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The effect of plastic in the ocean
Environmental issues trash in oceans
The effect of plastic in the ocean
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There is a massive accumulation of waste in the Atlantic ocean, and over 80% of this waste is plastic. Consequently, this plastic waste also gets onto our beaches, potentially closing them. Marine mammals get tangled in or ingest these plastics, causing them to die prematurely. Fish in the ocean absorb the chemicals that plastics release into the ocean, and humans eat these contaminated fish, obtaining pollution into the human food chain, too. The greatest ecological and environmental problem is plastic pollution in the Atlantic Ocean because it pollutes the beaches, releases chemicals and toxins into the water which enters the human food chain, and kills marine animals.
Plastic is contaminating the Atlantic ocean, and it is the fault of humans. Plastic pollution is most excessive in the Atlantic because of its closeness to New York City and other east coast pollution hubs. Also, the light, nondegradable material gets carried away from the human community to the marine habitats, “Over 80% of marine pollution in the Atlantic Ocean comes from land-based activities, e.g. humans.” ("Marine Pollution -- Pristine Seas."). Due to humans being so wasteful, plastic pollution in the Atlantic causes potential problems for humans and animals.
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The plastic floating in the ocean can be “small platforms that transport environmental pollutants throughout the sea.” (Rudolf). This gets breathed in and ingested by the very same fish that humans catch for food. Therefore, the toxics from the plastic enter the human food chain when humans consume contaminated
...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.
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 &
Recently, an uninhabited island in the South Pacific Ocean was found to be polluted with 38 million pieces of plastic that had been carried over by currents (Wang, “No one lives on this remote Pacific island”). The island, dubbed ‘trash island’, is home to diverse animal populations that have all been devastated by the pollution. On the beach, hundreds of birds were seen dead by reporters and scientists. When analyzed, the primary cause of death turned out to be consumption of plastic. When animals ingest plastic, it clogs their stomach and poisons their body with toxic chemicals. These toxic chemicals cause an array of issues, such as reproductive and endocrine problems. Eventually, this leads to death (Knoblauch, “The environmental toll of plastics”). But due to the nature of plastics, it can take hundreds or even thousands of years to completely degrade, meaning that as plastic pollution continues to build up, more places like ‘trash island’ will be discovered. According to conservation scientist Alex Bond, “…[The island] is just an indicator of what’s floating around out there” (Wang, “No one lives on this remote Pacific
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.
There are many types of pollutions in the world but Ocean pollution harms a lot of living things in the world. Due to the severity of ocean pollution it kills many people, animals, and poison the waters. Ocean pollution originates from many sources therefore the problem is becoming difficult to prevent. This paper will examine the history of ocean pollution, what the situation is like today, and what is being done to help resolve or alleviate the problem.
Ocean pollution is an out of sight, out of mind kind of situation. Pollution enters the ocean through how humans dispose of waste, accidents and carelessness. Ocean pollution destroys everything and there are multiple types of ocean pollution. There’s thermal, oil, plastic, and chemical pollution. Over 80% of ocean pollution is from land based activates which are careless. Ocean pollution causes hundreds of deaths to ocean plants and animals because of human negligence to the ocean.
Ocean, Home of Plastics Passing through an aisle of a regular supermarket, customers will observe that most of the products in there are made of or packed with the base material plastic. Usually, the bag that will be used to carry the products bought from the supermarket will also be made of plastic. It is important to consider that every piece of plastic that has ever been created still exists today in some structure. A study from the World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation anticipated that if plastic production continues as ongoing rates, and with improper disposals, by the year 2050, the oceans will have more plastic wastes than fish. Although plastic is a material that benefits every individual, the overproduction of plastics
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
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.
...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).
Ocean pollution is a major threat to both marine life and ocean ecosystems. Changes can be made on global and individual scales to make a big impact towards preserving the oceans and saving its marine inhabitants. First off, The majority of pollutants going into the ocean come from activities on land. Natural processes and human activities along coastlines and far inland affect the health of our ocean. One of the biggest sources is called nonpoint source pollution, which occurs as a result of runoff.
The sand is a sand. Birds and marine life are affected by it. 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.
People from all over the world go to beautiful beaches that are filled with water as clear as ice or as beautiful as diamonds. But, what will happen if we do not conserve the appealing sites that draw attraction to the public? Contaminated beaches has become a controversial issue to the public because of the causal problem, the harm to the people and marine animals, the government agencies supporting or opposing pollution, and the industries involved in creating such unlawful decisions. To create and find a solution, we must first find the core to the problem.