Coastal Management Fall 2017

2017 Coastal Opinions

Major Stressors-Pollution (General)

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By Adrienne Ashley, Lisa Noriega, and Juliana Perez

One type of pollution that is often overlooked by the public is ocean pollution, which significantly degrades marine and coastal ecosystems. (Source: National Geographic)

Introduction

Pollution became an issue of concern beginning in the Industrial Revolution era when new sources of air and water pollution were introduced by large-scale coal usage and little environmental regulation (Healy 2015). In 1952, the city of London, UK became buried under a thick blanket of smog from coal burning, causing reduced visibility and thousands of casualties from poor air quality (Klein 2012). Pollution, despite having occurred for centuries, finally became of concern to the public in the late 1960s when the Cuyahoga River caught fire in Northeast Ohio due to oil-slicked pieces of debris in the river being ignited by sparks from trains passing (Latson 2015). During the same year, the Santa Barbara Oil Spill occurred as a result of offshore oil drilling. After 1969, modern environmentalism was born (Grad 2017). Since these events, movements have been created on the local and global levels to raise awareness about human-induced pollution.

Pollution has remained a growing concern for decades. Our world continues to face devastating events caused by habitat, water, and air pollution. Humans pollute the environment via greenhouse gas emissions, improper waste/resource disposal, and excessive resource consumption and extraction. This issue should be of priority to us because it directly affects us through the food chain and natural cycles. (Stern 1977)  It is imperative that we take measures to spread the word about the effects of pollution on all living things and systems.

Overview of Current Situation

According to a recent Gallup poll, the percentage of individuals concerned over polluted drinking water increased from 55% in 2015 to 61% in 2016. The same poll concluded that concern about polluted rivers and reservoirs increased from 47% in 2015 to 56% in 2016. Those concerned about air pollution rose from 38% to 47% in the same time period. (Gallup 2016) A PPIC Statewide Survey in 2015 concluded that 6 in 10 Californians believe air pollution in their part of California is an important issue. Half of those polled say that air pollution is at least a somewhat serious health threat to them and their families and that the threat affects lower-income areas more so than elsewhere. Additionally, 38% of Californians favor increased offshore drilling in 2015, which is a significant decrease from 46% percent in 2014. (PPIC 2015)

It is apparent that the general public of California opposes actions that could potentially degrade natural systems and human health. Our hypothesis is that many people tend to envision pollution as the most environmentally degrading impact associated with human resource consumption. Individuals may see this as the most prevalent type of pollution because we are aware that we contribute to it, and we see/feel the adverse effects it has on air quality and human health.

Questions

Relevant Survey Questions

Two of our survey questions directly addressed public attitudes towards pollution. We asked participants to rank threats to the coastal zone with the four threats being pollution, habitat fragmentation, invasive species, and overharvesting. We also asked the public if they felt that the health of California’s coast has improved over the past 60 years, which helps us to indicate whether the public believes that the coast is affected by pollution or not.

Results

The general public feels that pollution is the greatest threat to California’s coastal areas. This was followed by habitat destruction, excessive hunting and catching, and finally exotic/invasive species. 65% (n=1,386) of those who answered Question 13 believed that pollution is the top threat to our coast.

We found that 51% (n=734) of respondents believe the coasts of California are not healthier today than they were 60 years ago. 33% (n=482) of people did not feel confident enough to state an opinion on the matter.

Comparing our results to a similar study, 33% of respondents stated that pollution was one of the “most important marine environmental problems” (Gelcich et al. 2014). Results concluded that there was a strong relationship between the participants’ level of concern and their levels of knowledge about environmental issues. Researchers stated that their “results suggest that the public perceives the immediacy of marine anthropogenic impacts and is highly concerned about ocean pollution, overfishing, and ocean acidification” (Gelcich et al. 2014). When the general public is more aware of issues presented to them through the news, they are subsequently more concerned about those issues.

1. What is California’s most pressing coastal issue?

As previously explained, 65% of those who answered this survey question felt that pollution was a major threat to our coastline. In this analysis, we consider some reasons why the public may have chosen this threat as the most concerning. One possible reason behind this result is due to how tangible pollution is in the eyes of beachgoers. A study in South Wales, UK asked for the public’s impression of specific litter items, and the results ranged from a negative reaction to a somewhat neutral reaction (Tudor and Williams 2003). From this study, we can infer that the sight of litter or trash along the coast is a reason why the public may feel that it pollution is an issue. Although pollution comes in many forms, frequent beachgoers believe trash is one of the only polluters to the ocean. Oil spills are another prevalent source of pollution, as much of the public could potentially come into contact with tar and oil slick on the shores of their favorite beaches.  

One interpretation of this data may include whether those who chose pollution as being the number one threat to California’s coast considered themselves more liberal or more conservative. An analysis such as that would render very intriguing results.

2. Has the health of California’s coast improved?

This particular question can easily be compared to the previous question regarding the greatest threat to California’s coast. Does trash on the beach, or other visual sources of pollution, influence how the public views the current health of our beaches? Public awareness of environmental issues and visual pollution’s effects on public perception are both important factors to consider when interpreting this data.

Interpretation

With 1,491 people having answered our public opinion poll, 65% of our participants ranked pollution as the primary coastal threat, followed by habitat destruction, excessive hunting/catching, and exotic/invasive species. The attitude of our participants toward the surveys was not particularly enthusiastic, but they had a very realistic opinion on the current health of California’s coast. Most of our participants are aware of the current dangers to our coastal regions. Pollution has become a major issue for our oceans, and we believe that our participants ranked pollution as the primary coastal threat because of the blatant physical damage it causes to California beaches.  Although habitat destruction, excessive hunting/catching, and exotic/invasive species are major threats to the coast, pollution is among the most discussed in mainstream media and throughout the local community.

Of the 1,491 survey participants, 1,454 answered whether or not the health of California’s coast is better than it was 60 years ago. The majority of the participants who answered this question (735 people) responded that the health of California’s coast is not better than it was 60 years ago. Conversely, 483 participants were unsure if California’s coast is better now, and 237 participants said it is better.  Upon being presented with the question, participants may have thought about if the ocean “looked” healthy, if they believed there were more unseen problems within the ocean, or if they didn’t know what a healthy ocean should be like. If people were to see trash on the beach or in shallow waters of the ocean, they probably wouldn’t consider it a healthy coast. However, if there wasn’t much that looked out of place at the beach, most would consider the coast to be healthy.

Key Takeaway

Our analysis concluded that pollution is considered to be the primary coastal threat. This could be due to the widespread recognition the topic of pollution has within the media and society based on its physical prevalence. Most believe California’s coast is not healthier than it was 60 years ago, which could be due to the prominent appearance of trash and litter on beaches along the coast. Each person has a different perception of what a healthy beach or coastline looks like, but the problems of California’s coast are more than meets the eye.

References

Gallup, I. 2016, March 17. Americans’ Concerns About Water Pollution Edge Up. http://news.gallup.com/poll/190034/americans-concerns-water-pollution-edge.aspx.

Gelcich, Stefan, Paul Buckley, John K. Pinnegar, Jason Chilvers, Irene Lorenzoni, Geraldine Terry, Mafias Guerrero, Juan Carlos Castilla, Abel Valdebenito, and Carlos M. Duarte. 2014. “Public awareness, concerns, and priorities about anthropogenic impacts on marine environments.” Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 111, no. 42: 15042-15047. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 8, 2017).

Grad, S. 2017, April 28. The environmental disaster that changed California – and started the movement against offshore oil drilling. Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-santa-barbara-spill-20170428-htmlstory.html

Healy, E. 2015, January 18. Industrialization, Pollution and Policies: Comparing England and China. Washington State University. https://history.libraries.wsu.edu/spring2015/2015/01/18/carbon-emissions-since-the-time-of-the-industrial-revolution/

Latson, J. 2015, June 22. The Burning River That Sparked a Revolution. Time. http://time.com/3921976/cuyahoga-fire/

Tudor, D.T., and A.T. Williams. 2003. “Public Perception and Opinion of Visible Beach Aesthetic      Pollution: The Utilisation of Photography.” Journal Of Coastal Research 19, no. 4: 1104- 1115. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 6, 2017).

Stern, A. C. 1977. “Air Pollution: The Effects of Air Pollution.” Environmental Sciences: An Interdisciplinary Monograph Series 3, no. 2.