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The effects plastics have on the ocean
Ocean pollution in the world by plastic
Ocean pollution in the world by plastic
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An area that I previously lived at was Costa Mesa, California, approximately two miles from the Pacific Ocean. I lived near the coast for twenty years and frequently visited the beach. I consider myself privileged to have resided near a beach ecosystem with high biodiversity and perfect year-round weather. Plastic pollution is an enormous problem at the beach, and its mass production needs to cease. Plastic bottles are inconsiderately littered everywhere, and they accumulate in our oceans. “There are five garbage patches, and the Pacific garbage patch is the biggest” (Great Pacific Garbage Patch, 1:23-1:29) Dreadfully large, these patches affect biodiversity after marine life gobble toxic miniscule plastic specks that appear to be nourishment. This plastic is toxic. According to our textbook, “Bisphenol A or BPA as it is more commonly known, is a synthetic chemical. Since the …show more content…
(Tough Truths About Plastic Pollution, 2:09-2:17) I agree. Can you visualize every inch of the ocean covered in plastic? I hope we never see that day. Additionally, production of plastic water bottles is unsustainable. “The process of producing bottled water requires around six times as much water per bottle as there is in the container.” (Plastic Oceans Foundation) I believe using up precious resources in this manner is wrong when water scarcity already afflicts many parts of the world. Sadly, the manufacturing of plastic also fosters air pollution and assists in ozone depletion of our stratosphere. Dr. Newman stated: “If there’s less ozone, more UV radiation gets to the Earth, if there’s more ozone, less UV radiation gets to the Earth. (NASA, Exploring Ozone, 00:12-00:17) Consequently, additional UV radiation may contribute to increased probabilities of acquiring skin
Which means their obviously bad for the aquatic marine life environment & are cause many different forms of damage for them & us as one. On p.g. 23 of The New York Times upfront magazine “Birds,fish, sea turtles, & others are getting tangled in plastic bags or mistake them for food & choke”. Someone else might argue that they could the plastic bags in landfills instead of oceans. But that counter- argument is flawed because you’re just polluting by burning plastic which is bad on our part we’re not doing our part to support & taking care of the earth. Plastic in the ocean isn't just bad for plants & animals but for humans too because of the food chain some of us eat animals as a meat source such as aqua marine life like fish. If the fishermen catch fish that have been eating plastic then it's in our food supply if we eat that fish it's gonna be bad for us so many will end up getting sick from the plastic inside of the fish then what will we do our aqua marine food supply will go down the drain we couldn’t eat the fish since it's basically contaminated with plastic that we’re dumping there instead of trying to fix it & getting rid of plastic bags for good for the good of the earth. We’re causing damage towards the earth by dumping all that plastic into the ocean which damages our water supply it’ll poison us although we clean the water it depends on how big the plastic particles are, it’ll make us sick & sense it’s been lying in the oceans could bring in new pathogens &
Humans encounter harmful chemicals every day, but it is generally unexpected by the public that products that they use every day, such as water bottles and metal cans, contain ingredients that can pose a threat to their health. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a compound that is widely used during the manufacturing of epoxy resins that provide a protective layer to many food containers, as well as hard, clear plastics (Staples, 1998). BPA leaches from these containers into the food or drink that humans consume on a daily basis (Krishnan, 1993). Several studies have found traces of BPA in over 90% of adult participants, and 99% of school-age children (Calafat, 2008). The chemical is still being used in modern times, despite the research that advises otherwise.
BPA pollution into aquatic environments occurs through two main routes: (1) direct dumping of BPA-containing plastics, and (2) efflue...
Everyday millions of Americans come in contact with many different forms of plastics and think nothing about it. Whether its drinking from water bottles purchased at your local super market to eating leftovers from food storage containers in your refrigerator, plastics are everywhere in the world and it seems as if they’re here to stay. But have you heard of the chemical Bisphernol-A? Also known as BPA, this chemical compound is found in just about every plastic that you come in contact with and has created quite the uproar in the media over the last several years in question on its safety for consumer use. Scientists from around the world believe that BPA is the cause of many adverse health effects found in infants and adults, but the scientists aren’t the only ones voicing their opinions on the subject. Many concerned consumers in light of recent studies on the controversial BPA chemical are worried about what they themselves and their families are ingesting and exactly how it is affecting them. This problem amongst consumers has been so great that many companies such as Wal-Mart have demanded the removal of baby and infant products that contain the controversial chemical BPA from their store shelves.
Most of the necessities humans need are provided in supermarkets, in fact supermarkets have become a necessity for our everyday life. They are now the main source of water, food, clothes and everyday tools. Therefore, the plastic bags demanded and supplied in this industry increase every day. In the past decade, we produced as much plastic as we did in the whole twentieth century (Freinkel, 2011). This exponential increase of a non-biodegradable material has negatively impacted our environment immensely. Plastic production requires our dwindling fossil fuel resources, robs away animal lives, litters our beautiful landscapes and even affects our very own well-being. Hence, if plastic production doesn’t diminish immediately, we will suffer great
There is also debate on how much better biodegradable plastics are in the first place. This is because as biodegradable plastics break down, they break up into smaller and smaller pieces, but never quite disappear. This leaves the potential that the plastic would continue entering the food chain. But although biodegradable plastics aren’t perfect, they are still much safer than standard plastic and present a much lower risk. In addition, by making the shift to ban single use plastics, research towards better plastic alternatives will speed up and better solutions will become available. Over time, these new alternatives to plastics may spread to other items that aren’t single use, making an even greater impact on the health of humans and the
"An Ocean Of Trash." Scholastic Action 33.12 (2010): 16. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
The ocean is an abundant source of life. It is home to thousand of different creatures, provides a great source of food, and provides the earth with about one half of the oxygen needed to sustain life. (National Geographic) Pollution especially plastic, is a catastrophic problem. Ironically plastic, which is a material designed to last forever is generally used for things we tend to throw away. Every year about one hundred to two hundred billion pounds of plastic are manufactured. Only 31% of that plastic is actually recycled. Biomass packaging estimates 10% of that plastic ends up in the ocean annually. About 20% of it coming from ships and other platforms, and the other 80% coming from land derived sources, such as international garbage dumping, winds or tides either way it finds its way to the ocean.(Biomass Packaging Co., et al)
The US Container Recycling Institute estimates that 67 million plastic water bottles are discarded every day, which is enough to wrap around the planet 149 times each year. Therefore, plastic water bottles should be banned from public use. The usage of water bottles should be suppressed because they are incredibly dangerous, wasteful, expensive, and rarely recycled. Researchers have stated that plastic bottles containing water can contain many harmful chemicals. After close examination of the plastic, researchers have concluded that some plastics contain chemicals, such as phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), endocrine disruptors, and carcinogens, which may leach into the water, especially after being stagnant for long periods of time.
The world population is living, working, and vacationing along the coasts. They are contributing to an unprecedented tide of plastic waste. Pollution is defined as the process that alters a substance or molecule on planet earth, the pollution is caused by the physical contact of an organic decaying particle with a clean particle in the same spot, at the time the two particles join together is when occurs pollution in which the environment is greatly altered. Too many, plastic is a modern day miracle, versatile, inexpensive and durable (Rochman 2014). To others, it is a scourge, a non-degradable pollutant that threatens to choke the global environment. Plastic pollution has led to the deaths of many animals, natural resources, and people (Rochman 2014). It is time to change America’s thinking and to learn from past mistakes.
Over the course of the past 60 years, an increasing amount of the current population is using plastic and reusable products to try and reduce the amount of waste that is being thrown away. Bisphenol A (BPA) is used to manufacture polycarbonate #7 plastic which have help strengthen plastic bottles, food containers and epoxy resins (University of Minnesota, 2008). BPA is used in a range of products from every day plastic beverage containers and plastic dinnerware, to compact disks, impact-resistant safety equipment, automobile parts, and toys (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). The CDC (2013) also states that BPA epoxy resins are used in the protective linings of food cans, in dental sealants, and in other products (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013).
It is sad to say but humans have played their part in deteriorating the earth. We have polluted and killed the very thing that takes care of us. If you ride by any lake or river you find trash and debris around it. In the “The Call of the Wild” the author says that we have committed war against the earth by the dumping of poisons and explosives upon it (337). Unfortunately, plastics are the things that are doing the most harm to our environment. Plastics are convenient and we use them everyday and these are the things that we find in the oceans, rivers and lakes. They are harmful to the earth as well as human health by directly intoxicating us with lead, cadmium and mercury. Plastic debris laced with harmful chemicals are often found inside of our marine life and can poison them. Plastic can survive for thousands of years and many invasive species are found in them which can disrupt our habitats. We need to limit our consumption of plastics and make sure that they are disposed of in their proper places.
Being convenient enough for everyday use and even tasting better to some, plastic bottles are a popular way of consuming beverages. They are convenient and to some people, can even taste better. However, the process of manufacturing and transporting the millions of bottles produced is detrimental to the environment. Continued use of plastic bottles could exponentially hurt the planet. Given all the negative effects that come from plastic, why are people still participating in this poisonous cycle?
Research from the University of California San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography said that species in the ocean consume a projected 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic every year in the Pacific Ocean (Nall, 2014). Pollution of recyclable materials in the oceans is one of the leading causes of why some marine species are nearing extinction. Many authors of articles and books analyzing this topic tend to agree that pollution of our oceans is a problem. The future of this problem is where their ideas tend to differ. The following four literature reviews attempt to demonstrate and support my belief that pollution is getting worse in the ocean and more marine life ecosystems are being affected, but there are things that we as humans can do to change this. Imagine a world where we didn’t have to constantly worry about the vicious cycle of humans affecting animals and then animals in turn affecting us through consumption.
The problem with contaminated beaches will soon take effect on everyone. The main causes that pollution creates in the beaches are from heavy rainfall, natural disasters, and plant malfunctions. Government agencies cannot control the weather, but they can control what goes into the water. In the United States, the number one reason why beaches are closed down are due to contamination in the water that may be harmful and are left untreated. The arising problem with the beach is that the industries are producing toxic chemicals and tossing the unwanted waste into the ocean. Also, the public are recklessly throwing their trash out into the streets. A prime example to demonstrate this is, if someone was trying to throw a bottle into a street trashcan but missed, he/she is unlikely to pick up after himself/herself if no one was around to see it. This scenario causes pollution to the sidewalks. When mother nature disasters occur, these waste products will end up in the storm drains and into the sewage system. The overflow of debri from the cities can flow into the rivers and if not preserved, it can flow into the ocean. The rivers will then carry these human caused waste into t...