150,000 tons of plastic are littered into our ocean each year, yet we do nothing to stop it. Plastic is capable of being deformed continuously and permanently in any direction without rupture, making it almost impossible for the plastic to disintegrate. Our population uses plastic for almost everything, once these objects are used they are left in the street, beaches, and other places, natural sources then carry the objects into the oceans. There, the plastic becomes stuck in currents, where it takes years to disintegrate. The only people benefiting from this are companies who produced the plastic. The problem is this plastic is harming marine life. Some simple solutions to this include using reusable water bottles instead of plastic water
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.
Recycling is a great attempt to preserve our natural resources, but it does not even come close to saving the living creatures of Mother Earth herself. The build up of plastic bags and other unnecessary items in our oceans is a greater cause of ecosystem disruption. An estimated 100,000 marine animals die each year due to suffocating on or ingesting plastic bags. Increased levels of man-made pollutants show up in areas like the Arctic, affecting Polar bears, other arctic mammals, melting polar ice caps and adding to the stress of all climate change and global warming. All plastic bags ever thrown away are stored in landfills, which only some of actually properly dispose
Is plastic really that harmless innovation that saves us time and energy without any repercussions? “80% of plastic waste in the ocean originates on land, and recycling rates are poor, with just 9% of plastic in the U.S. recycled, according to the EPA.” - Kieron Marks. Massive amounts of our plastic begin on land and appear in the ocean. The majority of plastic that is in the ocean is in a microscopic form which makes the plastic extremely difficult to find let alone clean up. This affects not only the ocean life by killing 1 million sea creatures a year, but it also has effects on the fishing and the shipping industry, along with tourism. Furthermore, the pollution causes 13 billion dollars in damage to the marine environment every year. This
Every year, millions of tons of plastic are tossed into the ocean, harming all types of marine animals as well as the environment. Hundreds of marine mammals like whales and dolphins are found washed ashore filled with bottle caps, plastic bags and basically anything they can swallow. Not only does plastic pollution harm marine life, but it affects the entire ecosystem. If a predator is dependent on a certain species for prey and the predator has a role in the environment, it is important for the prey to not be disturbed by pollution. If that species of prey were to go extinct, then the predator species could be seriously impacted as a result. These problems warrant the need for more research into the magnitude and causes of plastic
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.
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.
However, you are right because all of us should be concerned about this trend and join the Plastic Pollution Coalition. It is important to do it, considering that tons of plastic containers are polluting our sea, rivers, and beaches around the globe (Gould, page 175). This problem seriously affects the survival of wildlife planets and animals. Just recently I heard in the national Geographic channel that, almost 11 million tons of plastic debris and more than 15 billion of trash is being dumped in the oceans every year. Sad statistics that are breaking the natural equilibrium of our sea ecosystems and sooner or later we will be paying the consequences of our irresponsibility, ignorance, and lack of self-awareness. We must stop right now. With
Walking through the traditional grocery store, consumers find hundreds of plastic items to make their lives more convenient. Individually wrapped pop tarts, plastic zip lock bags to store sub sandwiches for lunch, deodorant cases, plastic combs to groom hair, diapers, and soda bottles. Unless specifically requested to carry a cloth bag, even the bags we use to carry our groceries home are produced plastic. To society, these are items of convenience and not necessity. But to marine animals that reside in our ocean, they can be a hazardous warzone, “which ends up polluting our oceans and killing millions of birds and fish and more than 100,000 sea turtles, according to the Sierra Club”(D.G.22). Plastic whether it is a syringe,
Plastic plays a major role in ocean dumping. Around 8 million metric tons of our plastic enters the ocean from land each year. Animals like sea turtles become entangled in plastic rings from dumping trash in the ocean. Birds can mistake trash or toys for food, so they end up eating it and they can die. Sea mammals risk dying out because of ocean dumping. Millions of tons of plastic is dumped in the ocean and affects the lives of animals or birds. So animals, or birds don’t die out people should start taking trash to a landfill instead of dumping it into the
My eyes have seen the horrors of poverty, but the same eyes have also seen the repulsive sight of greed. Across the globe the waste of our world is being trashed when it is a major opportunity for our planet. The United state’s portion of the world waste is being thrown by greed and selfishness. The so called “trash” that is being wasted has economic opportunity and the world is too lazy to use it.
For decades, oceans have been one of the biggest dumpsters used throughout the world. Plastics among other pollutants have affected our oceans and freshwater as well as marine life. Plastic pollution effects not only the ocean and its’ marine life, but humans as well and not just in the United States, but everywhere. Landfills are running into water systems every day, carrying more plastics and trash into all of the oceans. For instance, in the Mediterranean Sea, sewage is untreated and that totals eighty percent. Sewage can lead to eutrophication, which is an enrichment of chemicals in an ecosystem, but it can cause human diseases as well. (Oceans) In reality, exposure to all marine organisms will be some sort of toxin or chemical, whether it is from the ocean or contaminated from human chemicals like pesticides. Deliberately dumped plastics and toxins spread into water systems daily. During the 1970’s dumping radioactive waste, chemical weapons, pesticides, and plastics have been disposed into oceans. The reason being was that people believed that since the oceans were so big that all the pollutants should be diluted, broken down, and dispersed throughout the ocean floor. In reality after disposal has continued for years, not a single pollutant has disappeared. In fact, 80% of plastics float, which means they will float for years until someone has picked them up or they have been broken down into smaller parts of oceans. Ocean pollution should end, even if it is recycling
Ocean dumping/littering is one of the biggest causes to harming sea life. According to Passage #1, it states, “Materials like plastic are non-degradable which means they will not be absorbed and recycled.” This shows that when plastics are being dumped into the oceans, they will stay there forever because they have no way of breaking down. This results in animals choking, and getting tangled up in plastic items. According to that same passage, it states that, “When oceanic creatures and even birds consume plastic inadvertently, they choke on it which causes a steady decline in their population.”
We 're treating the oceans like a trash bin: around 80 percent of marine litter originates on land, and most of that is plastic. Plastic that pollutes our oceans and waterways has severe impacts on our environment and our economy. Seabirds, whales, sea turtles and other marine life are eating marine plastic pollution and dying from choking, intestinal blockage and starvation. Scientists are investigating the long-term impacts of toxic pollutants absorbed, transported, and consumed by fish and other marine life, including the potential effects on human health.
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.