Simple Ways to Protect Our Natural Environment

Opting for paper instead of plastic when one is able can be a great start. All over the world more places are gradually shifting to paper bags and banning plastic ones. California being one of the first states to recognize a plastic bag ban has the potential for lasting impacts given that in the Los Angeles area alone, 10 metric tons of plastic fragments are carried into the Pacific Ocean every day (Harth Richard). As more studies are being conducted and more information is being made public about the detrimental effects humanities over-consumption of plastic is having, some scientists are making attempts to make plastic safer and more sustainable. Some innovators are developing bioplastics, which are made from plant crops instead of fossil fuels. Others are working to make plastic truly biodegradable and some are looking for ways to make recycling more efficient (The History and the Future of

The natural environment refers to all forms of life and naturally occurring non-living things on the entire planet. It is the source of our water, air, food and climate on which our life, health and society is absolutely dependent.

The social environment is composed of the elements in our surroundings that are human or of human origin. The natural environment is composed of nonhuman elements in our of the group to which we belong. Our natural environment depends primarily on the climate, water resources, soil, topography, and animal life and mineral resources of the part of the world in which we live in. Demography the study of the number and characteristics of a population. It is concerned not only with the number of people in an area but also with factors that may be causing their number to increase or decrease. The Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) is the most important government anti-pollution agency: it directs antipollution efforts and monitors environmental problems.

Each year there is an increase in demands for plastic bags, and therefore more are shipped, creating further environmental pollution concerns. This increase in demand has lead to the phenomenal upsurge in the use and misuse of plastic bags globally, both in developed and developing countries. Statistics show that 4 to 5 trillion plastic bags are produced per annum, whereby North America and Western Europe account for nearly 80% (Geographical, 2005; Reusable Bags, 2005). Cheeseman (2007) states that approximately “380 billion plastic shopping bags are used in the United States annually”; in turn, only 0.6% of this is recycled.

In the article “ Baby bottoms and environmental conundrums: disposable diapers and the pediatrician” by Marianne B Sutton; Michael Weitman; Jonathan Howland. The authors mention that disposable baby diapers cause harm to people and the environment when in landfills, and in some cases they get shipped off to other countries when the landfills get filled. Diapers make up 5% of household waste and 1% to 3% of solid waste in the United States (Marianne B Sutton; Michael Weitman; Jonathan Howland). However, this a problem with a solution such as using reusable diapers when possible to minimize the amount of disposable diapers being thrown out.

According to ecowatch.com, all the plastic humans added up thrown away added up can circle the Earth four times. This is around 500 billion plastic bags, and most of them end up on landfill sites. The plastic bags in landfills usually lay there for over 300 years until they are completely photodegraded, or decomposed by the light, especially sunlight. During the process of being photodegraded, the plastic bags break down into small toxic particles that are either released into the air, or into the soil. These small toxic particles contaminate many different things such as soil and waterways. Since it is in the soil and waterways, animals often come and end up eating these dangerous toxic particles. Some supermarkets use biodegradable bags that are said to be “environment friendly,” but that is a total lie. According to an article about plastic bag pollution by Sharon Jacobsen, it says, “...the truth is that the process of breaking down these petrol based bags causes carbon to become methane which is a greenhouse gas.” Greenhouse gases are very dangerous to the environment since it causes temperature increase around the whole entire globe. Therefore, in conclusion, neither plastic bags or so-called “environment friendly” bags are good for the environment all around us, and we should not use them. Instead, we should use reusable

The claims that plastic bags are worse for the environment over reusable bags are deceitful. Compared to paper bags, plastic grocery bags produce fewer greenhouse gases, require 70 percent less energy to make, generate 80 percent, less waste, and utilize less than 4 percent of the amount of water needed to make them. The reason for this is because plastic bags are lighter and take up less space. Another reason reusable bags aren't as useful is because they are more prone to food contamination if not washed properly. A study found that San Francisco’s plastic bag ban in 2007 resulted in more visits to the hospital from patients suffering E. coli, salmonella, and other infectious diseases from

The environment is the home to all living and non-living organisms. It can be compared to a life support system that ensures the well-being of everyone. Recent cases of environmental degradation pose a threat to nature and the entire ecosystem. There has been increased awareness to educate individuals on the need to protect our environment with the aim of protecting the natural beauty and sustaining humanity.

Americans make more than 200 million tons of garbage each year, enough to fill Busch Stadium from top to bottom twice a day, that’s over 1800 feet! according to Ballparks. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 75% of the American waste stream is recyclable, but we only recycle about 30% of it says Do Something. With the invention of the virtually indestructible material well known as plastic, on top of the rapidly evolving technological world, and the extreme reduction of locations where landfills can be built, it’s hard to believe that 75% of the waste stream in America alone is recyclable, and yet only 30% of it is actually recycled. Recycling is a beneficial solution to many of our increasingly important environmental

We have become a very wasteful society where it seems as if everything is disposable; as a society, we need to be conscious of just how much waste we produce and what we are able to do to reduce that amount to protect our environment.

Additionally, because many citizens do not understand how plastic bags are made, used, how landfills work, I had no clue, that in a dry landfill, paper bags don't degrade any faster than plastic bags, because we don't understand how things are recycled. According to Monstrous, banning plastic bags will only create hardship for consumers not only making it inconvenient for the customer, but also in the long run will cause more environmental damage. (32) There has been so much misleading information in our media culture world. But, all in all, using plastic bags impacts the environment much less than using paper ones. (32) As one partial solution to our environmental problems, could be to make recycling resources mandatory, both paper and plastic, in addition, why not add cardboard, and glass. Once established, the government agencies would ultimately be responsible for developing regulations, enforce, and reviewing the overall success through ethical sound research. At which time, adjustments could be made to improve the overall process. Secondly, the money collected at the stores from individuals, who still use plastic bags, could be used to implement this new process and higher cleanup crews picking up trash and recyclables. This could become one of the activities of the Peace Corps, Ecology Youth Corps, job corps, nonviolent inmates, and summer jobs for our youth, especially

By going to a website called, “postconsumer.com,” I found out that, “ Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade- breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways. They then enter the food web when animals accidentally ingest them,”( admin, para.8 ). In case you didn't know, the meaning of biodegrade is to decay and to become absorbed by the environment, while photodegrade is to be decomposed by the action of light, especially sun light. Plastic bags are very common in grocery stores. Sure they help us carry items, but plastic bags can do a lot of harm to the environment and to living animals, such as creating land fills and endangering six of seven species of sea turtles. Where I'm getting at is that

The natural environment and the most important advantages is all that is beyond human entity, and all that surrounds it of assets, The air he breathes and the water we drink, and the land on which dwells upon and farmed, and its surroundings from living organisms or from inanimate are the elements of the environment in which they live, a framework that exercise in which the various activities. The most important characteristic of the natural environment is a delicate balance between the various elements, and if there has been any change of some sort in one of these environments has avoid natural conditions after a period of effects of this change, Examples include the renewal of nature trees after fire destroys the areas of forest, this the balance between the constituent elements of the so-called environment (ecological balance) and any change to the elements of the environment undesirable result of human activities, which cause damage to human health and the living beings is environmental pollution.The causes of pollution of the environment are produced overpopulation in many major cities damage. Busy streets have been unable, and power plants and water purification plants, and sewage plants and other to

Plastic bags cause a massive amount of pollution to the earth. It lets out lots of CO2 into the air with the production of it. CO2 is a greenhouse gas that if let out too much at one time can hurt the planet. Not only do plastic bags produce pollution while being made, but also when they are decomposing. Plastic bags go on to last for up to 10-1000 years. That is possibly 1000 years that a plastic bag goes on to add the huge amount of trash in the world. Although plastic bags take so long to decompose they do eventually break down. Exposure to a lot of sunlight and wind will also speed up the process of the decomposition of plastic bags. The breaking down of plastic bags seems like a good thing, however it is the complete opposite. Plastic bags are broken down into microscopic particles that are toxic. Those toxic particles then go on to hurt the environment. An articles states, “They break down into tiny toxic particles that contaminate the soil and waterways and enter the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them.”. This goes to show that those

Five hundred billion used globally and one hundred billion of them end up in U.S. landfills, taking about one thousand years to decompose, but only 5.2 percent were recycled (Borrud, 2007, p.75).-These are the figures plastic bags have produced every year. Human beings invented plastic bags for the convenience of carriers and packers. However, just as other great inventions, say, nuclear energy and biotechnology, plastic bags are causing serious issues like global warming, environment pollution and energy consumption. They are gradually becoming sword towards ourselves. In responding to this problem, the city of San Francisco has become the trail blazer to prohibit non-biodegradable plastic bags in its large supermarkets and pharmacies.