Environmental Issues

Summary
A lesson on the current threats to the ocean environment. The reading is accompanied by true/false questions.

Objectives
• To introduce students to the current threats to the ocean environment.

Suggested Grades
6th Grade
7th Grade
8th Grade

Excerpt
The land on continents is divided into nations and is controlled by the laws enacted by these nations. Who owns the ocean? No one owns the ocean; it is a part of the earth that belongs to all people. There is a centuries old philosophy that ships can sail anywhere on the ocean and that no one can own parts of the ocean. This is called the Freedom of the Seas Doctrine or the Law of the Sea. Meanwhile, international law allows countries that border the ocean to control the ocean three miles from shore; these are called territorial waters. Ships on the ocean fly the flag of their home country and are governed by the maritime laws of that country.

The ocean covers seventy-one percent of the surface of the earth and it is easy to believe that it is limitless and indestructible. Yet we know from experience that human endeavors are capable of harming the environment in far-reaching ways. Advocacy groups monitor the health of the ocean while governments recognize threats to the ocean by passing laws to prevent further pollution and destruction of marine habitats. There are several key areas of environmental threats to the ocean that are current problems.

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