Persuasive Essay On Plastic Pollution

Plastic Pollution has become a global issue in our oceans. Although we hear about this from time to time the problem has grown tremendously beyond our knowledge. There are a growing number of animals dying each day due to plastic particles that either get stuck around their head, or that they swallow. If we do not stop plastic pollution in our oceans the ocean will eventually lose its habitats and our ecosystem will be changed forever.

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

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

Plastic pollution is the biggest threat in our oceans as it takes up about 90% of

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.

“Around 260 million tons of plastic is produced every year, approximately 10% of this ends up in oceans. This litter is frequently consumed, often with fatal effects, by marine animals and birds who mistake it for food. The Trash Vortex of the Northern Pacific ocean is a patch the size of Texas consisting of trillions of pieces of decomposing plastic.” (Geer) Water pollution often directly correlates with other natural recourses that is being harmed by the same

According to Oceana, the agency in charge of protecting the world’s oceans, the number one pollutant in the North Pacific Gyre is still plastic. Oceana remains unsure of the quantity of plastic in the water. Our “need” for plastic has harmed innocent little creatures and ourselves as well when we should be searching for safer alternatives instead.

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

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 pollution has been a difficult thing to measure and for the public to be concerned about. Most of the concern has only ever been on the shore level where people can physically see pollution collecting. There is a difficult to get people interested and a problem that happens hundreds of miles out where very few people will ever see the plastic collecting on the surface of the ocean. Funding for research to acquire accurate numbers on plastic pollution understand how it affects the environment of these marine organisms has probably been delayed because of the lack of interest people have trouble associating why the oceans are important for them. The truth currently there are no actual models to estimate the distribution of plastic the ocean, these models use data from surface

The overuse of plastics in today's society has become major environmental issue for our oceans. Plastic pollution is the dumping, littering, or disposing of any type of man-made plastic that has been produced and has ended up in our ocean and has not been recycled.

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.

Throughout my research on Plastic Pollution I learned that plastic is a material that our planet cannot digest but it has become the lubricant growth of globalization. Thus, Plastic is made from oil that contains many chemicals harmful to humans and animals. Humans are barely aware that Plastic is so part of our lives that it can be found in everyday products that we consume and even the food we eat. Humanity plastic foot print in the oceans has caused a major garbage path located thousands of miles off the coast of California, called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This is caused due to humans that throw their waste into the sea and went those plastics are in the water, it breaks down into smaller particles; then pushed by winds, tides and currents, plastic particles form with other debris into large swirling glutinous accumulation zones. For instance, The World Economic Forum (WEF) report stated that if we keep producing plastic and improperly dispose of it, there will be more pound of plastic debris than fish by 2050 because we have been made three times more plastic stuff since we did in 2014. The dangers of over-produced plastic, is that much of it escapes from collection systems that end up floating in the ocean than into the stomachs of marine birds and sea turtles. This is very alarming to me because we are killing thousands of marine’s lives and its ecosystem by over producing plastic.

Adding a 25-cent charge towards plastic bags would be a mistake. I am against the idea that our state should consider the idea of adding the charge because it could lead to other issues. I believe that we don’t have to pay for the bags now, so what difference does it make if we decide to add the tax? Adding the tax will cause issues for those who use plastic bags, cause paper bags to become more popular, and cause a high demand in reusable bags. A bag tax that could assist in the affair, but isn't necessary and should not be added. I don't believe that the tax on plastic bags can solve the issues that are caused by people who are careless. Punishing those who use plastic bags isn't fair when they might not even be the ones who are causing the controversy. Adding a bag tax is not going to help us in any way.

There are many reasons why the human population decided to produce single-use, and recyclable plastics, but intentions of ruining our beautiful oceans was not one of them. Plastics were originally produced to protect some of the planet's most valued resources and elements, used to produce glass and metals. Plastics make a positive contribution to the conservation of valued natural materials (Moore, et.al). Plastics are useful, and everyone uses plastic every day. Although plastic was invented in 1898, they became extremely popular in the 1960’s when housewives figured out that they did not need to spend time washing dishes anymore, they could just use plastics! Back then plastics were