Marine Pollution What Everyone Needs to Know®

For millennia, human societies have viewed the ocean as a dumping ground for waste products of all kinds. The sources of marine pollution are extensive, including oil spills, sewage, fertilizers, pesticides, industrial wastes, heavy metals, ocean acidification, plastics, and even invasive species, considered biological pollution. Yet, the solutions are not as clear.

Updated to reflect recent research, this book discusses the sources of marine pollutants, their effects on marine organisms and humans, and how to reduce or eliminate them. Weis covers the aftermath of oil spills in addition to "emerging" topics like flame retardants, pharmaceuticals, noise pollution, and PFAS. A new chapter examines the prevalence of microplastics and how they rise through the food chain into human beings, along with their associated toxic chemicals. Additional chapters address the deadly effects of climate change in the ocean but also focus on actions that all people can take, citing recent environmental improvements as a cause for hope.

Judith S. Weis is Professor Emerita of Biological Sciences at Rutgers University, specializing in estuarine ecology and ecotoxicology. She has published over 250 scientific papers and is interested in stresses and their effects on organisms, populations, and communities. She is on the editorial board for BioScience, is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and was a Fulbright Fellow in Indonesia. She served on advisory committees for EPA, NOAA, and NAS, and chaired the Science Advisory Board of NJ DEP. She was president of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) and received the Merit Award from the Society of Wetland Scientists.