality of a big, wet emptiness.

 

The largest Ocean Dead Zone is in the Gulf of Mexico and spans 45,000 square miles. Now, as I just said, you’re not going to be jumping off your yacht for a dip in the Gulf of Mexico and drown in a slimy mass of sea creature corpses. Mainly because you’d be having a nice dream and nice dreams don’t end like that.

 

However, the uninhabitable nature of these ‘Dead Zones’ is as much of a problem as if they were full of dead animals. When you consider the collapsing fish stocks in our oceans it doesn’t bode well that huge sections of our oceans are becoming uninhabitable.

 

These two problems coupled together clearly spell out disaster for the future. Now, I’ll give you three guesses as to the cause of this problem, and I’ll bet you some pounds that you only need one of those guesses.

 

We caused and are continuing to cause it. The lack of oxygen that defines the ‘Dead Zones’ is created through human waste. Things such as excess nitrogen from farm fertilisers are altering the seas around us.

 

You also have emissions from vehicles and factories and sewage being dumped directly into the ocean. This is a global problem; there are no nations that can be picked out as a scapegoat here.

 

It is the way in which we have developed our industries to cope with the snowballing speed of modern life that are creating these problems. We are dependent upon industry and mechanisation, we can’t sacrifice our transport to reduce emissions because it’s now an intrinsic part of modern day life.

 

I don’t have the sneers here, but if you’re expecting a light-hearted twist in the final paragraph that reassures you that everything’s going to be okay you’re not going to get it.

No one’s sure about what’s to come, but the general consensus is that whatever is coming is not going to be good.

 

This is the effect of modern life upon the world.

 

Think to yourself; would you give up your car, PS3 or cheap food to keep a few square miles of ocean oxygen rich? Or does that sound like a ridiculous prospect?

 

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