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Ocean Pollution In America Essay

1573 Words7 Pages

Americans have always liked to believe that they are number one. Typically, when this is aid its in reference to the army, economy, imports, ext. However, America is also number one in a much more negative way. According to the Washington Post America has caused more global warming than any other country in the world. As an American citizen myself, this is not a statistic I want to be number one in. However, all the environmental issues can’t sole be placed on America, the whole world is using unsustainable practices. These practices have begun and will continue to destroy the earth we depend on. The biggest threat to the planet currently is the state of our oceans. They are filled with plastic, have critically low levels of fish, and the animals …show more content…

This slogan plastered in schools across America may help school children recycle their plastic forks but it is not enough to save the oceans. Millions of tons of trash every year are dumped into the ocean. This trash doesn’t magically melt, like a witch, once it hits the water. It will collect in the ocean and become hazardous material which affects marine life. Some animals will try to eat the plastic, and others will get stuck inside it. It will also kill thousands of unfortunate marine animals every year. In an article “what is ocean pollution” by conserve-energy-future the statistics given are shocking. One of the statistics provided by the article discusses the fatal reality plastic has on marine life “Over one million seabirds are killed by ocean pollution each year. Three hundred thousand dolphins and porpoises die each year as a result of becoming entangled in discarded fishing nets, among other items. One hundred thousand sea mammals are killed in the ocean by pollution each year.” If the word animal was replaced by humans in this statistic, there would be a huge outrage. People would be doing everything in their power to lower the amount of ocean pollution produced. Humans may not be one of the species specifically mentioned in the article, but ocean pollution is fatal to humanity as

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Thesis: Despite the fact ocean pollution is in such an advanced stage, it is neither too late nor impossible to remove a majority of plastics from the oceans. I. Oceanic plastic pollution is rampant and dangerous. A. Plastics in the world’s oceans have reached an exponential level. 1. At least 5.25 trillion plastic particles weighing a combined 268,940 tons are currently floating in the world’s oceans (Plastic Pollution in the World's Oceans).

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Another study published in 2014 estimated that Earth 's oceans now contain 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic overall, based on data from 24 trash-collecting voyages over a six-year period. That 's a lot, but it still hasn 't discouraged everyone from trying to clean it up — including the Ocean Cleanup foundation, whose research is part of an elaborate, long-term remediation plan. Ultimately, even advocates of ambitious cleanup projects acknowledge that more plastic recycling — and wider use of biodegradable materials — is still the best hope for getting ocean plastic under control.

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Let’s go ahead and get the obvious out of the way – plastic is not biodegradable, but most plastic is photodegradable; which means it is broken down by the sun’s UV rays. This is not possible in the ocean, though. This is why large garbage patches exist today. Frankel points out that one main reason plastic came to be so popular and seen as a pro was because it was produced from a waste product of oil. So, technically the plastic industry supports the oil companies, which are harmful to our planet.

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Ever since the beginning of the creation of the United States, Americans have created, solved, and even escalated the condition of many problems and controversies in the world. Regardless, they have managed to remain a whole, stable country that has, and continues to, persevere through these dilemmas, emerging stronger and closer together as a country. Over the course of American history, conflicts created by the various types of pollution in the United States, including land, air, and water, have converged to shape American society into what it is today. As defined in Jerry Nathanson’s article, “and Pollution,” or the “deposition of solid or liquid waste materials on land or underground in a manner that can contaminate the soil and groundwater”

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Imagine this… not too long from now, you are on the vacation of your dreams to a beautiful exotic island. You cannot wait to jump in the ocean and scuba dive, but it is a harsh awakening when you are expecting wonderful fish, but all you see is plastic. Well, sadly, that is the track we are on. Scientists say by 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish. On top of that, landfills are filling up, the planets temperatures are swinging rapidly, and our icecaps are melting.

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America has been a world power since the end of the nineteenth century. But by the way we are treating our country and the people that live in it, we might not be in hundred years. Over the past decade our country has faced many problems, some were overcome, some were not and are still being dealt with today. Healthcare today is almost a need, yet still not everyone has access to it. President Trump is planning on repealing the ACA, this action could impact to the lives of many Americans.

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Due to the negative effects caused from plastic it will always play a role in our environment. One hundred different chemicals have been created after the 1950s to the current day. Something people do not realize is that throwing a plastic wrapper on the ground will end up in a birds stomach, burning plastic in a fire will end up in the air we breathe, and recycling plastic will end up back in our homes. The author states, “I don’t even shop anymore. Anything I need will just float

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That equals about 500 million pounds of plastic floating around in the ocean. Some animals even mistake plastic for food and eat it. This eventually blocks their intestines and digestive system, and they starve and die (Household

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Have you ever been to China or India? Well as you might know there are a lot of people living there, and a lot of problems arise. One of the biggest problems is air pollution and it is very hard to fix. In countries like China there’s over population, and that is the main reason pollution exist. Pollution is a big issue, because it also affects global warming.

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When these actions are made, the wind may blow them into the trees, bushes, and even water sources including lakes, ponds, rivers and oceans. According to the movie Bag It, there was over 5 tons of plastic brought out of the one specific area in the ocean and over 100,000 marine life die per year. These oceans are so over crowded with plastic wastes, which do not decompose, that these animals have been eating it and dying because it will not properly go through their digestive system. Overall, if people opened up their eyes and realized the amount of damage they have created, then we would be able to fix ourselves and the environment in which we live in. Majority of the solution includes supplying your own bags, bottles and change your plastic tupperware containers to glass.

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745 Words | 3 Pages

Everyday people buy plastic things from the cafeteria, from plastic containers, lids on cups, and things as small as straws, and like 50% of plastic used it will be thrown away after one use. However, do you ever stop and think, what happens to the plastic? If you’re thinking that it just magically goes away you 're wrong. It will most likely end up in a landfill somewhere or in the ocean, and as you may think that your actions do not impact the world, think again. Everyone in the world has at least used one piece of plastic, adding to the problem of plastic pollution and helping certifying the terrifying statisticc that acooording to the 2018 Earth day video, “by 2050 there will more plastic in the ocean than fish”, which almost is impossible to think of.

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The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a gyre in the Pacific Ocean which has been collecting marine debris for many years, forming a trash vortex of astounding size in the middle of the ocean. The majority of the trash collected is plastic, or microplastics, due to their extremely resistant nature based on their chemical composition. They are bonded so tightly that it is incredibly difficult to break the plastics down, so instead, they remain in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch for indefinite periods of time, damaging aquatic life and polluting the waters. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has been portrayed to the public as a growing, urgent issue, which can be solved if we work together to remedy the problem. This general presentation is fair to the problem, as the trash vortex does pose a great threat to aquatic life, and its pollution of the sea is far from desirable.

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776 Words | 4 Pages

Some studies have even shown that in some areas there was forty-six times more plastic than there was food for the animals to eat. (Conserving Now.com) The mass waves of bags could be ingested by many marine lives such as whales and many fish. The fish take all the toxins from these bags and store them inside their body. The fish is now unhealthy if this fish is later caught the toxins could be eaten by a human.

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It is impossible to give an accurate estimation of the amount of plastic that is being polluted into the ocean. However, in 1975 the global fishing fleet alone dumped approximately 135 400 tons of plastic fishing gear and 23 600 tons of synthetic packaging materials

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The ocean is nowadays undergoing numerous environmental issues that further lead to marine pollution. Marine pollution is a very serious environmental issue that most of the countries of the world encounter. Aquatic littering is considered as one of the major causes of marine environment. The misleading use of the marine environment is extremely impacting the marine life and ecosystems. Moreover, the total amount of toxins and debris discharged by human beings is incredibly increasing in today 's world.

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