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Eassy of plastic pollution
Water pollution and its effects on the environment
Water pollution and its effects on the environment
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Water pollution has had devastating effects on the environment, which include irreversible effects to the oceans ecosystem. People often underestimate the importance of the ocean. They don’t realize how much damage pollution has caused to the ocean and the thousand of creatures that inhabit it. Earth is a huge place, but resources are actually very limited and will not last forever; unless there is a balance. We must protect the resources we have in order for them to last into the next generation. 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 effect the way we live. There should be stricter laws regulating human pollution, in order to protect our oceans ecosystem.
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)
Plastic in the ocean does not biodegrade, it only breaks down i...
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...es Faculty. 2012. 11 April 2014. http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/health/case_studies/plastics.html
“Ocean Plastic Pollution” Biomass Packaging Company NP web 16 April 2014 http://bomasspachaging.com/education/ocean-plastic-pollution
“Plastic Trash Vortex” National Geographic. NP web 16 April 2014 http://education.nationalgeogrphic.com/education/encyclopedia/great-pacific-grabage-patch/?ar_a=1
“Plastic Pollution” Disney nature Oceans. NP web 18 April 2014. http://takepart.com/oceans/plastic-pollution
Roach, John “Source of Half’s Earths oxygen Gets little Credit” National Geographic. 28 October 2010. 16 April 2014 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0607_040607_phytoplankton_2.hyml
“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
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 &
M., Gutierrez…). This is something that the Marine Debris Program is looking to eliminate. By removing the plastic from the water, and preventing it from leaking its chemicals, the eating of the plastic in general, and the prospect of these plastics being breeding grounds for dangerous pathogens, the marine environment would be safer for animals and humans alike. So, it is clear, the removal of this harmful debris, specifically plastic is something that must be done through this Citizen Science
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
There’s more than 14 billion pounds of plastic and garbage dumped into the oceans in the United States. Ocean pollution could be a thing of the past if people stopped littering, oil spills were prevented or contained, and if people weren’t allowed to use oil wells where natural water is. Pollution is still a major issue, especially in China and Japan. Pollution has been around since the 1960s (“Along” 2009) and it only gets worse each year. By the year 2050, there will be more plastic than fish when weighed.
Ocean Pollution is a serious issue in today's global politics. The delicate balance of Earth's ecosystem is put in jeopardy when the ocean is not clean. Problem evolving from ocean pollution directly harm marine life and indirectly affect human health and the Earth's many valuable resources. Ocean Pollution is a Broad term that encpompasses any and all foregin matter that directly or indirectly makes its way into the ocean. This includes everything from the extreme: oil spills, Toxic Waste dumping and industrial dumping-- to the small scael: human activities and basic carelessness. Because the oceans and all other water bodies are invariably, somehow connected, and because they account for 3/4 of the Earth's surface, they are an ideal method of transportation for pollution, allowing the rapid spread of seemingly far away toxins into a river near you! It is increasingly important that we educate ourselves as to what, exactly, ocean pollution is, so that we can identify the causes at their source and take action in small and large ways, and hopefully, prevent this terrible form of pollution from getting any worse than it is today.
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
"Ocean Pollution." MarineBio Conservation Society ~ Marine Biology, Ocean Life Conservation, Sea Creatures, Biodiversity, Research... Web. 19 May 2014.
This problem may seem prevalent and it is very important to know about. It affects marine life in many ways, but humans are also greatly affected.by this problem. People don’t realize what this problem does to them. However the human race can always work and solve this issue. People shouldn’t dump trash in the ocean or any water source. Trash can destroy coral reefs and other important ecosystems and ruin marine life. Most important sewage plants shouldn’t dump raw sewage into the ocean because it provides nutrients to harmful algae. Governments around the world should put more restrictions on sewage and the disposal of it. But if the solution wants to be solved people must work together.
It generates hazardous waste that is ultimately deposited in the oceans’ shores. As most of the plastics deposited are non-biodegradable. The plastic pollution is damaging the marine life as well as the well being of human. In the article “Plastic Pollution” by Kiener, it is stated that the plastic comprises of 10 percent of all ocean debris. It has been estimated that about 100 million tons of plastics are used worldwide everyday, and only 5 percent of the plastic is recycled because most types of plastic cannot be recycled economically. Kiener also notes in his article that approximately 2.4 million pounds an hour of plastic enters in the world’s oceans everyday. Therefore, the most important thing that we can do is, to stop plastic waste from entering the oceans in the first
Ocean pollution started becoming a problem in the 19th century when the Industrial Revolution was born. The Industrial Revolution was a problem because the factories were letting pollutants get into the oceans,rivers,and lakes.In the 1960s an environmental movement began to emerge that sought to steam the tide of pollutant flowing into the planet’s ecosystem.The movement end up paying off in the long run because people started to acknowledge what was going on, and started an act called the clean water act in 1972.The clean water act ended up being passed in 1972, the act was made to reduce water pollution. Even with the clean water act pollution was still a problem around the world. Forexample more than 62 percent of industrial and municipal facilities across the country discharge more pollution into the U.S.In 1989 one of the worst pollution that happen in history was an oil spill called Exxon Valdez oil spill ,which approximately eleven million gallons of crude oil.The oil spill generate a three square mile oil slick , instantly killed hundreds of thousands of birds, fish, and demolish the area for many years after.
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.
Today's waters are constantly being treated like sewage dumps or trash cans. We use them as garbage cans every day polluting the water more and more. "Pollution is often by way of rivers, drains and outflow pipes." Causing an outflow of sewage into our ocean waters. This is not only affecting the community but also the marine life and other sea creatures living in the ocean." This pollution includes human sewage and domestic waste water, factory outflows of acids and poisonous metals, engine oil from roadside drains and garages, farm chemicals washed off the land by rain, building-site rubble, nuclear waste from power plants, and oil from wells, refineries, and tankers." Stating that most of today's waste is from factory or factory ran products that shouldn't be polluting the water
There are many human activities and industries that causes marine pollution within our oceans. There is not only one source that causes marine pollution, there several other factors involved as well. One source of marine pollution is NOx and SOx, these are chemicals that are found in ship emissions that gets released into the environment through smoke; NOx and SOx are known to be very harmful to marine life (Raunek). Because of the fact that there are many types of ships out there in the ocean, the amount of NOx and SOx that goes into the ocean is plentiful no matter what because wherever the ship goes, these harmful chemicals are left behind, killing and harming almost every marine organism in its way. The next source of marine pollution is runoff and discharge that come from land (ocean.tamu.edu/). The largest discharge that enters the ocean comes from land is sewage, both industrial waste and sewage sludge(ocean.tamu.edu/). For many years, sewage has been dumped into the depths of the oceans. The sewage that has been collecting in the depths of the ocean can cause severe effects on the organisms around it; the sewage sludge can either poison or kill surrounding organisms. In addition to sewage, the oil industry is another source of pollution. The oil industry are responsible for the occasional, yet catastrophic oil spills; the oil industry are also responsible for small oil leaks that occur regularly as well (Bernard). Oil spills such as the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 which affected many people and organisms alike. The 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had killed over 7,000 sea turtles, birds, and dolphins, and that doesn’t even include fish (Park). Because of an oil spill, thousands marine animals may have ingested or breathed...
It is sad to say but humans have played their part in deteriorating the earth. We have polluted and killed the very thing that takes care of us. If you ride by any lake or river you find trash and debris around it. In the “The Call of the Wild” the author says that we have committed war against the earth by the dumping of poisons and explosives upon it (337). Unfortunately, plastics are the things that are doing the most harm to our environment. Plastics are convenient and we use them everyday and these are the things that we find in the oceans, rivers and lakes. They are harmful to the earth as well as human health by directly intoxicating us with lead, cadmium and mercury. Plastic debris laced with harmful chemicals are often found inside of our marine life and can poison them. Plastic can survive for thousands of years and many invasive species are found in them which can disrupt our habitats. We need to limit our consumption of plastics and make sure that they are disposed of in their proper places.
Pollution in the oceans, though not commonly known to humans, creates serious problems in our environment. Oil spills, plastic, garbage, and sewage combine together to form the major problem known as pollution. Coral reefs begin to disappear as a result of ocean pollution and many other factors. Carbon dioxide levels increase as greenhouses release gases into the air. As pollution continues to grow and become much worse, organizations create new laws to help reduce or end some of the major problems in our seas.