The North Sea is very important. Over 50 million people live close to its shores, and no other sea has as much industry operating around it.
It gives us sand, gravel for the building industry, cooling water for power stations and fish for food. Coal, oil, and gas are extracted Shipping routes criss-cross its waters Recreation – to sail on, swim or to relax
It is also filthy due to dumping of waste in it. This waste includes o Oil spills o Burning of waste at sea o Atmospheric pollution o Radioactive waste o Dumping of sewage and industrial waste
Cleaning up is difficult – Little is known about the kind of waste that is dumped It is difficult to stop people from dirtying it. Sewage can be cleaned up before it is dumped into the sea, but storm water pipes cannot. Trying to control dumping through satellites Greenpeace trying to raise public awareness to stop dumping.