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Consequences of plastic in the ocean
Consequences of plastic in the ocean
Consequences of plastic in the ocean
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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 …show more content…
This drags pollution further out than most people are aware of.
Sea life is incredibly damaged by these large masses of garbage as well. Plastics in the water get ingested by many larger organisms which are completely toxic material and can lead to illness or death. The sea turtle easily will believe a plastic bag is a jellyfish and they will consume the
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Albatrosses might eat plastic resin pellets as a mistake for fish eggs and die of starvation because they are not actually eating the nutrients they need. These pellets also have the ability to tear apart their organs. These organisms might also be caught by fisherman for human consumption and end up in human diets as well. The toxins from the plastic build up in the fat and muscle tissues of fish, that humans eat, therefore emptying the stomach is not quite enough. Plastics that sit inside of waters long enough will break down into smaller pieces called microplastics that will never decompose. The sun is what initially breaks down these products with the help of ever moving ocean waves and ocean salt. It is referred to as photodegradation. Most of the pollution within the garbage patches of the oceans are made up of this microscopic material mixed in with larger pollution items such as shoes or dropped cargo. This can be referred to as a smog like environment created by the amount of microplastics. A good example of a small microplastic many people know, are the microbeads used in toothpastes and facial scrubs that are starting to be banned worldwide. Some microorganisms
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 &
According to a study conducted by the University of British Columbia, approximately “93 percent of beach fulmars (migratory seabirds related to the albatross) had bellies full of plastic, with one even having upwards of “454 pieces of plastic in its stomach” alone. (Source B) Similarly, in a 2011 International Coastal Clean-up, there were 964244 plastic bags found in the ocean, each having the potential to kill wildlife (Source C). A major reason as to why plastic bags are so hazardous to animal health is the fact that they have no biodegradable capabilities, meaning that instead breaking down into organic materials, plastic takes 500 to 1000 years to simply photodegrade, fragmenting into smaller pieces but not presenting any less danger (Source F). As these pieces become smaller, making it easier for any animal life, marine or not, to ingest it and suffocate as a result of the blockage. This is when the implementation of a tax on plastic bags could become extremely useful as a method of regulation and
Every year, an estimated 8 million tons of plastic waste enters our environment, severely polluting oceans, beaches, forests, and even the towns and cities we live in. In the ocean alone, it is believed that 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic pollutes the waters (“Plastic Statistics”, Ocean Crusaders).The majority of plastic pollution can be traced back to single-use items, such as grocery bags, bottles, and plastic packaging. According to United Nations Environment, “At the rate we are dumping items such as plastic bottles, bags and cups after a single use, by 2050 oceans will carry more plastic than fish…” (“UN Declares War on Ocean Plastic”, UN Environment). This pollution is a major problem and endangers not only the environment, but human
...stic breaks down into smaller bits that are not as easy to spot. These small pieces are then consumed by the oceans small organisms that are also the bottom of the oceans food chain. Once it enters the ocean food chain, plastic and its toxins can then be transferred to humans through the ingestion of seafood. The Midway Islands in the Pacific Ocean are home to many different bird species including the world’s largest number of albatrosses. Plastic items and waste materials are washed onto shore and mistaken by the birds as food. A wildlife manager by the name of Matt Brown cut open a dead albatross and found the contents of its stomach to have a large amount of plastic items including a part of a toothbrush, a bottle cap, and pieces of an old fishing net. Brown agrees with most scientists that it is going to take effort from society as a whole to fix this issue.
This pollution problem is so ubiquitous plastic can be found throughout the marine environment from coastlines to near shore lagoons to remote ocean hotspots where plastics caught up in marine currents. And gathered up into huge garbage patches that swirl
Every time we throw away a plastic bottle, drive our cars, and even burn those millions of fossil fuels to operate all those huge factories, there is a chance it will pollute the ocean and eventually affect the way we live. There should be stricter laws regulating human pollution, in order to protect our ocean ecosystem. The ocean is an abundant source of life. It is home to thousands 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.
In this article, the author discuss negative impact on the ocean because of the plastic by the human. Firstly, the author point out the negative impacts on the ocean, such as increase in 100-fold plastic floating in
Around eight million of plastic ends up in oceans from land each year. A water bottle that ends up in the ocean, takes about 450 years to decompose. The tons of plastic that end up in the ocean, stay there for a long time. Marine scientists have discovered, plastic is killing coral reefs. Scientists have studied 159 coral reefs for 4 years in 4 countries, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Myanmar. The study shows that the coral reefs are excessively contaminated with plastic. When plastic clings to coral it sickens or kills it. When coral comes in contact with plastic the likelihood of disease increases from 4% to 89%. Plastic tears open the skin of corals, allowing an infection to start anywhere.
From all of the pollution in the ocean sea turtles suffer from toxic metals poisoning, this affects the liver and the kidneys of the turtle. If sea turtles get ill from this they become more vulnerable to pray and they become lost which causes them to bump into boats. Even though plastic bags and other plastic like items break down from sunlight the molecules from the plastic will still be there just broken down into smaller pieces. All of the small particles from the plastic coalesce in the oceans currents making it go down in rivers that lead to the ocean where it can hard marine life such as sea turtles. When this happens sea turtles consume the plastic not knowing the dangers behind it.
The great big ocean also produces 70 percent of the oxygen that we breathe everyday. There are many more ways that the earth provides water for the world and everything living on it. In this paper, I will discuss what factors contribute to the pollution of the ocean, how the pollution is affecting humans and living resources, and how society can work together to prevent extreme pollution in the ocean. The most common form of pollution in the ocean is littering, over the last ten years society has produced more plastic waste than they have in the last 100 years.
So many of the ocean animals are eating tiny pieces of plastic and causing them to ingest toxic
...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.
Although plastic bags appear to be fragile and light, their negative environmental effect is devastating. Plastic bags may cause large amounts of pollution in every step of their limited life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials, production, transportation, and recycling or disposal. Plastic bags can be defined as the most damaging form of environmental pollution. They can have a damaging effect on marine animals and wildlife in addition to the aesthetic effects on beaches, parks, and trees. Plastic bags are potentially one of the main causes of death to marine animals (Harbor keepers,2008). Up to one hundred thousand marine animals or more die each year from eating plastic bags which are mistaken for food. This can result in blocking the animal’s intestines and possibly lead to the animal’s death. Another possible situation is that wildlife, such as birds, can get tangled in plastic bags causing choking and immobility, which may eventually lead to death. (Senior, 2008) and (Citizen Campaign, 2010). In other situations, after plastic bags photo degrade they remain toxic and could be eaten by fish, shellfish or any other marine life and survive this allows the toxins to enter our food chain through bioaccumulation (Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, 2011).
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
More than fifty species of birds are known to ingest plastic. When they eat plastic, they feel full, so some of them die of starvation. Algal blooms are another thing that kills marine life. Algal blooms are sea scum, whale food, and sea sawdust. Algal blooms are bundles of fine threads, rusty brown, they have a fishy smell, and are common in August through December.