Politics (from Greek: πολιτικά, translit. Politiká, meaning "affairs of the cities") is the process of making decisions that apply to members of a group.
In the marine environment human activities and other factors can result in algal blooms and habitat destruction, which may affect people's health and local communities. A common method for assessing the status of water quality is by measuring its optical properties to determine sewage impact, dissolved organic matter, sediment loads or biological activity.