Pollution, Overfishing, And The Sea Of An Urban Environment

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

The oceans need to be protected because it is where life began and if not taken care of, life as we know it will end. The well-being of the ocean is constantly being threatened and needs to stop. When dangerous substances go into the ocean, ecosystems suffer and become endangered along with the lives of people and marine life. The importance of protecting and preserving the quality and biodiversity of the world 's coasts must be recognized because they are truly irreplaceable. If humans are not educated , and become careless about what is thrown on the ground or sprayed on lawns, disastrous effects follow when it comes to the condition of the ocean’s ecosystems, which can endanger life itself, leading to a problem only we can correct. There is historical evidence of ocean pollution, although the problem still shadows us today.

In the story, “Our Oceans Are Turning into Plastic… Are We?” by Susan Casey, Captain Charles Moore experiences what can be described as a living nightmare. In the Northern Pacific subtropical gyre, known as the Eastern Garbage Patch, Captain Moore sees the piles and piles of used, bottles, nets, ropes, bath toys, jugs, and traps, all creating a layer of “plastic crap” above the ocean’s surface, staying completely still in a windless current less body of water. The experience of seeing what you care about be completely changed because of pollution or simple human neglect. Personally, I have an instance of this in the first house that I remember living in. What was once a house that had a lot of connections from not only me, but others in the

An artist by the name of Chris Jordan, leaves hidden messages to his viewers through his artwork. In his piece entitled “Gyre 2009”, his spinoff of the original image “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa” by a Japanese artist, Hokusai, Jordan displays the ocean and pollution within it. The image delivers a strong message of how us humans mistreat the environment, specifically our oceans which take up 70% of the world we live in. Jordan provides insight into how millions of pieces of plastic waste are sitting in our oceans today. This information is saddening in the aspect of how negligent humans are in the treatment of the planet and our ecosystem.

Ocean pollution is a problem that can not be solved unless everyone is focused on doing so, our world will suffer drastically in the long run if we do not fix the increasing pollution, and its not just effecting the air we breath but also the food we eat because of water contamination. "The single biggest problem in reaching international agreement on a topic lies in convincing sovereign nations with different goals, opposing political systems, and fluctuating positions in day-to-day politic that their interests all lie in the same direction" (1, 106). Pollution gets into the sea from many sources but has the same effect, consequently swimming in our seas can make you ill. It costs big time to help decrease pollution and to study it. Poor or struggling nations will have a hard time affording it, which does not help because it has to be a world effort. Researchers calculated that $44 million a year is spent just protecting aquatic species from nutrient pollution, still there is so much pollution.

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

Commercial fishing is a tremendously important economic activity, overfishing has led to a depletion of worldwide fish stocks, threatening the viability of the industry. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is a significant problem that affects the marine ecosystem and those who depend on it for

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

This article introduces what a gyre is and states how plastic ends up in the ocean. It mentions how although plastic doesn't begin as toxic it becomes poisonous overtime due to pollutants in the water collecting on the debris. Karpus states how the plastic consumed by marine life can cause them to die of starvation and cause plastic accumulation in the food chain. Karpus talks about how the main issue is plastic's resistance to being degradable. Lastly, the article provides ways to be an activist such as living a plastic free lifestyle and fighting the government's and company’s plastic policies.

Plastic and plastic based products have turned the American society into a single use, throw away lifestyle (Eriksen, 154). Due to the introduction of plastic to everyday life, it has become a main source of pollution and liter to the Earth. Whether it is on the side of the road, being collected in large masses such as in landfills, or located in the depths of our oceans, plastic has integrated itself into our environment as well as our society. However, no one environment sees the most impact from plastic pollution than our waterways and oceans. Plastic waste can enter the ocean a multitude of different ways such as through illegal offshore dumping, storm-water drainage, lost fishing equipment, overflowing during high-volume rain events, improper or lack of sewage treatment of water, or simply by blowing off of piers,

As if overfishing in the earth’s oceans wasn’t bad enough and little to no time for the fish’s population to reproduce we are slowly exhausting the vast ocean’s natural ecosystem of their wildlife (Dr. Daniel Pauly, Overfishing.org) and with the probable extinction of the sharks bring ruin the entire global economy, with that the number of sea life with decrease exponentially hence our way of life of fishing will become extremely difficult to fish in the earth’s oceans with little to no fish left to catch. Eventually it may become a reality where fishermen may not be able to maintain their basic living lifestyle and millions of people will suffer unemployment with a deteriorating ocean thus the economic foundation will be at risk of

“Pollution in the ocean is killing huge amounts of animals”. That is what we hear in the news almost everyday. Pollution in the ocean is a big problem that is happening right now,There are now close to 500 dead zones covering more than 245,000 km² globally, equivalent to the surface of the United Kingdom. We need to start finding ways to help oceans get cleaner. A good idea to help the ocean could be making a robot that will help clean the ocean, and help clean places where we as humans don’t regularly can clean everyday.

There is a place called the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch, which weighs 7 million tons, and twice the size of Texas. This makes me feel disgusted that some humans don’t care about the environment. I am writing this essay, because it makes me frustrated that animals are dying, because of plastic we have created, accident, or on purpose, this is a huge problem. With this information, please spread awareness of saving wildlife and our oceans. I am going to be talking to you about the follow topics: First, what is the ocean trash problem, second, how does this ocean trash impact the health of our oceans and animals, and finally, what can we do to resolve this ocean trash problem. Let’s get started with figuring out why this ocean trash problem is

An astonishing 6.4 million tons of debris end up in the world’s oceans every year and 60 to 80 percent of that debris, or 3.8 to 5 million tons, is improperly discarded plastic litter. The beach is a very fun and enjoyable place to visit with friends and family. However when they are trashed that's not cool. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone could just pick up their trash each time? Well that just simply won't happen. Since beaches provide natural beauty, habitats, and recreation, a program should be instituted where students go and pick up trash in order to make our beaches cleaner, greener and safer for the animals.

As the world develops and the human population grows there is more pollution being dumped into the oceans, causing major problems to marine life and ecosystems. Major causes of marine pollution involve non-point pollutants, marine garbage, toxic ocean pollutants and sewage disposal in oceans. From heavy metal poisoning including lead and mercury killing predators such as sharks and whales, to waste getting trapped in the digestive tracts of marine animals, this essay focuses on how human interference causes horrifying problems to the marine life, but also how to fix it. It will also explore the normal activities of people including farming and how this can cause an imbalance in an ecosystem. Everyday activities can cause massive nutrient