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Disadvantages of plastic pollution
Problems associated with using plastics in the environment
Disadvantages of plastic pollution
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As the world’s population rises, our negative impact on the world does as well, specifically on our oceans. Intended to make our lives easier day to day, we have engineered and produced a durable, lightweight material known as plastic; plastic materials include plastic bags and bottles, fishing nets, and six pack rings. In 1972, the Hartford Courant newspaper published an article, in which two scientists, Edward J. Carpenter and K.S. Smith Jr. expressed their genuine concerns, “floating pieces of plastic, a new form of pollution, are turning up in mid-ocean in substantial concentrations that might eventually disturb the marine ecology” (“Plastic Pollution Newest Threat to Ocean Ecology”). 40 years later, the devastating effect of plastic debris
While solving the issue of plastic pollution may seem easy and clear, the reality is not so simple. The problem requires individuals and companies around the world to practice sufficient methods to eliminate waste altogether. As an illustration, the organization Net Positiva works everyday in hopes to eliminate waste. Net Positiva is located in Chile, which is one of the largest fishing industries in the world (Horning). There, they collect worn out fishing net and convert them into skateboards; within just one year, the program collected over one hundred and ten thousand pounds of fishing net (Horning). In the article, Performance with Purpose, the author described the group’s purpose, hopes, and their “wish to spread their purpose of making a change in the waters and potentially spark an idea in someone else.” Additionally, individuals can have an equivalent impact as organizations protecting our oceans. Sarah Engler, with the Natural Resources Defense Council, discusses ways of prevention for individuals everywhere in her article, 10 Ways to Reduce Plastic Pollution. Engler begins by justifying her solutions, “it only takes a few times of...before it becomes a habit,” claims Engler. Her solutions include taking your own reusable grocery bag to the store with you, cooking more, recycling, and involving corporations by “hitting them where it hurts,” meaning give your money to companies who support the plastic pollution movement, too (Engler). The improvement of plastic pollution depends on people all over the world to acquire new habits or join and support organizations to fight the
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 &
Every year eight million tons of plastic trash end up in the ocean (National Geographic), and every year little is done to stop the destruction of this resource. As trash continues to pour into what happens to be the most relied on resource, humans continue to stand idle and witness the atrocity. While it has become evident that many are not aware of this issue, or simply do not care, organizations such as “Surfrider” have taken on the tedious task of bringing this travesty to attention of others. Surfrider is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and preserving oceans around the world. As part of their campaign, Surfrider published a strong and effective advertisement in hopes of convincing viewers to halt the destruction of the ocean. This advertisement effectively utilizes various rhetorical devices such as imagery to provoke pathos, an anaphora, 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
Imagine yourself in the middle of a rainforest, listen to the sounds around you, smell the fresh air, hear the wildlife; take that image and get rid of the trees around you, the sounds of wildlife, and the smell of fresh air. Instead of a rainforest you are now in the middle of a seemingly endless sea of trash and waste. The fresh scent in the air gone, the sprawling land of greenery and trees gone, and the sounds of the forest is reduced to the sound of heavy machinery trying vainly to reduce trash into smaller more compact waste.
Recycling is the practice of reusing old products to create knew ones in order to essentially “re use” them. In theory, this process is supposed to work perfectly, but because of other factors it doesn’t. The whole idea of recycling is supposed to lead, eventually, to a world where everything will be recycled and used over and over again; thus, no more mining, cutting down tress, and other jobs that require people to do some sort of labor in order to create a certain type of object. The process of recycling would in due time, end these types of labor. Recycling is not entirely a good thing because not everyone does, it requires unnecessary funds, and it takes away many jobs.
“Solutions to Plastic Pollution in our ocean” Natural Resources Defense Council. 3 March 2014. web 20 April 2014http://nrdc.org/oceans/plastic-ocean/default.asp
Organizations such as the Ocean Conservancy have been successfully mobilizing the International Coastal Cleanup movement which is the world’s largest volunteer effort to clean up waterways and the ocean. They have implemented methods such as researching what is mainly trashing up the ocean as in what accounts for the largest percentage of the trash being put in and then using that information to prevent/ decrease the amount of trash being put into waterways. They have done this by coordinating with anything from individuals to businesses to help change practices and or their behaviors that would lead to more trach ending up in the
When most people hear the word recycling they think of plastic water bottles, milk jugs, or even old paper that they can reuse, but this is not necessarily the case anymore. Scientists and researchers have discovered a new form of recycling that is going to help better the environment and it can even help make people money! Smokers around the world do not think about recycling their used cigarette butts, but this new form of recycling has changed some of their minds on this subject. Recycling has been a major environmental issue, but most people have forgotten about it or they just do not care for it anymore. Paper recycling dates back to as far as 400 B.C. Some people even say that the early Romans recycled their bronze coins so that they
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
Imagine that it is the end of a long week of finals, and you want to relax and enjoy your much deserved trip to the beach. However, when you get there, you immediately feel disgusted because the pearl-white sand is covered by trash, and your hopes are shattered. Although the United States isn’t an island, it has its share of beaches, and they are all familiar with pollution. Pollution is one of the largest causes of deaths worldwide. Since the United States is one of the top consumers of the world, it needs to give back as much as it’s taking in. Without a doubt, the U.S.A. is one of the top countries to live in, but the amount of consumption and pollution is outrageous and needs to be addressed immediately.
We all care for our planet even if it is a very tiny part inside of us. The less effort we have to put forward in helping our environment the more we are actually willing to help and the better we feel about ourselves. In fact, more people recycle than vote in the United States; according to Samantha MacBride in her book Recycling Reconsidered. (MacBride 9) But, what if the good is outweighed by the bad? What if the immediate results are just delaying worst problems? The city of Saint George has a great waste management program, a county landfill which is in city limits, but the right distance from residential areas, and many respectable recycling centers. The city also offers recycling “binnies” at multiple locations throughout the city (WC). Waste management is near perfect in Saint George. However, the newly elected Mayor Jon Pike is looking to implement a city-wide curbside recycling program. “. . . [Mayor Pike] wants to pursue a longtime goal of bringing curbside recycling service to the area, embracing a nation-wide trend toward sustainability and hoping to extend the life of the county landfill.” reports David DeMille from The Spectrum. Yes, curbside recycling does indeed come with its benefits, but those benefits may not as be as beneficial as they appear. The City of Saint George should not implement curbside recycling.
Walking upon the sidewalk of the streets, what do you see? Trash. 88% of the world’s surface is covered by plastic debris. How can you throw so much plastic in the street, even though there are so many trash cans near you? This is causing serious issues in many different ways.
People should know the negative impact throwing away a water bottle or newspaper, purchasing meat from the grocery store or consuming gasoline has on the environment, and many do not. By informing society about how their decisions affect the environment, we can help save our planet and change our attitude toward the land we live on, the water we drink and the air we breathe” and truly show respect for the stuff that we depend on. The United States produces “about 8.25 billion tons of solid waste each year” (Russell 1). People do not realize the impact they have on our planet and the environment. When people throw anything in the trashcan, they are contributing to the destruction of our planet.
In the 1870’s, plastic was discovered in the United States when John Wesley Hyatt was trying to create a different material to make billiard balls (Manrich, 3). Little did he know it would majorly evolve into material we use everyday. However, plastics are now taking over our landfills. The average American throws away one-hundred and eighty-five pounds of plastic a year (Popescu, 121). The answer to decrease this statistic is easy: recycling. I believe that recycling will help eliminate littering and the growth of landfills, while also creating jobs for the unemployed. Not only does recycling plastic help eliminate littering, but also reuses the plastic so there is not a production of additional unneeded plastics. The
Our planet is suffering from severe pollution, which ranges from contaminated air, water and soil as well. Humans are doing nothing to reduce the amount of pollution that is harming our earth. To understand how pollution works first you must understand that there are different types of pollution. The most common types of pollution and the ones that I will be focusing on which are the ones doing the most harm to our planet are air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination and littering. In order to help out and reduce pollution in our planet people need to be more aware of what these problems are and about the severe damages that they are causing our planet. Before industrialization really jumped into place and had an effect on large cities, nature had its own way of cleaning up its own air and itself. Wind scattered gases, rain washed many substances and the rest dissolved into the ground; while plants absorbed carbon dioxide and made it into oxygen. With big cities growing more every time and with more towns that were becoming more industrialized a lot of more waste began to be released into the environment and the atmosphere and soon this was more than enough for nature to handle. In order to stop and reduce pollution people need to understand the damage that it is causing our environment and our planet as well. People need to be more aware of how they can help out and do their part in reducing these problems that are causing our planet to die slowly with people not even noticing it.