Controversy On Plastic Bags

In today’s world it’s hard to go anywhere without finding something wrapped in plastic. Plastic bags, packages, bottles and other items are scattered across the world. This has become a problem for the entire world and specifically the oceans. Plastic and other garbages that are resistant to the natural recycling process take a long time to recycle. These items will gather at certain points in the pacific ocean. Such places are known as garbage patches. The garbage patch isn’t the only thing causing problems for our oceans. Dead zones and rising ph levels are also contributing to create uninhabitable areas within the ocean. Depending on the ability of the marine life, some will make it to a place they can live, while others will not have enough oxygen, or proper ph levels to maintain their own lives. With marine debris rampant throughout the oceans accumulation is a real problem.

Habitat destruction, fossil fuel emissions, and plastic pollution are some of the ways that plastic bags and climate change cannot be separated. Therefore, when using oil to throw away bags it is a wasteful and unnecessary way to deplete our oil supply and contribute to carbon dioxide build up in our atmosphere. As can be seen, this can lead to hotter climate change and hurting many things in the world. Bags are something that is very vital in our society. For example, in a digital media video it asserted, “Plastic bags

Over the few years, humans have discarded millions of tons of garbage into the oceans. Ever wonder where the cup you threw out this morning will end up? Or the plastic spoon you used for lunch? How about the cap of a water bottle? The calamitous plastic ends up in the water, taking thousands of years to decompose. The consumption of plastic by the marine life is perilous and the leading cause of death for life on shore.

Plastic bags begin as crude oil, natural gases, or other petrochemical derivatives. By some estimates almost 12 million barrels of petroleum oil are used to make 100 billion plastic bags. One solution is to stop using plastic bags. Plastic bag bans are spreading across the country with over 100 community bag bans across 16 states. Hawaii right now is the only state in the nation to adopt a full statewide ban. Internationally,19 countries from Bangladesh to Ireland have passed bans. Reducing plastic bag usage and shoppers to use reusable bags will help decrease our demand for a new fossil fuel and reduce our environmental impact. As a nation we need to begin to move away from the concepts of single use and waste. Plastic is made from oil.

Did you know that in California recently, the senate tried to pass a bill that would ban all plastic bags in the state? In “Bag Ban Bad for Freedom and Environment”, Adam B. Summers explains the consequences this bill would have caused if it had passed. Although this problem isn't brought to your attention every day, the consequences really could affect your daily life. During the article, Summers uses evidence, reasoning, and stylistic or persuasive elements to support his thoughts and opinions.

In order to get actively involved in preventing the Pacific Trash Vortex from getting even bigger people need to focus on using as little plastic products as possible and refrain from buying plastic products when they are not in need of such objects. "The best thing you can do to stop the growth of these monsters is use cloth bags, reuse and recycle plastic bags when you do end up with them, limit your purchase of new plastic products and use alternatives when available, and of course recycle any other plastic that ends up in your possession." (Hren & Hren 45) The world is thus in a critical condition as many fail to understand the degree to which their actions have a negative effect on the environment.

The Damage of Plastic Bags Plastic bags are a huge concern to the environment, and something need to be done about them. Some groups have been trying to put a ban on plastic bags into effect because of the damage it is causing to the earth.

Why should we have to continue to litter or use plastic so that we can just toss them out when we don't need them any more? That is why I think there should be a fee. When we litter, as shown in the video those small things are winding up in the lakes and oceans and killing wildlife. Also I believe that befor you get a chance to litter and hurt wildlife you should pay the price not them. We should stop because plastic is not biodegradable so it will be around for a while if it ends up in a body of water. If there they stay and float in the water than it is a better chance of it to pose a threat for other water animals. There should be a fee on plastic bags because plastic is not biodegradable, every square mile of the ocean has 46,000 pieces of plastic, and they have external cost.

Once plastic gets into the ocean there is no way out due to the fact that it does not biodegrade. Plastic bags can take 20 years to decompose, plastic bottles up to 450 years, and fishing line, 600 years; but in fact, no one really knows how long plastics will remain in the ocean. With exposure to UV rays and the ocean environment, plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller fragments. Not only this, since plastic is lighter than water it ends up floating in the ocean being swept by currents. As a result, a lot of plastic gets caught in the spiralling ocean gyres. The circular motion of the gyre draws the debris into the centre where it becomes trapped and builds up. While the water in the centre of the gyres sinks, the plastic is too light

In the world today, not a single of us can truly say that we don’t at lest come in contact with plastic. They are everywhere, in our cars, carpets, food, and virtually every other product we consume; it has becomes a globalization needs that we can’t run away from. As according to the National oceanic and atmospheric administration (NOAA) state the approximately 1.4 billion pounds of trash enters the ocean per year. Most of it get washed up on the beaches by waves and tides, some of it sinks to the bottom of the ocean floor, some got eaten up by marine animals mistaking it for food. Ultimately plastic pollution is a man made catastrophe, as soon as it enter the Oceans it is causing harm to the ecosystems and environment, as wells as affecting

At a recent visit to the grocery store I was prompted by the age old dilemma of plastic or paper for my items. I pointed aggressively at the pile of my fabric bags sitting on top of the canned tomatoes.

As you make your way through the check-out line, you began to pay for the items you just purchased. The cashier looks up at you to ask if you want to use paper or plastic bags. You look up not knowing what to say so you immediately pick one without thinking about it. You decided to go with the plastic bags for no reason. Those plastic bags will have two destinations: the garbage or put into another bigger bag for a long period of time to be used as smaller garbage bags. On the other hand paper bags could not only hold more items than plastic bags but they have more uses for them. They could be used to cover textbooks, to start a bon fire, make various storage baskets, as paper to write on when you can’t find anything else, to carry garbage

The well known writers of the Editorial Board, in their article, "Setting the pace on banning plastic bags", informs us on how communities such as Amherst have adopted prohibitions on plastic bags. The Boards purpose is to show us on how many communities have fought and created a path to plastic bag free communities. The board utilizes and informational tone to show how communities in Massachusetts are moving forward with laws in prohibiting plastic bags and instead reusable bags.

It can take up to 1000 years to decompose. That means that if someone drops a plastic bag right now, in 1000 years it will still be there. That's if the wildlife doesn't pick it up first. Each year tens of thousands of whales, birds, seals, and turtles eat plastic bags, mistaking the for food and die. In 2010 a gray whale that was beached and died in seattle was found to have more than 20 plastic bags in its stomach. Bag cleanups on the cost have been going of almost three years, with little progress. Over the last 25 years, the International Coastal Cleanup has collected, 7,825,319, plastic bags of coasts worldwide. That's enough petroleum to drive a car 281711484 feet (53354.4 miles). Plastic bags could be used for that instead of polluting the

As the United States deals with the overwhelming amounts of waste building up, Nitin et al explain that “plastics take anywhere from 15 to 1000 years to biodegrade” once they are discarded (Nitin). Changes in recycling methods can no longer keep up with the exorbitant amount of waste produced in the United States. This is why some states choose to take their initiative one step further by placing either fees or a ban on the use of plastic bags. Due to the enormous waste the United States produces on a daily basis and the negative outcomes of this trash including adverse health effects, harmful impacts on nature, and the exponential piling of trash in landfills, the US government should ban plastic bags.