Helping the Ocean

Ocean Conservation

Based on what you have learned in this course, you may have realized that all life on Earth is tied closely to life in the ocean. The ocean provides oxygen, absorbs carbon, and helps to feed our populations. In many respects, your future and the future of many organisms depend on the health of the ocean.

Overfishing, pollution, global warming, and other challenges pose dangers to the ocean. It is not too late, however, to maintain a healthy ocean. Through management of ocean uses and even in little steps that can be taken in your daily life, these problems can be solved. In this interactivity, you will explore ways to conserve the oceans. Click the player button to get started.

View a printable version of this interactivity.

Keeping the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Healthy

It is important to keep water that drains into the ocean clean as well. The Chesapeake Bay watershed is a large area of land whose water eventually drains into the Atlantic Ocean. It covers more than 64,000 square miles, with parts of it in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and the District of Columbia. There are more than 100,000 rivers, creeks, and streams within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Watersheds provide drinking water, soil to grow food, recreation for humans, and habitats for wildlife. Pollution that occurs in one part of the watershed can affect other parts of the watershed and eventually the larger body of water into which the watershed drains. A healthy watershed can continue to provide life-sustaining and life-enhancing resources to the humans and wildlife that inhabit it.

 

 

Helping the Ocean Review

There are various ways and reasons to help the ocean. In this non-graded interactivity, read each statement and select the correct response(s). Click SUBMIT to check your response(s). Click the player button to begin.