Wherever one goes, “it” is everywhere. “It” is on the sidewalk, on the road, in the sea, and sometimes, “it” is in the wind. This “it” is trash that people have thrown into the environment. In the article entitled “Eight Million Tons of Plastic Dumped in Ocean Every Year” by Laura Parker of National Geographic, she talks about the increase of litter thrown into the ocean every year. There is also oceanologist Captain Charles Moore, with his video “Sea of Plastic” which talks about the plastic litter that is thrown into the ocean and how this plastic litter causes marine life to suffer. Also, the article by Nathan Green is known as “The Environment vs Cigarettes” talks about how cigarette butts are the biggest littered object in the world …show more content…
Another marine animal that is suffering from litter in the ocean is Mae West, a turtle that is still alive, with a retainer ring around its body, but for most turtle, this would kill them. Furthermore, after taking some plankton samples, Moore found out that the sample contains more plastic than plankton (Moore). What this means is that the fishes at the base of the food chain were eating more than just plankton. To further support this in the video, Moore stated, “We did hundreds of necropsies, and over a third had polluted plastic fragments in their stomachs” (Moore). These are some of the thousand examples shown on how destructive littering has become towards animals that depend on the ocean by causing them harm and suffering. Since the founding of cigarettes, they have become popular due to their addictiveness; however, after a person finishes smoking, they will most likely litter the cigarette butt (need evidence). Little do they know, cigarette butts are also a cause of destroying the environment, because of the toxins they contain. The fact that they’re popular make cigarette butts are the most littered object in the entire world (Green). In his article, Green stated that “Not only do these parts of cigarettes look bad, they also have the ability to harm plants, animals, and even groundwater” (Green). What this quote means is that
Have you ever thought about what your community would look like without litter? If so, it may take a while to find out. One person throwing something on the ground may not think much of it, however, when that trash finds other trash, they begin to build up and make big piles of junk. For example, I am sure people never thought that if they littered, their trash would end up in the pacific garbage patch. Believe it or not, no one thinks that until you look at the pacific garbage patch and see how disgusting it looks just because people were to lazy to throw their trash away. To make matters worse, littering has become very common, which should be stopped because in most cases, trash is not disposed of properly,
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.
More importantly both articles also focus on highlighting consumer awareness and alternatives to plastics. Specifically, both McGlade and the authors of the academic article use context to encourage consumers to think about plastic, it’s necessity, and it’s consequence. Another specific point is that both articles use examples of how plastic impacts marine life. The article written by Vaughn uses the example of jellyfish and how plastics allow them to broaden their range in the ocean and affect the food chain of other marine life. The academic article uses the example of marine life ingesting marine debris causing death within different species. Both of these examples can serve as evidence to marine debris interfering with the biodiversity of the ocean. As jellyfish disrupt the food chain the cycle of disrupted food source will continue down the chain as the issue worsens. As marine life ingests plastics and die-off marine food chains are affected even further. To sum up, both articles use examples that analyze the issue of marine debris, and both articles turn to the need for change that can solve the problem. Whether the change be technologies that have real biodegradability or alternate human behaviour all the writers understand the steps that need to be
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
Attention Getter: According to Tilley, K. (2013, August 26) More endangered sea turtles ingesting plastic, there are almost twice as many endangered green sea
In the article, "Plastic in Our Oceans", Kimberly Amaral discusses the everyday uses of plastic and how it can be beneficial to humans, but harmful to marine life. As fishermen casually dump waste overboard, animals mistake it for food sources, such as a turtle mistaking a plastic grocery bag for a jellyfish. From the trash brought out to sea, gyres, large circulations of water, carry the garbage through currents, spreading it to all over the ocean, specifically to the central gyre. Amaral notes common ways for marine life to die from plastic, which include entanglement by plastic rings, consumption of plastic bags and pellets which stuff the intestines and lead to health problems, and suffocation. As researchers today work hard to discover
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
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.
In 2010, 87 percent of the world’s tobacco was grown in the developing world. A modern cigarette manufacturing machine can use up to 3.7 miles of paper an hour. Tobacco plants use more nutrients than many other crops, degrading the soil. Probably the most impact of a cigarette on the environment is the production of them. The land used to grow the crops could be put to better use by planting more trees or food production. Vast quantities of pesticides, fertilizer and herbicides are used on tobacco crops. Some crops require over a dozen applications of pesticides during the three-month growing period. Cigarette butts also do a lot of damage. You might think they were made of cotton, but actually they are often a form of plastic. The polymer acetate filters are comprised of thousands of fibers that can take up to 15-25 years to decompose. The residue from tobacco in the butts also releases toxins into the environment. Trillions of butts are discarded each year. Also discarded cigarettes are a major cause of forest fire in the USA, not to mention fatal house fires. Over 1000 Americans lose their lives a year from tobacco related fires.
The inadequacy of policies relating to societies littering situation has driven us to legitimately live in our own filth. Though I may only be a grade 9 student that attends Kate Chegwin school in Edmonton, Alberta I assure you I am not uneducated about this rising issue. I dare you to look out your window to see the deep wound we have left on the earth. What you see is solely due to the greed of humans like me and you. The apathy of society simultaneously puts humans and entire ecosystems at risk. Is this not considered as animal cruelty? However, such a wound can be treated but will require sticker policies on littering promptly. We need a change, and this change must start with you.
For a long time people have polluted our air, by throwing trash everywhere. Now you're probably asking yourselves how am I going to help our environment? Well I have partnered up with Karile Ramirez, we have decided on October 21st we are going to Giant Rock, which is located in Lucerne Valley. We are going to pick up trash for about 5 hours. Before we can move forward their are a few steps we will need to complete before September 23rd. First step, get all items that we will need ex: Trash bags, gloves, water and more. Second step, talk to our parents about buying supplies we will need and where we will be taking and dumping all the trash when we are done. Third step, talk to our parents about transportation on getting to and from Giant Rock.
Have you ever thown out a cigarrete butt,a candy rapper,or a soda can? You tell yourslef it’s ok because it’s just a small piece of trash right,wrong. Police are starting to crack down on litter bugs, more then ever before. A fine for litterring has now doubled due to Louisian’s problem with littering. Throwing out a simple a simple cigarrete bud can range anywhere from 150$ for the first offense, to 1,000$ for the second offense.You may even have to do community service depending on the amount of litter you throw out.
You all know what litter is, am I right, but most of us don’t know why others litter. Maybe they don’t care about their city and their mom still picks up after them or they just might be plain stupid. I'm just kidding, but they are possible reasons, but not the reasons I am going to inform you about. Well, some people litter because they don’t know the consequences of their actions, here is why it's not.
Your day has been great so far. You went on vacation, you found a dollar bill on the floor, you ate your favorite dish, nothing can be better than this. As soon as you walk on the boardwalk you are hoping to see big waves and fish in the sea, instead, you see dead fish and some animals floating in the water next to old car tires, trash, and fertilizer. Now you feel terrible and want to go home. Pollution is devastating. The reason why I researched this topic is that I do not want my family nor my planet to get sick. Pollution can be stopped very easily, it’s just that people “don’t know” how to stop or they just don’t care, which is a serious problem. I want people to see that pollution is mainly caused by humans, and also for them to see that it is a horrible thing that is happening. Some kids litter because they see their parents and their whole family doing it. When I was researching this topic, I noticed that I needed to find out more information, so I asked questions to myself. When did pollution get so bad? How many animals have gone extinct because of pollution? How many people die each year because of pollution? How much does everyone on the planet pollute each year? What is the best way to stop pollution? Can just one person make a difference? After a lot of research, I found out lots of ways that we can stop pollution, so it is possible to end it. Or at least improve the air.
We live in a world that offers so many things to us. A home, food, water, life itself, yet we don 't take much care of it and are destroying it instead. The presence of pollution has been around for such a great amount of time now that you would expect us as humans, to start noticing the mass destruction we are causing and start doing something about it. Glaciers are melting, water levels are rising, the water and air around is being polluted if it 's not polluted already. There is little being done to try and stop or at least slow down this fatal event. If we do not start taking care of our own home, we will soon be left with no home at all, and the only one’s we can blame for that, is ourselves.