Plastic In The Oceans

The last point of why space exploration is worth the cost because, as Susan Casey states in her article, “Our Oceans Are Turning into Plastic… Are You,” “Earth’s oceans are being contaminated by a patch of garbage that’s twice the size of Texas made mostly of plastic called the “Garbage Belt” that are damaging the food chains and in the ocean ecosystem” (228). This shows that unless humans can clean up the “Garbage Belt”, the ocean's ecosystem will continue to be damaged by the belt, and with the fish of the Pacific Ocean eating a piece of plastic, that fish might end up on your dinner plate and then you digest plastic getting sick. And it’s either humans clean up Earth’s oceans, or humans will have to evacuate Earth because the belt is making

Plastic isn’t known to be a substance made for consumption, but you may be eating it every day. In “Our Oceans Are Turning into Plastic…Are You?” the author Susan Casey is informing us how bad plastic is polluting our oceans. Susan Casey is the author of a New York Times best seller, “The Devils Teeth”, helped publish Into Thin Air and The Perfect Storm, and is the editor and chief of Oprah Winfrey’s Magazine “O”. She argues that these pollutants are doing damage in multiple facets, such as affecting food chains, disrupts organism reproduction, and directly cause the things we consume to be harmful to us. The author found many creative ways to appeal to all three persuasive appeals which are Logos, Pathos, and Ethos. Although the article was great at the end she added things that weren’t needed and seemed to just be there as filler.

The beauty of California is slowly fading away and as environmentalists would say, “There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with its surrounding” (Carson, 366). According to the findings revealed by research foundations in California, marine life is and has been in great danger as a result of plastic remains that accumulates in the Ocean. In his article Daniel Woods states, “Approximately eighty percent of remains found in Oceans are made of plastic that originates from urban runoffs such as plastic trash carried away from landfills, trucks, as well as garbage containers, marinas, ports and construction trash” (Wood, 20). Furthermore, these results also revealed that marine remains where made up of disposable plastic products that constitute food packaging as well as containers that are ever present and contain precious resources that can be used unsustainably. These issues have affected the state critically and have lead me to research the reasons behind the banning of plastic pollution, their economic impact, harm resulting from plastic pollution, as well as federal concerns on plastic contamination.

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

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 1988, it was determined that the United States alone, was producing 30 million tonnes of plastic per year (Derraik, J.G.B., 2002). This can be compared with the global and annual production of 260 million tonnes of plastic as of 2012 (Pearson, E., 2014). Plastics are lightweight, durable, and cheap to make. This makes them incredibly easy to sell and manufacture. However, these attributes are many of the reasons why plastics are the most prominent type of marine debris, and why they are a serious hazard to various ecosystems and the organisms that live within them (Derraik, J.G.B.,

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.

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.

We all know that why oceans are important for us and why we need to take actions towards the preservation and keeping our oceans clean from plastic. In article “Our oceans are turning into plastic… are we?” Susan Casey has tried to inform the general audience about the problems caused by plastic in oceans. Susan Casey has strong credentials for writings this article because she already has wrote many works about the oceans and marine life such as The Devil's Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival Among America's Great White Sharks. Furthermore she also worked in editorial tams of two movies Into Thin Air and The Perfect Storm. So this shows that she is well experienced in writing works about oceans and marine life. Using her previous

Since plastics in oceans are so damaging I think actions should be taken to help limit the effects of plastics in our oceans. Even if you are a very busy person you can help reduce the effects by using less single use plastic items like plastic bags, straws, or forks/spoons. To cut back on using so many plastic water bottles or cups, you could start using a reusable water bottle. Another method to cut back on plastic pollution in the ocean is recycling. Instead of throwing away single use plastics after using them, just throw them into the recycling bin instead to be repurposed. It helps keep the ocean clean and also reduces the amount of new plastic that gets made. If you want a less hands on way to battle the plastic pollution, you can consider

Can you predict the outcome of food and medicine resources from the ocean if plastic pollution is not prevented or minimized? We as humans, need food and most times medicine to survive and to be healthy. Some of the resources we need for food and medicine come from the ocean. What will happen to our resources if we cannot prevent or at least minimize plastic pollution in the ocean? This paper will be about what experts say about ocean pollution, and how we can prevent it.

In an article written by Adam Vaughn for The Guardian, the issue of marine debris is briefly addressed while a solution to the issue is analyzed. Marine debris can be commonly known as plastics in the ocean, and Vaughn’s article analyzes biodegradable plastics. While this essay will not analyze biodegradable plastics, solutions to the issue are an important part of creating a picture of the issue at hand. Marine debris, or plastic in the ocean, is an issue in consequence to its negative environmental impact. It is not common for this negative environmental impact to be argued against. It is more common for this negative environmental impact to be ignored for the sake of human convenience. In one perspective

Within our oceans, there is a system of the ocean currents rotating clockwise around the world called gyres. Within these gyres across the globe, contains the everyday plastic item. An everyday plastic item can be a toothbrush, a plastic water bottle, a plastic coffee mug, or a plastic laundry detergent container. The Earth’s five oceans no longer only have water and sea life situated within the ocean but, plastic as well. Out of all five gyres, the one closest to the United States is the largest. About eighty percent of debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch comes from land-based activities from North America. The majority of plastics within the ocean will never deteriorate, they will only break down to smaller and smaller pieces (Great Pacific Garbage

of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the exact size remains unknown. In addition, Doucette warns us that this patch contains more than ten million tons of waste. She describes the area to be a “fetid swamp of debris where tiny bits of decaying plastic outweigh zooplankton- one of the most prolific and abundant organisms on the planet- by a ration of six-to-one”(Doucette). It is now apparent that the amount of plastic particles residing in our oceans is damaging the natural habit and this trash is not going anywhere. Due to the currents in the ocean, plastic particles are

Where does all the plastic go. Every bit of plastic that has been created is still here. This is because plastic is one-hundred percent non-biodegradable! Even the most degraded plastic down to polymers cannot be digested by bacteria (Laist, 1997). If global issues like starvation and climate change are not enough to stress on, the weight of an issue literally churning in the Pacific Ocean is startling. For decades the majority of the world’s population has not been properly educated on the nature of plastic and the potential harm it can do to our environment and our physical health. Due to factors of man and the natural effects of nature, a major problem has developed that is now harming our food.