Why Care?

Causes

There are two types of pollution: point source and non-point source. Point source is an identifiable place where pollutants are discharged. Nonpoint source is when runoff carries pollutants into the water. People are a major contribution to ocean pollution. Industries such as agriculture, oil, and manufacturing pollute the ocean, land and air. Most pollutants in the air and on the land end up in the ocean.

Effects

Chemicals used in industries are washed into the rivers and then carried into the oceans. Since the chemicals are not dissolved, they are ingested by small animals which are then eaten by the larger animals, affecting the entire food chain. Humans are also a part of this food chain and these toxins can lead to cancer, birth defects, and long term health problems. Another type of pollution, acid rain, changes the pH in many marine communities, resulting in the lost of an ecosystem. Pollutants can also change water temperatures, creating algae blooms that are toxic.

How to help?

Be considerate. Do not litter, instead pick up trash.
To see what else you can do visit:

Oceana
Heal the Bay
The Ocean Clean Up

Reel in the facts!

Plastic is the most common pollutant in the ocean.

Over 1 million seabirds are killed by ocean pollution each year.

300,000 dolphins and porpoises die each year as a result of becoming entangled in discarded fishing nets, among other items.

100,000 sea mammals are killed in the ocean by pollution each year.

Oil is the fastest source of deterioration to the ocean, being far more harmful than trash and waste.

People get contaminated easily by eating contaminated seafood that can cause serious health problems, from cancer to damage to immune system.

There is more microplastic in the ocean than there are stars in the Milky Way.

Over the last ten years we have produced more plastic than during the whole of the last century.

Data

In this graph, the percentage of
Marine Protected Areas (MPA) has increased
in a little over a decade. This shows
that the human race is seeking change
and has made an effort to protect
marine life. Marine Protected Areas
are sectioned off seas, lakes, and
oceans to preserve natural resources in it.
These Marine Protected Areas are important
because sea creatures and sea life are undisturbed
in these sites. Because of this, people
are able to see the effects of ocean pollution.

Graph made by Pandas on Python

Meet the Creators

Ocean Pollution is created by Girls Who Code in an effort to inform the public about environmental problems caused by pollution and encourage marine wildlife aid.

Emi Eckey

Design Director

I am a rising junior at Davis Senior High School. I joined Girls Who Code with no experience, but after 7 weeks, I was able to learn Scratch, Python, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. One of the main reasons I chose to do this project was because I am very passionate about environmental sciences and wanted to spread awareness about Earth's problems.

Tati Lui

Creative Director

As an incoming senior at Arroyo High School, I was unsure of what I wanted to pursue in college. I decided to apply for Girls Who Code and see if coding would sparked any interest to me. Surprisingly it did; I began the program knowing nothing about computer science but throughtout the program, I learned different coding languages including Python, HTML, Django, Javascript and many more. It is so cool to think that I knew absolute nothing about coding on Day 1 of Girls Who Code, and by Week 8, my peers and I are able to create and design a web page with the help of Bootstrap, our instructor, and the TAs.

Nikki Sorfleet

Research Director

I am an incoming junior at Half Moon Bay High School. This summer was quite an adventure with Girls Who Code. I had an amazing mentor and our class went on super cool field trips. I learned so much and had fun doing it! Using our newly gained knowledge, we built a website that will hopefully encourage Earth's citizens to be environmentally friendly. I love peanut butter, chocolate, and puppies!

Katherine Beckley

Game Engineer

I’m an incoming junior at College Park High School. I joined Girls Who Code because I was really interested in computer science and wanted to learn more about it. Prior to joining this program I had no experience in programming, but after 7 weeks I’ve learned about Scratch, Django, HTML, CSS, Javascript, and Python. Using all that we learned, we were able to create this website and game. We wanted to build this project because we are passionate about environmental issues. Ocean pollution in particular is a huge issue that is often overlooked and we wanted to create this project in order to educate and spread awareness of it.

Ocean Pollution

game

Game Instructions: