Applied Ethics and Sustainability: Pollution and Exploitation of Marine Environment

Applied ethics and sustainability

Applied ethics and sustainability: 1
Contents
Answer a................................................................................................................................................2
Answer b................................................................................................................................................2
Answer c................................................................................................................................................3
Answer d................................................................................................................................................5
References.............................................................................................................................................7

Applied ethics and sustainability: 2
Answer a
The marine environment is in danger of serious and sustained pollution. This is a biological
issue, but also one with strong ethical implications. In terms of act utilitarianism, the choices
we make and policies frame are based on practical outcomes and must be evaluated in terms
of achieving maximum benefits from amongst a set of possible outcomes. This is a
significant challenge for today’s world. The topic drawn for the report will be pollution and
exploitation of marine environment. Pollution is one of the major issues affecting the marine
life (Allen et al. 2012, p. 2817).
Synthetic pollutants discharged from industries such as pesticides, chemical fertilisers, oil
sewage, herbicides, and plastics are diverted into the water bodies, which affect the marine
life. This contamination affects the food chain and respiration problems globally (Zbyszewski
& Corcoran 2011, p. 367).
Oceans cover 70% of earth`s total surface. Marine contamination affects the physical and
biological characteristics of the coastal area, which threatens the marine ecosystem and
affects its quality (Mambra, 2017). The major causes of marine pollution are discharging of
effluent from industries, human activities, and solid waste run off to rivers and seas. Due to
increasing environmental loss, there is an abundance of damage to the lives of coastal
habitats (Ommer et al. 2012, p. 320).
Marine pollution has adverse effect on both sea turtles and their food. The marine pollutant
kills aquatic life and destroys feeding habitats for sea creatures. For example- Small marine
creatures are on the lower level of the food chain such as plankton who absorbs toxic
chemicals. These chemicals accumulate in animal`s body, which concentrates toxins in the
surrounding water. With the continuous flow of food chain, large animals such as sea turtles

Applied ethics and sustainability: 3
consume small sea creatures as its food that increases density level of chemical and pollutants
in the water.
Answer b
Pollution is a man-made activity and has to be considered as a major ethical problem. The
addition of plastic to the environment is an outcome of improper disposal. Since plastics are
lightweight, they have the feature of covering long distances and floating on the water
surface. Floating plastics end up in mammals’ stomachs or around their necks. Extra nitrogen
nutrient can create algae blooms. These algae blooms use all the oxygen present in the water.
The level of oxygen drops causing a threat to marine life (Brown 2018).
The appearance of eroded plastic bags is similar to the food they eat. Fishes eat micro plastic,
which resembles phytoplankton. Swallowing plastic debris reduces the stomach capacity,
hinders growth, and blocks the intestines (Ouyang et al. 2015, p. 310). Eighty percent of
plastic floating on the sea surface is expected to create heaps near the seashores. The density
of plastic has been multiplying increasingly over several decades. The water supply is being
put under severe threat due to the population explosion, pollution, and overuse. Polluted
drinking water has become a cause of child mortality (Golden et al. 2016, p. 318). Around 1.9
million children have lost their lives due to contaminated water (Khuroo 2015, p. 45).
Meanwhile, the density of plastic has increased from 4256.6 pieces km-2 to 8966.3 pieces km-
2.
Scientists have discovered that most of ocean oxygen comes from tiny plants called
phytoplankton. The high concentration of plastics in seawater causes oxygen saturation is a
major factor of decline in fish population (Halle et al. 2016, p. 5669). These sites without
oxygen are known as dead zones. Another cause of the unbalanced food chain is acid
leaching from mines that drops the pH level of seawater, and the high content of sulphate