By Jim Turnage
Climate change is slowly destroying the ecological system of the earth. Air, water, and soil are being contaminated by the selfish acts of humans. Oil companies cause damage while they are in the process of extracting crude and natural gas thousands of feet below the earth’s surface and underneath the sea. Products produced by the petroleum industry and coal mining damage virtually everything in nature; soil, water, foliage, land animals, and ocean life. These and other factors have caused a measurable decline in ocean life.
All of the damage to our seas and the creatures which live in them is directly attributable to the greed of man. When the Deep Water Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, over 210 million gallons of crude escaped into the ocean before it was finally capped in July. More than 800,000 birds were killed; 450 sea turtles covered with crude were collected, cleaned, and released, and about 600 were found dead; More than 170 dolphins and whales lost their lives.
This one tragic incident is evidence of unsafe practices by the petroleum industry both on the land and in our oceans.
There are other reasons that the living creatures in our oceans are declining in numbers. Some scientists believe several species may become extinct if man refuses to cease practices which kill sea life in large numbers.
Unrestricted fishing is the principle cause for the dwindling numbers, but there are other which contribute to the disturbing numbers. Pollution, bottom trawling, and even noise pollution cause loss of life deep within our oceans. Construction of man-made islands off of the coast of Dubai destroyed the habitat of millions of sea creatures.
More than half of the damage done by man to our oceans can never be repaired. The ocean floor and the shoreline damaged by the Deep Water Horizon incident will take hundreds and maybe thousands of years to repair itself naturally. Once a species of fish is eradicated, it will never be seen again. When a fishing trawler drops its nets they trap additional sea creatures such as sea turtles and sharks. They are usually damaged beyond repair and thrown overboard to die.
The hunting of whales has greatly declined, but they are subject to the same dangers from pollution as other sea life.
I used to say to my wife; ‘God only made one mistake; He created humans who are destroying His earth.’ Not one of the causes of climate change and the destruction of life in our oceans is natural. It is all caused by one simple word; greed.
By James Turnage
Sources:
Photo courtesy of Wolfram Burner
Tre'vell Hill 
Jeanette Smith