Introduction
‘The ocean has become a global repository for our waste’ which includes, glass, metal, plastic, and many more. A global issue has arisen from how a type of waste called plastics, slowly “fragments and accumulates in convergence zones (UNEP ).” In estimate, plastic creates 60-80% of the world’s marine debris, accounting for a total of 5,250 billion pieces with a combined weight of 268,940 tonnes. The role of plastics and its chemical capabilities in the ocean are ‘poorly understood’, but they can potentially threaten ecosystems as well as human health (Pichel). This essay will evaluate the issue of plastic debris as a threat to the marine environment through analyzing its chemical effects, as well as assess the extent of the problem
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The five different gyres are located in the North and South Pacific Ocean, North and South Altantic Ocean, and the Indian Ocean (UNEP ). These gyres are one of the biggest and most dangerous effects of ocean dumping. They became a global dump for the world’s waste that contain mostly plastics because they’re strong enough to actually travel in long distance and accummulate these zones for …show more content…
High- Density Polythylene (HDPE)- detergent bottles
Plastic debris in the marine environment carry different chemicals that originates from two different groups, which are hydrophobic chemicals adsorped from the surroundings and additives like monomers, and ogliomers contained in the plastic itself (Teuten).
Additives are substances mixed in plastics that improve and preserve its conditions. It is what makes plastic longlasting, cheaper, easier to process, and appealing. The largest group of additives in polymers are called plasticizers which are used to increase the fluidity of plastic when it’s too rigid. Many are classified as dangerous, in which some of the common ones are, phthalates and Bisphenol A (BPA). Not only phthalates are dangerous to human health, there are also different kinds of phthalates that have high solubility causing it to be easily released from the polymers to the marine environment (Teuten).
Besides additives, plastics in the marine environment also carry PBTs that are absorped from its surroundings. Adsorption is the process of binding molecules or particles to the surface of a solid.This process happens to polymers in the marine environment as they are exposed to the different pollutants that are present in the ocean. Polymers or plastics contain crystalline regions, where molecules are arranged in a laticce structure and amorphous
“Our Oceans Are Turning into Plastic… Are We” “Our Oceans Are Turning into Plastic… Are We?” written by Susan Casey makes valid points about humans ruining our land we all call home. Captain Charles Moore traveled the sea more than he traveled on land.
The local community does not care that dumping toxic waste, sewage, and runoffs affect marine life. People everywhere dispose of their toxic materials such as household, agriculture, and oil waste in the wrong way, and eventually it leads to pollution in the ocean. Toxic products in households are very harmful to the ocean if they are disposed of in the wrong way. Household materials such as chemical-based cleaning and disinfecting products, once put down the drain, go straight to the ocean, and pollute the water. Non- degradable products that are put down drains can damage sewage treatment processes, and contaminate nearby bodies of water.
D.W. Laist research claims that the polluted gyre affects 267 species worldwide: 86% of all sea turtle species, 44% of all seabird species, and 43% of all marine mammal species. Oesophagus and stomach contents of the endangered green sea turtle were examined from 38 representatives, 23 of which (60.5%) had swallowed debris, especially plastics. Scientists have documented 6 pounds of plastic for every pound of plankton in this area (“Plastic Ocean - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch”). Most of this plastic is eaten by sea birds and animals, including turtles and albatrosses. Sea turtles often eat plastic bags instead of jellies.
According to the topography record, most of the deepest trenches in the world are found in the Bermuda Triangle. This factor may affect the disappearance incidents and can cause the ships and planes never be found. C. The Gulf Stream. The place where the triangle exactly located is quite dangerous because of the wave are extremely swift and turbulent. It has superpower to throw away huge objects very easily due to the speed of water flow and also the depth of the stream.
Both of these are of great concern to human health. BPA is used in many things including plastic bottles and food packaging materials. Over time the polymer chains of BPA break down, and can enter the human body in many ways from drinking contaminated water to eating a fish that is exposed to the broken down toxins. Specifically, BPA is a known chemical that interferes with human hormonal
Intro: Water pollution has caused so many problems to our waterways that no one really knows how to help. Water pollution caused; dead zones, oil spills, garbage floating around, and unsafe drinking water. People disagree about water pollution because, people have found ways to improve and help out the problem that water pollution has caused around the world. Others believe that that water pollution has created situations and are in the process of figuring out solutions. Marine life habitats are getting destroyed, marine life is declining everyday, how and where the garbage is getting into the oceans, and the drinking water is becoming seriously unsafe to drink.
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.
The amount of plastic products that ended up in the ocean as of 2015 are quite high. How high you may ask yourself? No not 1 million but 9 million tons of plastic waste laid in the ocean as of 2015. Who could be responsible for most of this plastic in the ocean? Surprisingly its china, they are responsible for 2.4 million tons per year.
The reason plastic is used in many products is because it can withstand up to tons of pressure per cm3, is cheap, is durable, and finally, there is no worry for discoloring. But these days, plastic is becoming a major problem the world has to deal with. Plastic is thrown into the ocean, and it is breaking down into very small pieces, and killing marine life, as they mistake those pieces to their prey. As a matter of fact, nearly all plastics are recyclable, but it 's the recycling companies ' machines that refuse to recycle that kind of plastic(eartheasy.com). I. Plastic, what have you done?
Imagine what happens if we keep on polluting our planet? What happens to our future generation? Since plastic takes years to biodegrade, if we keep polluting our environment with plastic, then our future generation will suffer from the environment around them. It also means that plastic and other trash will continue polluting the ocean, which can cause thousands of sea animals to go extinct, providing us with less source of food. Not only sea animals, but animals all over the world might extinct or become endangered because of pollution.
A Case Study on Polluter’s Dilemma I. Background/Point of View On a small plastic manufacturing, Jonica Gunson works as an environmental compliance manager. The company where she is working with is now facing a serious situation that needs to have a fast and decisive decision, decision whether to invest or not to invest money on new technology that will help decrease or as possible eliminate the level of toxic in the water which is flowing from the back of the factory up to lake. Though the company is compliant with the levels of emissions set by the Environmental Management board, the manager sees that environmental procedures for this specific toxic are sheathing behind logical evidence, particularly that there is a protest from a certain scientist that is publish in the newspaper.
Plastic Drink Bottles PET bottles are commonly used in the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries. Therefore, they all fall under the marking and coding categories. At one time, PET bottles were marked using ink-jet printers, but because of the
Plastic pollution in the ocean Introduction Rachel L. Carson said in her book “Water, soil, and the earth´s green mantle of plants make up the world that supports the animal life of the earth” (63). In other words, our planet was always a place which was dominated by nature and it had essential relations between plants and other plants and between plants and other animals (Carson, 1962). Since the modern human started to conquer the world a lot of things have changed and technology has taken over. My essay is about a quite new but very big problem which affects our wonderful planet; it is about plastic in the ocean.
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
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.