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The effects plastics have on the ocean
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As the population in the world keeps increasing so does the unwanted and unusable materials called, waste. Most of the garbage consumption which we dispose in our day to lives ends up in landfills; some of it also ends up in the natural environment one being the Ocean. A current study released this month by USA Today shows the world’s largest collection of ocean garbage.”The sea surface of this oceanic region is now dominated by polyethylene and polypropylene pieces substantially outweighing other artificial and natural floating debris” (L. Lebreton)
The fact that so much garbage is floating out in the ocean is not only a problem for us but for the wild life in the ocean. Given that humans are the primary cause of all this a research conducted
Many people think that there is nothing special in cleaning of this rubbish, but in fact it’s not so easy as it sounds. Scientist have invented special instrument that will gather garbage, it is look like a net, but another problem has occurred. This problem is that many plastic pieces are the same size as little sea animals and special designed nets will catch not only debris, but a habitats of ocean too. Another barrier in saving of the ocean is its sizes. Even if people will invent the net which will only take trash, without fish or other animals, the scale of the ocean will make this job too long and time-wasting. The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program has estimated that it would take 67 ships one year to clean up less than one percent of the North Pacific
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest garbage dump in the world. According to estimates made by experts, the patch holds approximately three and a half million tons of garbage. Majority of this garbage is made of plastic. This waste is a threatening problem to the patch’s surrounding wildlife. Many animals are caught in the floating pieces of trash and it is the cause of the deaths of about one million birds and about one hundred thousand other sea animals. Due to the oceans nature and constant moving currents, the trash is also constantly moving. Therefore the size of the patch never stays the exact same. However, scientists believe it be approximately two times the size of Texas. The plastic is mostly broken down from larger materials into small pieces. The patch has been referred to as one scientist as a, “plastic soup”. This garbage poses such a threat mainly because it does not biodegrade. These plastics will be in the ocean essentially forever. Many plastics also contain chemicals, and absorb other chemicals and pollutants they become exposed to. These newly absorbed toxins are then leaked and distributed back into the ocean over time. The chemicals can directly enter the bodies of the animals which consume them. A study was being conducted by scientists of the fish that inhabit the area around the patch. What the researchers found inside the belly of one fish (that was no larger in size than that of a finger), was eighty four small fragments of plastic. It does not take scientists to recognize the impact of this problem, Zach Gold, who is sixteen, is from Santa Monica California. Zach enjoys s...
Water is the most abused and wasted natural resource. Even with all our technological advancements, there are still approximately 1 billion people on this planet that do not have access to clean drinking water. Earth is comprised of 75% water with 96% of that being ocean water. Throughout the years, the ocean has become a dump for societies to use, throwing trash and waste away into the waters. Marine debris can destroy marine habitats, endanger marine and coastal wildlife, and serve as threats to human health and safety. For decades there has been a steady increase in the production of plastic materials for human use and various consumptive purposes. Due to bad disposal techniques, our population’s overuse, and the non-biodegradable nature of plastic; plastic is accountable for 80% of marine debris. This issue of plastic has and is
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)
Society is highly dependent on plastic. Unfortunately, eight tonnes of plastic are thrown away every year and most ends up in the ocean. The short documentary “A Plastic Tide” looks at various places throughout the world whose beaches are littered with plastic. Mumbai, India is one of the first places the documentary focuses on. They refer to the beach as a “plastic graveyard” because there is plastic everywhere causing almost no sand to be seen. Afroz Shah began the world’s biggest beach clean and inspired community members to take action. The documentary makes sure to point out that plastic is not the problem. While plastic may be convenient for us, it is not good for marine life. It is single-use plastic that is causing the most harm. Single-use plastics are discarded within the year and only about 5% of it is effectively recycled.
Plastic pollution affects our oceans just as harshly, if not worse, than the land we live on considering 70% of the earth’s surface is our oceans. It has been estimated that five to thirteen million metric tons of plastic pollution enter our ocean annually. In even the most remote areas where human life isn't seen, plastic can be found floating on top of and throughout the water. Scientists estimated five trillion pieces of plastic float among the ocean’s surface worldwide, even though most of the pieces are small enough to not be visual when looking upon the waves. However, 50% of marine debris including plastic will sink in the ocean. Plastic from areas where any human population is present travels around in one of the five main tides created
Our oceans take a large beating every day by the extremely large amount of pollution humans produce. Our society easily dumps their waste into the oceans to dispose of the excessive amount of garbage, sewage, and chemicals, but this small and simple solution is creating an even bigger problem. The way humans dispose of their wastes is causing the death of our beloved marine life. Not only are we killing off our animals, our food source, and our resources, we are also minimizing our usable water. By having a better understanding of the problem on the severe dumping, it will be easier to find ways to help minimize the pollution that is going into the ocean.
Many waste and substances are being thrown into the ocean every year; the most common manmade item found is plastic. Every year, more than 5.3 million tons of plastic is thrown into the ocean. Plastic makes up for the death of almost more than 100,000 different types of sea creatures. Currently, EPA is working on solutions toward pollution. EPA partners with many countries to come to an agreement on what to do about ocean pollution. Pollution is a very important issue to resolve, especially in the ocean, because many things like plastic, chemicals, and other products are being thrown into the ocean which can harm many organisms and ecosystems in the ocean, whether if it is by an animal ingesting harmful waste or by strangling an animal to
originally been discarded on land” ( Weisman.) Moore estimated that the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” alone has roughly three million tons of plastic waste in it, and has grown by 100 percent over the past 40 years. It’s crazy to think we are polluting the only home humans have; filling the oceans of the world carelessly with waste.
At least 88% of the ocean’s surface is covered in plastic trash. This number, while already extremely high, can’t even begin to encompass the rest of the debris that isn’t on the top of the ocean, but under the surface (Walia). Ocean pollution is a national problem that affects not only the marine life living in the Earth’s oceans, but that affects humans, too. Plastics destroy ocean habitats and kill 100,000 marine mammals annually, along with 1 million sea birds (D'Alessandro). The plastic garbage in the ocean is often choked on by animals who mistake the plastic for food; even if they avoid choking and are able to swallow it, they can starve because it blocks their digestive tracts (10 Things You Can Do to Save the Oceans). Animals are also
A lot of waste in thrown away each year. According to ECO360’s “Plastic Garbage” there are a lot of surprising facts about plastic. In just America alone, they use roughly 2.5 million water bottles every hour! Unfortunately, only one or two percent of plastic is recycled. With this being said, about 14 billion pounds of trash is dumped into the oceans every year! This is how the plastic islands have been created. Plastic islands are large clutters of plastic formed into one big mess. There are currently five known garbage islands in the world today. There are two in the Pacific Ocean, two in the Atlantic Ocean, and one in the Indian Ocean (Budnikov). These large plastic islands are incredibly dangerous to marine life. Thousands of marine wildlife
There is a lot of trash in the ocean. There are about 5.25 trillion pieces of trash in the ocean.There is a big problem with having a lot of trash in the ocean. The problem is that all the plastic and cans can cause the fish to get stuck, injured, or die. Not only does the trash kill fish it also kills seabirds and turtles. Over 1 million seabirds and 100,000 sea mammals are killed every year by pollution.
...ic and get ill from it. All this trash can kill the mammals in the ocean even if it’s just floating on top of the water. It’s still harmful to them and humans. It can kill, suffocate or poison the mammal. If humans decide to go swimming in the ocean and choke on a piece of plastic that breaks into pieces and they open there mouth for some reason and get trash in their mouth they can choke and maybe die. Just because people like to put their trash anywhere they please.
...harges of Human-made Debris Comprise the Largest Source of Marine Debris in Oceans World-wide (nearly 80%)." Plastic Debris Rivers to Sea Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
Humans are the source of the pollution and refuse build up. “Litter in the world’s oceans comes from many sources, including containers that fall