Health Science Supplementary Analysis

20 billion pounds of the world’s plastic winds up in the ocean annually. This plastic can be found swirling, covering about 40% of the world’s oceans surfaces (Center for Biological Diversity). Carried by water currents and wind combined, these man made, non-biodegradable materials have accumulated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to form the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), also known as “the world’s largest landfill.” Estimated to be twice the size of Texas, the Patch spans from the West Coast of North America to Japan (National Geographic). Often thought of as large islands of floating plastic, in reality the GPGP is an area of plastics broken down into smaller polymer molecules distributed across the ocean (Grant A Harse). This area of tiny plastic polymers raises concerns of bio magnification, animal harm, ocean pollution, and human use of plastics. Because the GPGP is so far from any country’s coastline and is difficult to track, no nation is willing to take responsibility or provide funding to clean it up. In addition to this issue, policies that already have been formed only target point source ship dumping. 80% of ocean debris come from land, so only a small percentage of waste disposal from ships is addressed (Dautel, Susan). In order create a solution to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, human behaviors will have to change to reduce use and consumption of plastic and to push for urban runoff/nonpoint waste to be better addressed on the local, national, and

In the National Geographic article “Eight Million Tons of Plastic Dumped in Ocean Every Year”, author Laura Parker expresses how violent the simple act of dumping trash into the ocean really turns out to be. This article goes into depth telling exactly what plastics pollution is causing, where it’s mostly coming from, and what you can do to decrease this problem and help save both our planet and ocean wildlife.

In the article When the Mermaids Cry” The Great Plastic Tide by Claire Le Guern Lytle, she wrote “For more than 50 years, global production and consumption of plastics have continued to rise. An estimated 299 million tons of plastics were produced in 2013, representing a 4 percent increase over 2012, and confirming and upward trend over the past years” This means that more and more trash is added to the 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic floating in the ocean. Almost everything around us is made out of plastic, this is later misused and ending in the wrong place. The Center for Biological Diversity wrote “In the first decade of this century, we made more plastic than all the plastic in history up to the year 2000. And every year, billions of pounds of plastic end up in the world’s oceans. Most ocean pollution starts out on land and is carried by wind and rain to the sea. Once in the water, there is a near-continuous accumulation of waste.” Our plastic is misplaced and it escalates from there. However, plastic pollution hurts us as well. “Trash in the water compromises the health of humans, wildlife and the livelihoods that depend on a healthy ocean;” wrote a non-profit group called Ocean Conservation. If our oceans are covered in trash, everyone that relies on the ocean is going to suffer. The effect is not just in our health, it also affects our economy. Ocean Conservation also

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.

The ocean’s vast marine life is dying more and more each year due to plastic. Over 100,000 marine animals die each year from plastic entanglement and ingestion says Gianna Andrews, author of the 2012 “Plastic in our Oceans Affecting Human Health” on ser.carlton. Chemicals in the plastic are also intoxicating the marine life. Reducing the use of plastic could save thousands of sea animals and make our ocean a cleaner place. There are many questions concerning our ocean, like how much plastic is in our ocean? What are the effects? How do we stop it? These questions will be answered by explaining and describing our ocean’s plastic.

Trying to narrow down a topic to write about is hard for me, I’m unable to decide on a topic like others can because I tend to overthink things especially when the most important

Plastic in the Oceans: Having been to the Centers for Disease Control’s David J. Sencer Museum this past year, I was able to see the exhibition GYRE: The Plastic Ocean. The ocean has become littered with enormous amounts of plastic over the years and, in some places, entire islands can be found entirely composed of discarded or lost plastic objects. The sheer volume of new and current information currently being put forth on this topic makes it an excellent one for research.

Starting a piece of writing has always been tough for me. There are times when I have spent an hour trying to figure out how I should start my writing. Now that's partly because of procrastination but main due to the fact that the intro to any piece is writing, in my opinion, is the most important aspect of any form of writing.

“If we stick to this trajectory, Earth's oceans will have more plastic in them than fish by 2050.” Our ocean is in danger and we have to start helping so that we can still enjoy the ocean in our future. There are many ways we can help. We can help by picking up beaches and keeping them clean when we visit them, using less plastic products, and we can support organizations that help out water even if we do not live in places that have access to the water. If we help out our ocean it will not only help out us but also help out oceanic animals.

The earth’s oceans take up roughly three fourths of the planet’s surface area and hold roughly 97 percent of all water on earth (Silverman). It is important that people make sure that the oceans are kept clean because the ocean contains many essential elements for the survival of both humans and animals. A rising problem that is not often brought up is the increasing amounts of man-made debris, especially plastic, that are accumulating in these waters that is slowly effecting the oceans ecosystem as well as the health of humans. Some may argue that the plastics have little effect on the environment but the facts show that this is not the case. The amount of ocean debris has increased

In modern times, it is undeniable that the world is facing a pollution crisis, but the spotlight is placed on carbon emissions causing global warming. However, an equally worrying crisis is taking place in the oceans of our world. In the Pacific Ocean exists a region known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch; a collection of plastic larger than the state of Texas. Unfortunately, 4 smaller regions are known to exist in the oceans of the worlds [1]. In addition, from a journal written by a group of researchers at the National Center for ecological Analysis and Synthesis, they could quantify the input of plastics to a staggering 8 million tons of plastics entering the oceans yearly [2]. Our innovation will address this pollution problem in the ocean and hopefully bring greater awareness to the public.

Plastic is a huge problem to the Earth’s ecosystem, including to the marine wildlife of the oceans. It gets into our oceans in large quantities, and they pile up to a point they become an “island of plastic.” Some of which are estimated to be as big as a few million square miles, the biggest being in the Pacific ocean. This could result in environmental issues that could harm the ecosystems of the oceans. It would be eaten in small quantities by fish and by birds, which could cause many health problems that could lead to death. This is a problem that will only lead us to think more critically the waste we produce as humans. In only of a short time span of 35 years, was the oceans transformed into a landfill of plastic.

Among these scientists is Marcus Eriksen. Eriksen is a marine biologist who founded the 5 Gyers institute in California. He belives the best way to start cleaning up the ocean is by stoping the sources. 80% of all trash that enters the ocean is by land while the other 20% enters the ocean from ships and oil rigs. Eriksen sees no point in starting to clean something up when its just going to keep getting dirtyer. He said, “If you pick up what’s out there, you’re not stopping the problem continuing far into the future. You’ve got to stop the source.” once you stop the sources from allowing trash into the ocean, clean up efforts should be focused on the gyers. But, as long as the sources continue to leak into the ocean anything removed has a chance to just make it back into the ocean and the cycle continues. Eriksen belives trash booms should be continued to be installed in bays and rivers to prevent trash from flowing past the rivers mouth and entering the ocean. Blooms not only keep trash from flowing farther into rivers and into the ocean but they also keep mud, sticks and alge from proceeding down stream.

Recycling and going green has been at the forefront of everyone's mind for the last 10 years. It has become a major concern to able to preserve the planet and reverse some of the damage that society has been inflicting over the last two hundred years. Everyone's concerned with emissions and electric cars but the world is in fact over two-thirds water. So naturally what society should be concerned about should be the oceans in the pollution and negative human impact that people have placed on them. Part of the problem as an initial estimate of the amount of plastic is not accurate. Not to mention incredible environmental and ecological effects the plastic has on marine life. Ocean plastic has reached a critical level where human intervention needs to take place.

Since the idea of its creation was brought to light, the Space Elevator has wowed many people and opened up a multitude of ways to benefit man-kind and widen our imaginations. “The Space Elevator was first proposed in 1895, but it might even pre-date that. The idea of a giant tower that can carry us from earth to outer space…” (Soderman, personal communication) The idea being created and thought of years ago is still being designed today and awaiting the funding to be finally tested out. I believe that the Space Elevator is a great way to benefit man- kind and provide a means to accomplish the dreams of scientists and normal citizens alike who have dreamt of accomplishing this idea.