Learn everything you can about pollution and its causes. Read from reputable sources that care about the environment. Take action beyond writing to a congressman or petitioning a factory. These are helpful, but with such serious devastation currently documented worldwide, each person needs to do whatever he can to change basic behaviors and beliefs. Letting "someone else" deal with it won't help. Stopping pollution at the source is imperative.
Refuse to throw anything away in garbage dumps that will eventually end up in the ocean. Recycle anything you can, including glass and plastic. Plastic is one of the worst products -- nearly 50,000 pieces of debris are floating on every square mile of the world's oceans. They accumulate on beaches. They choke, harm or maim sea creatures. Cut up every six-pack holder and anything with holes that could entrap seals, waterfowl, dolphins. Recycle, reuse, reduce is one major way you can help. Throw away things that will break down naturally. Create a compost bin in your back yard for non-meat food items. Recycle metals. Never dump oil in the waterways, marinas or while boating.
Keep all trash when boating and recycle it when back on shore. All boaters -- recreational and commercial -- need to get responsible about dumping overboard. Oil, diesel, cleaning supplies and polishing supplies are dangerous when they hit the water. Beer bottles, pop cans, plastic food wrapping, plastic bags, netting, other food cans and all other garbage can remain in appropriate bags until you return shoreside. Sort it on the boat or wait til you get back to the docks.
Pump fuel with great caution at the docks. Follow all proper fueling laws and actions to prevent spillages. Change the oil when you're dry-docked or hauled out. Never drain it into the sea.
Walk by the lake, river, pond or ocean and remove all debris you find. If you have proper tools and machinery, dredge for garbage. Many environmental groups hold periodic gatherings to get pollutants out of waterways, shorelines and beaches. Attend them and help pick up the trash.
Deal with sewage appropriately. Research is ongoing for the best ways to deal with sewage, factory run-off being a major culprit. But your own home sewage eventually ends up affecting water and marine life. Some things may get filtered out, but throwing chemicals, medical prescriptions and other waste that does not naturally decompose in a harmless manner creates higher risk.
Teach your family and friends about toxin use in the home. Chemicals contribute to pollution. Knowing that much of the garbage from landfills ends up in world oceans may make them more mindful about tossing the oily rags, the dangerous razors and bottles of partly used cleaning supplies.
Take a stand and get involved at the community and political level. Media sometimes whitewash or twist facts. Demand that truth be told and that factories, corporations and businesses be held accountable. Stand up against offshore drilling, which recently began horrific problems, still ongoing, in the Gulf of Mexico. Stand up against nuclear power and especially plants built on oceans. The 2011 Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster in Japan will affect all the world's oceans. Dr. Helen Caldicott, co-founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, is speaking about this to many organizations.
Become more environmentally conscious overall. Learn, grow, care. Your example will help others do the same. One simple start is to substitute chemical cleansers and other toxins around your home with natural alternatives. Apathy and ignorance are not serving marine life, or anything to do with life reliant upon the waters, which includes you.
Foster new alternative energy sources that don't risk harm to the oceans, rivers and streams. Hold talks, attend community meetings, discuss what your community is doing to help and hold accountable those businesses or groups that contribute to pollution. Hold a bake sale, raffle or other event to raise consciousness and raise funds for major national and international organizations that are making a difference. Start your own campaign to help. Hands Across the Sand began as a grassroots effort and has grown exponentially. You, too, can be an organizer for a local group. Caring people in enough numbers can change the world. It starts with one: you.