Eric Choe
Plastics and waste in our oceans
Plastic. We use plastic in virtually every part of daily life. Our grocery bags, pencils, bottles; the list goes on and on! While plastic is extremely useful in our generation, we humans have not disposed of it properly, so has ended up in GIGANTIC masses in our oceans. These giant masses (some bigger than the size of TEXAS) have and currently are affecting the ecosystems in the ocean. For instance, in north america, there is a place called "Midway Atoll". It is a secluded island inhabited by over 1.5 million Laysian albatrosses, and it is estimated that ALL of them have plastics inside their digestive system. Even more devastating, is that when you walk along the shore, you can see thousands of bird carcasses decomposing, with plastic showing in their decomposed skeletons. Yuck!
Furthermore, it is estimated that over 100,000 turtles are killed every single year due to the plastic epidemic in the ocean. This personally bothers me, as I used to own a turtle named Larry a few years back, and to think of him choking on plastic and dying absolutely sickens me. 60 to 95% of the waste in oceans is plastic. 60 to 95%!!! out of the 6 trillion pieces of garbage in the ocean today, that is up to 5.7 trillion pieces of plastic garbage that is just floating on top of our beautiful oceans. Oceans that, by the way, contains 97% of our water supply, and produces 70% of ALL of the air we breathe. There are heavy consequences for this pollution. These plastics and other toxic chemicals can affect the seafood and water we drink, and if we are unlucky enough to eat these contaminated articles, there is potential for kidney damage, Alzheimer's, heart damage, nervous system damage, and a host of other symptoms.
The NCEAS has done significant amounts of research on the amount of plastic that gets entered into the oceans and coastlines, and the results are staggering-
"Every year, 8 million metric tons of plastic end up in our oceans. It’s equivalent to five grocery bags filled with plastic for every foot of coastline in the world. In 2025, the annual input is estimated to be about twice greater, or 10 bags full of plastic per foot of coastline. So the cumulative input for 2025 would be nearly 20 times the 8 million metric tons estimate – 100 bags of plastic per foot of coastline in the world!"
That amount is pure insanity. At this rate, we wont even be able to walk on beaches, or enjoy swimming in the oceans! Surfing and boating wouldn't be possible, and the water would turn into a wasteland of plastic. This amount of plastic also affects our beautiful coral reefs! Since trillions of tons of plastic enter the ocean, some of it is bound to attach to corals. When plastics even TOUCH coral, the chance for the coral to get diseased increases from 4 percent, to 89%! Plastic invites harmful bacteria and pathogens to attack the corals, which in turn kill the coral. It is estimated that 11 billion tons of plastic could be entangled on coral reefs around the world.
Now, what can we humans do to help this problem? First and foremost, eliminate the problem at its source. Dispose of plastic bags and other products properly, by recycling them. If you see garbage and or litter, pick it up. Get together with your friends and have a day where you go outside, and pick up all the litter and plastics you see! It might not seem like much, however these little actions add up. more than 60% of the plastic in the ocean comes from land; blown by wind into the ocean, intentional dumping, or rain carrying it into oceans. How will you help? Even using a reusable straw, or grocery bag is one more thing we don't have to worry about ending up in our oceans, and will help us towards a more beautiful and less polluted earth.
(QUESTIONS)
What do you think about the amount of deaths of these turtles?
What are you going to do to help?
Were you surprised about the sheer amount if plastic in the ocean?
Sources:
22 comments:
I think that the amount of turtle deaths is appalling, and coupled with the deaths of other animals, it is alarming. Clearly, we are the cause of this problem, which means we are the ones who have to help change it. I am going to do smaller things and go bigger. I will use less one use plastics, such as silverware and straws. When I go to a restaurant, I won’t ask for a straw. I will also pick up litter when I see it and dispose of it properly. The facts you presented shocked me, and we should work together to stop the destruction we are causing. Oceans provide us with many resources, so we should help it not harm it.
I think that the millions of plastics that get in the ocean is insane and surprising. It is going to kill or endanger many species, including turtles. Plastic has taken control of our Earth, in fact I just read an article about scientists finding out that millions of tiny pieces of plastic has been found in the Arctic and the Rockies. I think the best thing that humans can do is to recycle plastics and to not toss them in the trash. It is best to prevent any trash or plastic from entering the ocean. Though it will be difficult to remove the large amount of plastic already in the ocean, we can still prevent more from going out.
Based off of what you said this is a pressing issue that needs immediate action. In my opinion plastic is too much of a staple in the world today for us to just stop using it, so we need to find alternate solutions. Instead of using less, we could come up with more effective ways of dealing with plastic after use. This would make plastic a lot less detrimental to the future of the environment, but doesn’t solve the trash issue currently. Our current plastic-ridding technology isn’t much to shout about, so we should try to find more potent cleaning methods also.
I think the amount of turtles death can be changed because of our laziness from throwing our plastics in the wrong bin.But the deaths of the turtles is crazy.Turtles dying just from plastics and their harm on the ocean is affecting not just turtles but other sea life such as fish and sharks.It affects their eating habits due to the loss of turtles and fish from consuming plastic.I am going to help by not throwing away plastic in the wrong bin and telling other people where the plastic should go.i was very surprised at the amount of turtles being affected by us humans throwing away plastic in the ocean and It should be changed.
Based on this blog, I think that if we continue this laziness of not recycling plastic and placing it at wrong places it will create more "islands of plastic" gets in the ocean, which will kill and endanger many species, including the turtles. I have heard some of the facts that were stated in the blog post, and honestly, I was very surprised and shocked because I couldn't believe that there was that much of plastic in the ocean. We need to take action now, by recycling more than trashing plastic and make sure to prevent more plastic or trash entering the ocean or even continuing our actions that we have done previously with plastic. We need to do this so aquatic life, including turtles will have a safer environment and they won't have to swim across this dirty water.
I think that the amount of deaths to turtles is insane. Plastic is so globally used, it takes a village to make an impact. Instead of using the plastic bags at the grocery store, I always bring my reusable bags. I avoid plastic straws as best I can. I could also stop using plastic water bottles, and get a hydroflask to SAVE THE TURTLES!!!! I wasn’t surprised that there was that much plastic in the ocean, considering how many people dump trash at the beach.
I agree that the issue of plastic has become increasingly urgent through the years. However, it is not something that can be fixed immediately. Habits implemented now will take effect in the future. For example, while grocery shopping, I try to avoid using plastic bags (reusable bags, etc). When getting coffee, I take my own reusable cups. Often times, at smoothie places, they offer biodegradable foam cups which is what I ask for instead of plastic cups. The amount of deaths upon turtles is devastating but not surprising. We use plastic for most daily activities: bags, straws, cups, bottles, etc.
It is critical that humans make a concrete change in their behavior: the amount of sea animals that are endangered because of their plastic pollution is far too high. It is shocking how much sea animals such as turtles are affected by the simple act of humans using plastic in their day-to-day life. These statistics of sea turtles and other aquatic animals depicts the importance of change. The ocean and the entire Earth rely on humans adjust their behavior. Humans must fix their behavior now before the damage becomes irreparable. Small steps each person can do to make a difference is to stop using plastic bags when grocery shopping, refrain from using plastic straws, and spread awareness of the issue at hand. Humans caused the ocean to become polluted, it is their responsibility to make it safe again.
Single-Use Plastic is a problem of immediacy. Plastic bags are among the most common sources of marine trash are commonly mistaken as food by animals. Plastic bags cannot be curbside recycled; however, many stores such as Walmart and Target do collect plastic bags and properly recycle them. I try to use reusable tote bags whenever going grocery shopping. I think if we were more informed about recycling and such impacts of lazy disposal, we would not have caused such detrimental impacts.
I was shocked to find out that over 100,000 turtles were dying each year due to humans throwing plastic and trash into the oceans. I will do my part by using reusable water bottles, bring reusable bags to the grocery store, and buy a metal straw. I can also educate my family and friends on how they can help too. I was never fully aware of how much plastic was in the ocean. I knew that it was a problem, but I didn’t know the extent to which how bad it really was. I believe that we can change the statistics of doubling the plastic in the oceans by 2025, if people were more informed on not using single use plastics, and knew the tragic outcomes.
This blog really helped me consider the question of “where does my trash go?” Through your argument, I began to understand the damage that each of us, as individuals, have the potential to cause. You explained how up to 95% of trash could end up in the ocean. That is an unfathomable number. What are the odds that each of our decisions to leave a piece of trash on the floor has led to its inevitable consumption by our oceans. You also effectively explained how big of an impact this trash causes to this body of water that is so important to us. A tiny portion of our trash can destroy habitats through coral reefs. In order to save ourselves, I believe we all need to make the choice of being not only more aware of our plastic waste but rather start taking action to inhibit further destruction from each of us. Although there is so much we need to do, I am going to start by using a reusable straw, as you suggested, and grocery bag to limit my own waste.
The deaths of the turtles scares me. It might not directly affect me, but it can affect the ocean ecosystem. I have always had a love of oceans and seeing the animals in it be hurt by humans simply not thinking is sad. In order to help, I will make an effort to use everything multiple times before throwing it away. I feel like the “reuse” part of the “reduce, reuse, recycle” saying is the most effective way to limit trash production. Using grocery bags as trash bags at home is an example of this. I always knew that there was a large amount of plastic in the ocean, but reading the actual numbers and how they were killing the birds made it more real for me.
Very alarming blog. Good job. You have made it clear that plastics in our oceans is a major problem that should have everyone’s attention. Throughout reading this blog I have come to realize that simple things like a plastic bag, that people use once in abundance, can cause devastating effects on the environment. Simple things like plastic bags and straws are made to be disposable but not eco-friendly. The sheer amount of most of these plastics in our oceans is completely devastating, causing harm to aquatic eco-systems, which in turn could come back to harm us. Through bioaccumulation and biomagnification sea life could eventually become too dangerous to be considered as a food source. This is bad news for me because I really like to each seafood. All in all plastics in our oceans is very bad and what i would like to do to help is to invest and use fabric bags for grocery shopping and as well buy my own reusable straw. #Rest in peace turtles
I think that the amount of turtle deaths is absolutely crazy. The number is far too high for what they deserve. I will reuse my plastic bags and will dispose of all plastics to recycling. I will also warn family and friends of the issue and request them to recycle their plastics. And finally, i will also donate money to organizations based on the proper clean up and recycling of all plastics, paper, and glass. I was appalled by the amount of plastic in the ocean and believe that there should be more people working on this issue and picking up the trash.
Humans need to learn to find alternate uses that do not solely rely on plastic. We need to find better ways that help clean our world safely. The amount of turtles that die from human activities is ridiculous. It’s sad to think that we are the cause of many deaths of poor animals. Most people don’t even think about where trash goes; they just try to get rid of it as fast as possible. However, I try to cut down on how much waste I create as well as use metal water bottles instead of plastic ones. Once people take action, the oceans and the environment around us will be more sustainable and preserving of wildlife.
I am extremely concerned about how plastic pollution in our oceans is affecting marine life. I have been educated on the details of how quickly an ocean as large of ours can be affected by plastics. The turtles, as stated in this paper, are being harmed in so many ways by so many different types of pollution. As humans, it is not that difficult in theory to do away with one use products/plastics, however; people are difficult to move, change, and push into new ideas and it will take time for them to be accepted. I hope that in the near future we stop producing one use plastics and choose more sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions.
I was shocked to learn that an island's worth of albatrosses has plastic. Again humans are the cause of the problem and are constantly contributing to the destruction of multiple ecosystems even to the detriment of ourselves. The solution is going to have to be more than individual lifestyle changes, world governments as a whole have to be part of a wide scale solution. Regulations and large scale projects as well as international treaties have to be made to keep the world off the scale of destruction.
It’s amazing how small pieces of plastic that seem insignificant can build up and devestate the marine ecosystem at this scale. In addition to getting rid of plastics properly, humans can avoid using as much plastic in general. Instead of using plastic bags for groceries, a reuseable bag can help reduce plastic trash. Other methods of reducing plastic trash in the ocean include cleaning up the ocean. Simply reducing our plastic use is not enough. The trash already in the ocean and interfering with the environment will remain there unless humans go pick it up.
The amount of turtles dying is sadly a terrible consequence of plastic in the environment. While it will be very difficult to bring the environment to how it used to be before the Industrial Revolution, it is possible. If everyone works together, the environment can be restored through small actions such as using a metal straw, eliminating use of plastic bottles, and stopping littering. In addition to small actions, larger actions such as laws and regulations must be put into place to reduce plastic’s impacts on the environment.
This blog helped me realize the severity of the amount of trash that is in the ocean. When I heard that there was around 5.7 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean I felt bead that I had most likely contributed to that insane number by failing to reduce, reuse, or recycle. The only way to stop the growth of these depressing statistics is for everyone to recycle and to reuse old plastics. If laws were passed to prohibit littering and if these laws were enforced with severe punishments then maybe one day we as a civilization can help out the dying turtles.
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