“Americans make up an estimated 5% of the world’s population. However, the US uses 25% of the world’s resources - burning up nearly 25% of the coal, 26% of the oil, and 27% of the world’s natural gas”.(“11 Facts About Pollution | DoSomething.org | Volunteer for Social Change”). By everybody using these resources, this causes pollution. We pollute our oceans, our animals, and the environment.
         Most of ocean pollution comes from nonpoint source pollution. Nonpoint source pollution is mostly on farms when tracts of land are plowed resulting in the  soil left on the ground and eventually it  washes off into the ocean (US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Administration). Another source of pollution is plastic pollution. Plastic is the number one litter item in the ocean. 11,749,377 plastic items have been found in our oceans. Such as water bottles, bottle caps and grocery bags.
        Ocean pollution and air pollution is a key factor that goes into animal pollution. Over 1,100,000 seabirds and sea mammals have been affected by animal pollution. The plastic pollution can suffocate these animals and kill them. Its gotten so horrible that 86 percent of the lakes and oceans combined are unsuitable for aquatic life. (Rinkesh, “40 Facts About Water Pollution - Conserve Energy Future”) As i said in the first paragraph fertilizer can was off into the ocean altering their water,and eventually killing them.. Now another type of pollution is called thermal pollution. Thermal pollution is the artificial warming of water. It can happen when a power plant uses cool water to cool its workings/operations. If the water gets hotter and transitions into the ocean, the warm water takes all the oxygen out the ocean, killing fish and most aquatic wildlife.
         Environmental pollution is a combination of animal pollution and air pollution. Environmental pollution consists of chemicals released into the atmosphere. More than 1 billion humans in the world don’t have access to clean water because of our air pollution in our world. This can cause diseases or health conditions such as asthma and lung cancer.  More than 20 percent of the world have a higher risk of getting lung cancer if those people live in polluted areas, than of those who don’t . (Rinkesh, “51 Facts About Pollution - Conserve Energy Future”) We need to take a stand and start recycling.
In conclusion, what we can do as a nation to prevent ocean pollution is to recycle our water bottles, put our trash in the trash, and use the reusable grocery bags to prevent even more pollution. We need to take better care of our oceans, be considerate of our animals, and the environment in general. I hope one day we will learn from what we humans have done.
      
            
“11 Facts About Pollution | DoSomething.org | Volunteer for Social Change.” N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.
“Ocean Conservancy: Top 10 Items Found.” N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.
Rinkesh. “40 Facts About Water Pollution - Conserve Energy Future.” Conserve-Energy-Future. N.p., 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.
---. “51 Facts About Pollution - Conserve Energy Future.” Conserve-Energy-Future. N.p., 8 Sept. 2013. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.
US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic, and Atmospheric Administration. “What Is the Biggest Source of Pollution in the Ocean?” (2008): n. pag. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.