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Articles on Marine pollution

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Water quality is one of the major issues that threatens the Great Barrier Reef’s health. AAP Image/Dan Peled

The new Great Barrier Reef pollution plan is better, but still not good enough

The updated plan for improving water quality on the Great Barrier Reef still doesn’t address the need to curb intensively farmed crops such as sugar cane, and to enforce existing environmental laws.
The researchers found nearly 38 million pieces of plastic rubbish on Henderson Island, in one of the remotest parts of the ocean. Jennifer Lavers

This South Pacific island of rubbish shows why we need to quit our plastic habit

Plastics pose a major threat to seabirds and other animals, and most don’t ever break down - they just break up. Every piece of petrochemical-derived plastic ever made still exists on the planet.
A man stretches his leg on the bank of the Han River as a ship passes by amid thick haze. Tens of thousands of premature deaths in east Asia every year are caused by shipping pollution. REUTERS/Stringer

Three ways to improve commercial shipping’s environmental footprint

The merchant navy – some 20,000 ships – carries the vast majority of trade goods around the world. Unfortunately, they also spew toxic pollutants that harm people and the environment.
Popular tourist destination Kuta beach in Bali, Indonesia, is regularly covered in waste, most of it plastic that washes ashore during the rainy season. This picture was taken on February 15, 2016. Wira Suryantala/Antara/Reuters

Indonesia vows to tackle marine pollution

Marine plastic pollution is a global problem. Bali’s beaches present prime examples and an opportunity to study the socio-economic effects this has on coastal communities.
Around 94% of litter on South African beaches is made of plastic, of which 77% is packaging. Peter Ryan

Five applications where plastic is not fantastic

Waste plastic affects marine life significantly but better education and recyclable plastics could go a long way in resolving this issue.
Sperm whales, like many other species, use echolocation which can be hampered by noise. Gabriel Barathieu/Wikimedia Commons

It’s time to speak up about noise pollution in the oceans

We tend to think of the oceans as quiet, when in fact they’re anything but. Noise is the “forgotten pollutant”, but the good news is that unlike many other pollutants it can be switched off if we try.
The Curtis Island gas precinct is one of the biggest developments along the Great Barrier Reef coast. AAP Image/Greenpeace

Development and the Reef: the rules have been lax for too long

The coast alongside the Great Barrier Reef is home to ports, farms, holiday resorts, and more than a million people. It all puts pressure on the Reef, and it’s time for some firms plans to manage it.
A flood plume containing sediments, nutrients and pesticides flowing onto the Great Barrier Reef from Bundaberg. AAP Image/James Cook University

Cloudy issue: we need to fix the Barrier Reef’s murky waters

Successive plans to curb the sediments, nutrients and pesticides flowing into the waters around the Great Barrier Reef have fallen short, leaving the corals that call the reef home highly vulnerable.
It’s not always as ostentatious as Dubai, but our coastlines are home to ever-growing numbers of manmade structures. NASA/Wikimedia Commons

Concrete coastlines: it’s time to tackle our marine ‘urban sprawl’

Urban sprawl has spread to the sea, as more and more man-made structures are being built along the world’s coastlines. Just as we do on land, we need to think about how to build sustainably at sea.

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