Every year, 11 million tons of plastic enter the ocean. Five massive garbage patches — the largest being the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, three times the size of France — drift in ocean gyres, concentrating debris into toxic soups. Microplastics have been found in the deepest ocean trenches, Arctic ice, and human blood. Meanwhile, 50% of the world's coral reefs have died since 1950. Ocean warming, acidification, and pollution cause mass bleaching events. The Great Barrier Reef has experienced six mass bleaching events since 1998, with 2024 being the worst on record. Coral reefs support 25% of all marine species despite covering less than 1% of the ocean floor. The crisis is twofold: the ocean is being filled with waste AND its living ecosystems are collapsing. Governments act too slowly, cleanup organizations are underfunded, and coral restoration remains a niche scientific endeavor.