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Causes and effects of plastic pollution
Effect of plastic pollution on the environment and resources
Effect of plastic pollution on the environment and resources
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Plastic bags are useful tools to use and have other benefits as well. This is a statement that is up for debate. Many people disagree with the statement that plastic bags are useful. The question is whether or not that is true. American stores offer both plastic and reusable bags, but when customers go through a line and say he or she wants a plastic bag, he or she might get a disgusted look. For most stores plastic bags are now frowned upon. The stores want their customer to use the reusable bags that the store offers them to purchase. Throughout the article Plastic Bags Are good for You, Mangu Ward goes back a forth of weather or not the bags are good. Mangu-Ward explains the cause and effects of which plastic and reusable bags have based …show more content…
Throughout the country one might find themselves seeing a plastic bag floating around or even stuck in a tree. This is a problem that most want to eliminate. A topic that Mangu-Ward writes about is the problem of plastic bags in marine life and other wildlife. For people the thought of animals dying angers them. These decisions that people are making currently are emotional decision as Mangu-Ward describes them. Many marine life animals have died from the cause of littering of the plastic bag. Mangu-Ward writes, “plastic bags make up 3.8 percent of beach litter”. Finding fish, turtles, and many more marine and wildlife animals with plastic bags either suck around their necks or in their throats is something that many do not like to see or hear. This evidence can also be supported when Mangu-Ward writes, “1 million birds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles die each year from eating or getting entangled in plastic”. Mangu-Ward is currently giving evidence that plastic bags are bad for the …show more content…
The solution is thought to be the use of reusable bags. Reusable bags are an item that stores offer to the customers to use rather than plastic bags. Reusable bags are typically made out of some type of fabric. The title of the bags gives the main purpose of what they are capable of doing. Along with helping the environment, reusable bags also make it so that people can use them as many times as he or she wants to. Also some stores even offer an incentive with discounts off he or shes bill for using the reusable bags as
Plastic bags are harmful to our environment specifically towards animals. Thousands and thousands or plastic bags are found in the ocean, Using source C we see that plastic bags ranks at number four for kinds of debris found by the Coastal Cleanup. We also see that there is a variety of plastic items also mixed into the list, such as, caps, plastic bottles, straws, and containers. This much plastic polluting our oceans causes birds causes birds to mistake it for food lying about, as we can see one of the repercussions of plastic bags in source F . In source B a University of British Columbia found that 93 percent of dead seabirds had bellies full of plastic and even one bird had 454 pieces of plastic in its stomach. Plastic isn't only just dangerous to seabird it's
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...
The article Plastic bags are Good for you, by Katherine Mangu-Ward was written to explore the pro’s and con’s of three different types of bags. Which is better between plastic, paper, or reusable bags has always been a debatable question with an opinionated answer. In the article Mangu-Ward characterizes the cause and effect relationships which have lead to the unpopularity of plastic bags in terms of guilt.
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.
Today, seven species of sea turtles deem the ocean as their home. These gentle creatures have thrived on earth since the dinosaurs roamed the lands (some 110 million years ago); yet in recent years, six of the seven species have become critically endangered or vulnerable to endangerment (WWF 2016). This result is in direct correlation with the negative impact human beings have inflicted, and continue to inflict, upon the planet. It’s no coincidence that the population of sea turtles has plummeted as the human population has risen, for along with the expansion of humans comes the expansion of consumerism, which is ultimately the root of devastation for the sea turtles. Human beings could substantially reduce their negative impact on these innocent animals by making two positive changes in their lives: by negating the use of plastic, such as plastic bags, and adopting an environmentally conscious, vegan lifestyle.
Trash in the ocean is becoming a major issue because it contaminates the water and in turn, harms sea creatures. The trash in the ocean is dangerous for sea creatures because they are similar to death traps. Trash, such as plastic and aluminum, are common death traps to the sea creatures. In order to improve the situation, the consequences of having trash in the ocean should be made aware to the public. The image portrays emotion because it displays a helpless seal that is suffocating from the trash tied around its neck. The reasoning and credibility are also conveyed in the image of the helpless seal.
Have you ever seen one of those articles that explains that we have too much trash in the ocean and it is killing animals? Well, get ready. This is another one of “those articles”. In the article “ Sea turtles are munching on plastic garbage floating in the ocean.” the author explains that we have too much trash and the animals are eating our waste. Most scientists are finding animals dead and their stomachs are full of plastic. “Her study estimates that 52 percent of sea turtles worldwide have eaten plastic waste.” (By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff)
In the United States, several laws have been enforced in order to create an efficient community that won’t manifest trouble. Citizens have viewed a couple of these rules as “Dumb” or “Good” for multiple reasons. Anyhow, three of the most controversial bills have included some type of relation to plastic bags, dog ‘waste’, and the pursuit of bears. To begin, plastic bags have become an exceptional necessity in the US, but , in some cities, like San Jose and Sunnyvale, have become limited. Even if plastic has obliterated itself from a consumer's view, something has not disappeared, yet.
While informing the reader about the negative impact of the plastic waste on the ocean, the author uses picture of a kid swimming in the plastic waste by the shores as to trigger the sympathy of the reader. Authors also uses connotative words such as “mass extinction”, and “Dead Zone” to provoke the fear into the audiences. Moreover, Author also uses vivid description to arouse reader imagination of what the negative effect of the plastic wastes are. For example, the authors use words such as “a massive swirling vortex of rubbish” and “… starving other marine life of oxygen.” Therefore, the audience would likely to be concern about the negative impacts on the ocean. Given these points, author effectively uses pathos to evoke the audience’s
Plastic or paper, is a choice that people face when going to the grocery stores. Plastic bags are often the choice that is made. A controversial issue in the world today is the use of plastic bags. Plastic bags are used because of the convenience they give, by being able to carry several items at once. However, in the article, “Banning Bans, Not Bags”, Jennifer Schultz claims, “Plastic bags clog up local waterways, litter roadways, and get swallowed up by unsuspecting fish” (6). Plastic bags are used once, then are discarded or, littered all over the place. When they are littered all over they become problems for more than just humans. These plastic bags pose a big hazard for animals on land and in especially the ocean. Humans eat land and
Approximately 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away in the U.S. every year, which is the equivalent of dumping almost 12 million barrels of oil into the environment. Globally, we use an estimated 1 trillion plastic bags every year -- nearly two bags per minute. The average "use-time" for a bag is 12 minutes, but plastic doesn't decompose. Like, ever. So after just 12 minutes of use, plastic bags continue to haunt us indefinitely.
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.
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).
Paper bags more efficiently collect fine dust, but they should be disposed after about a month of cleaning. Fabric bags are recommended to use only if there are no disposable bags, as fabric pores are larger, so fabric bags are not effective enough. This also may cause fast clogging of additional filters.
The people of America throw away more trash than any other society in the world! America consumes 80 percent of our planet's resources, even though we make up only 20 percent of the world's population (Cooper 267). The average person throws away 4.3 pounds of trash each day. That's about 30 pounds per week and 120 pounds per month! (“Reduce and Reuse” 1). Americans throw away too much - that's the bottom line (Cooper 265). There is a garbage crisis in America and “the only part of the anti-waste message that has taken hold to any noticeable degree is the call to recycle” (Cooper 267). Our country's issues on trash and recycling go hand in hand. America produces too much trash, and the environment is suffering. There is some effort being put into countering these issues through recycling and trash management, but is it enough? (Cooper 267).