Written by environmental club founder and presdient Megan Phelps The saying “When it rains, it pours" is surprisingly accurate when describing the slew of pesticides, fertilizers, dog excrement, and gasoline that are washed into storm drains from yards and streets when it rains. While we’d like to think such contaminants are filtered from stormwater before entering the oceans, the reality is that runoff is left completely unfiltered and untreated before it drains into the sea. Pesticides can cause harm to wildlife, especially when it is concentrated and absorbed by pieces of plastic (see “Plastic” section). Pesticides are also extremely hard to get rid of. DDT, for example, outlawed in 1972 (44 years ago), can still be found in oceans and the bloodstreams of many creatures in the US. Pesticides harm marine life and can get into our food supply if fish (which many humans eat) consume them. Gasoline residue can be found on streets from cars that drive over it, and poses several dangers to the ocean. One liter of fuel pollutes 647 gallons of ocean water, according to PBS. Rain washes residue from streets into the ocean, where it destroys the waterproof coating on seabirds’ wings and can cause them to drown or get too cold to survive. Fertilizers pose another problem altogether. When synthetic fertilizers containing phosphorous and nitrogen are washed into oceans, their intense fertilizing power breeds bacteria, which uses up oxygen. Once all the oxygen in a particular location is used up, creating a hypoxic (“hyp-”=without, “-oxic”=oxygen) zone where no organisms can grow. These dead zones reduce the productivity of the ocean and reduce the CO2 absorbing abilities of the ocean.
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