The Harmful Effects Of Plastic Attacks On The Environment

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.

Plastic bags are utilized daily in supermarkets, restaurants, and stores. These bags are wreaking havoc in our country since California started using them. Not only banning bags will help California, but it would benefit the whole world if everybody stops using them. Plastic bags are one of the most dangerous substances in our environment. It seems silly that plastic bags could do so much harm, but these bags contribute to environmental issues in several ways. There is more work that needs to be done in order to further society in line with sustainable concepts that would not only serve to reduce waste but also to protect the extant environment. Human beings invented plastic bags for the convenience of carriers and packers. However, just as other great inventions, like, nuclear energy and biotechnology, plastic bags are causing significant issues like global warming, environment complications ,and economic benefits.

The problem with plastic ending up in the ocean is that marine life is being harmed by the presence of it. A study done on the harbor seals in the Netherlands found that more than 12% had plastic in the digestive system (California Coastal Commission). The list of affected species indicates that marine debris is affecting a significant number of species. It affects at least 267 species worldwide, including 86% of all sea turtle species, 44% of all seabird species, and 43% of all marine mammal species (Save our shores). The problem is underestimated because the marine life that ingests plastic or dies from entanglement often goes undiscovered due to the vastness of the ocean, as they either sink or are eaten by predators before they are discovered (Plastic Debris). The potential harm from ingestion of plastics is not restricted to seabirds. Plastic bags drifting on ocean currents resemble the prey of turtles. There is evidence that their survival is being hindered by plastic debris with young sea turtles being vulnerable (Ocean pollution). Over the past 20 years polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have polluted marine food webs at an increasing rate, and are prevalent in seabirds. Though their adverse effects may not always be apparent, PCBs lead to reproductive disorders, increase the risk of disease and alter hormone levels. These chemicals have a detrimental effect on marine organisms even at very low levels and plastic pellets could be a route for PCBs into marine food

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.

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

Every year, millions of tons of plastic are tossed into the ocean, harming all types of marine animals as well as the environment. Hundreds of marine mammals like whales and dolphins are found washed ashore filled with bottle caps, plastic bags and basically anything they can swallow. Not only does plastic pollution harm marine life, but it affects the entire ecosystem. If a predator is dependent on a certain species for prey and the predator has a role in the environment, it is important for the prey to not be disturbed by pollution. If that species of prey were to go extinct, then the predator species could be seriously impacted as a result. These problems warrant the need for more research into the magnitude and causes of plastic

One extreme issue with plastic being so easily accessible is that consumers throw it away without hesitation, as is especially true with plastic bags. Plastic bags are made of one of the most flexible and flimsy types of plastic, which means that they can be broken down much easier, especially once they reach the ocean, which is where an alarming amount of our trash ends up. “Plastic doesn't biodegrade in any meaningful timeframe, but it photodegrades” which means that “ultraviolet rays from the sun break the polymer chains of hydrocarbon molecules into smaller pieces and what you end up with is small fragments...” (Wilson) of plastic floating all over our oceans, and those tiny fragments will truly

Walking through the traditional grocery store, consumers find hundreds of plastic items to make their lives more convenient. Individually wrapped pop tarts, plastic zip lock bags to store sub sandwiches for lunch, deodorant cases, plastic combs to groom hair, diapers, and soda bottles. Unless specifically requested to carry a cloth bag, even the bags we use to carry our groceries home are produced plastic. To society, these are items of convenience and not necessity. But to marine animals that reside in our ocean, they can be a hazardous warzone, “which ends up polluting our oceans and killing millions of birds and fish and more than 100,000 sea turtles, according to the Sierra Club”(D.G.22). Plastic whether it is a syringe,

Plastic plays a major role in ocean dumping. Around 8 million metric tons of our plastic enters the ocean from land each year. Animals like sea turtles become entangled in plastic rings from dumping trash in the ocean. Birds can mistake trash or toys for food, so they end up eating it and they can die. Sea mammals risk dying out because of ocean dumping. Millions of tons of plastic is dumped in the ocean and affects the lives of animals or birds. So animals, or birds don’t die out people should start taking trash to a landfill instead of dumping it into the

Ocean dumping/littering is one of the biggest causes to harming sea life. According to Passage #1, it states, “Materials like plastic are non-degradable which means they will not be absorbed and recycled.” This shows that when plastics are being dumped into the oceans, they will stay there forever because they have no way of breaking down. This results in animals choking, and getting tangled up in plastic items. According to that same passage, it states that, “When oceanic creatures and even birds consume plastic inadvertently, they choke on it which causes a steady decline in their population.”

Plastic bags are convenient for carrying gorceries, packing school lunches, and even picking up pet waste. But, they are also harmful to our environment. I think that we should get rid of plastic bags. For one it will help the evironment. For two it will be healther for the animals in the sea. For three it will healther for people and land animals.

A lot of plastic bags end up in the ocean. The plastic that goes in the ocean goes to a island of garbage. The island is called the pacific garbage patch and that island is twice the size of texas. The trash that is on that island is eaten by fish and plastic makes fish think there full and there really not. Also the plastic that the fish eat damages their reproductive system and that means we can't eat that kind of fish or they will become extinct.

Plastic debris and litter is a serious pollution that is currently affecting oceans, waterways and coastal lines. Plastic is a man made tangible substance made from a range of organic polymers such as polyethylene, PVC, and nylon. This material is high on demand with the human kind but takes an average of 450 years to disintegrate. This product is impacting the marine environment, wildlife, and then eventually circling back to humans. Currently, the world’s biggest plastic patch is located north in the Pacific Ocean, trapped in what’s called a gyre (known as an ocean rip). There are also another two plastic islands located in the Indian and Atlantic oceans. These three plastic patches contain a higher amount of plastic but to today's count, in total there are 5 forward. Sea Education Society scientists studied plastics in the Atlantic and calculated there are 580,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometer. Causes of plastic are endless, but trash is the main contributor. Plastic is located in almost every item around, and once it's in the trash, all the garbage gets dumped in land fills and seeps into the ground and soil affecting wildlife. Plastic is cheap and substantially available, so over production of plastic is high. The cause of plastic filling up land and oceans is a couple of reasons. People normally have a one-time use for plastic then throw it away but after that, the plastic is hard to eradicate. Burning plastic leads

It can take up to 1000 years to decompose. That means that if someone drops a plastic bag right now, in 1000 years it will still be there. That's if the wildlife doesn't pick it up first. Each year tens of thousands of whales, birds, seals, and turtles eat plastic bags, mistaking the for food and die. In 2010 a gray whale that was beached and died in seattle was found to have more than 20 plastic bags in its stomach. Bag cleanups on the cost have been going of almost three years, with little progress. Over the last 25 years, the International Coastal Cleanup has collected, 7,825,319, plastic bags of coasts worldwide. That's enough petroleum to drive a car 281711484 feet (53354.4 miles). Plastic bags could be used for that instead of polluting the

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.