Garbage In The Great Lakes Research Paper

Over the years many animals have been affected by the trash in the ocean. The trash can affect the animals by making animals eat and pick up plastic, by trapping animals in a net, and by cutting their wounds. The trash is causing animals to die, mainly from the plastic objects and from getting cut by trash or by getting stuck in the trash. Some animals mistake plastic for food. When the animals eat the plastic their organs can get ruptured. In addition to that, animals mistake plastic for food because the plastic smells like krill (a small fish that is found in the ocean, and a fish that is eaten by some animals). Another reason why animals die is because of ghost gear. Ghost gear is what people call fishing supplies that were thrown into

     Hazardous wastes are another problem for the water in our world. These wastes are toxic, reactive, corrosive or ignitable. Most problems come from humans not storing the substance properly or not disposing of it correctly. This can be easily proven in 1969, when the Cuyahoga River, in Cleveland, Ohio, caught on fire and burned for sometime. Since this happened environmentalists have taken extreme measures to reduce the amount of pollution that is coming out of the power plants that are on the river and on Lake Erie.

“The waste dumped into the oceans tend to have toxic substance, which soaks in all the oceans oxygen,” so the oxygen is available to mammals.There are some items of trash that actually improve the found in environment. If it is in the right location, trash can increase rather than damage that’s found in the ecosystems. That may be true but I realized if we don’t clean up the oceans, it can change colors and we won’t have clean water to drink because of all the stuff that’s in the oceans.

Everybody throws away trash with little or no thought about where it’s going. What you might not know is that a lot of trash goes into our ocean. You may think it is not a big deal and that it’s just a little bit of trash in a really big ocean, but it’s not just a little bit of trash. In fact, it’s a whole lot. There is a place between California and Hawaii called the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, but is better known as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”. This area is the largest landfill in the world and is completely in the ocean. What are the effects of the landfill on the environment and how can it be prevented and rehabilitated to its original state?

Today, scientists believe the world's largest garbage dump isn't on land but it is in the

In 1986, a waste treaty between Canada and the U.S. was signed by American lawmakers concerning the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste.  Under the terms of this treaty, the EPA is to receive notification of these shipments, and then would have 30 days to consent or object to the shipment. Since 1986 Canada has shipped its garbage to Michigan to be dumped into landfills and the provisions of this treaty have never been enforced.  But now is the time for them to be enforced and stop the importing of Canada's garbage.

“Lake Erie is Dead”, something that was said about Lake Erie almost 40 years ago is still true right now. Lake Erie had tons of pollutants in the sixties, and algal blooms now; it needs us to clean up our act. The amount of pollution in Lake Erie in the 1960’s forced Michael Rotman of Cleveland Historical to say “As a result of these pollutants, Lake Erie contained increased levels of phosphorus and nitrogen, which contributed to eutrophication - a process that encourages the development of algal blooms”. Because the Cuyahoga River caught on fire multiple times it was called the “burning river”, and Lake Erie was called “Dead Lake” The pollution was so bad it was used in Dr. Seuss’ book, The Lorax.

Currently, 300 million tons of plastic are manufactured to supply the world demand and between 5 and 13 million tons are found in the ocean (Katsnelson, 2015). Based on current trends, by 2050, 2,000 million tons of plastic will be manufactured to supply the worlds demand for plastic, meaning more pollution in the oceans (Vaughan, 2016, May 23). As Richard Thompson has stated, “While some of the plastic floats at the surface, the heavier pieces sink to the ocean floor making it hard to clean up the waste” (Katsnelson, 2015). Some of the waste comes from fishing materials or cargo ships. For example, fishing nets, buoys and other debris that is left behind from fishermen lead to the

Water pollution in a unique ecological system called the Great Lakes has recently become a national problem for the two countries - the USA and Canada. The primary ways by which the Great Lakes were polluted for many centuries include wastewater discharge, toxic pollution of water with heavy metals and pesticides, soil erosion, as well as urbanization and, consequently, air pollution.

Contaminated sediments are a significant problem in the Great Lakes basin. To reduced the discharge of toxic and persistent chemicals to the Great Lakes we must concentrations of contaminants in the bottom of rivers and harbors and have to raised considerable concern about potential risks to aquatic organisms, wildlife, and

bacteria, etc. from it. Recently we are coming aware of the fact that we have to

This policy memo is addressed to Congressman David Joyce who represents the 14th District of Ohio. Congressman Joyce is a Republican who could be considered a moderate conservative on an ideological scale, meaning that he is about halfway between moderate and far-leaning right (Rep. David Joyce, 2016). Issues that Joyce works toward are the economy and jobs, which is his number one priority, and is also against regulations and taxes. Joyce is heavily involved in energy with a focus on supporting the coal, wind, and natural gas industries, in addition he is against policies that may burden small businesses. The Great Lakes and environment are a priority for Joyce as he wants to protect the Great Lakes, but mainly for economic purposes. Joyce has sponsored three bills that work to protect and/or restore the Great Lakes. He has not been vocal in regards to whether or not he believes in climate change, although his stance toward coal and natural gas would suggest that he may not, although this may be solely to protect Ohioan jobs. Additional issues that he works toward are defense & national security, health care, the national debt, tax reform, veterans, and seniors (Issues & Legislation, 2016).

In the documentary “Inside the Garbage of the World”, the main social problem being explained is that there has been a great influx of plastic and other type of garbage in oceans and their beaches. This buildup of pollution has largely affected the wildlife population ranging from animals on the beaches to the creatures of the ocean. In oceans, what is called ‘garbage patches’, a large buildup of garbage that flow to one area in the oceans, are being created. Approximately 50 percent of all plastic sinks to the bottom of the ocean floor but about 2 times that much is actually already on the ocean floor. In fact, according to the documentary, there is a garbage patch that is to the left of California that is the size of half of the United States. Each year, about 4.7 million tons of plastic goes in the ocean a year and it is estimated that by 2050, there will be another 33 billion tons of plastic added to the present amount. Eighty percent of the current pollution comes from the land. According to marine researchers, twice as much plastic debris is one the ocean floor than it was 10 years ago. In the futures, plastic will break down into smaller pieces of plastic, creating a bigger problem from the habitat. This plastic pollution is one of the leading cause for beach and ocean inhabiting creatures be extinct because animals are mistaking these plastic pieces for food. When scientist began to dissect beach animals such as birds, they discovered that at least fifteen pounds of

Plastic pollution affects every waterway, sea and ocean in the world. When we damage our water

Humans, along with any other living life form, need water and air to survive. “Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans,” said Jacques Cousteau. ("Effects of Overpopulation: Water and Air Pollution") Fresh water and air supplies have recently become “garbage cans” as Cousteau explained in that people throw waste into rivers and lakes which are fresh water and carbon dioxide along with other pollutants that are harming our air supply. ("Effects of Overpopulation: Water and Air Pollution") For example, people in China throw their garbage in nearby rivers because the rivers are not used for anything. In these rivers one could find anything from rotten food to dirt to chemicals. Approximately 39% of our rivers, 46% of our lakes, and 51% of our estuaries are still too polluted for safe fishing or swimming. (America’s Troubled Waters) Another example would be the use of cars. When a car is on the road it releases toxic fumes such as carbon dioxide that are harmful to the Earth’s ozone and some would even say to the green house. As these fumes increase, the thicker the layer in the ozone becomes which pollutes the air quality on this planet. World Watch Institute has pointed out that water will once again be at the center of new conflicts because of the increasing demand and the depleting supply. (Negative Population Growth)