How much Plastic is in the Ocean?

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Prezi transcript:

Plastic in our oceans What is the effects of plastic in the oceans The main effect that plastics have on the oceans is one the animals that live in it. Plastic is one of the most dangerous hazards for marine animals. Marine animals are not use to plastic in there natural habitat and often mistake it for food. Like a plastic grocery bag looks a lot like a jelly fish to a sea turtle. When a marine animal eats plastic it either chokes or starves to death. They can starve to death because plastics take a lot longer to decompose in there stomach so they will end up eating so much plastic nothing can fit in there stomach. Also animals can get entangled in plastic objects like six pack soda holders,fish nets, and much more. Entanglement can cause sever injury, impaired movement, and starvation which all those commonly lead to death. Like this seagull which thought these pieces of plastic were fish eggs How much plastic is in the oceans The estimated amount of plastic in the ocean is 48,000 pieces per square mile and its said that 60% to 80% of marine litter is plastic. But Plastic is not randomly floating around in the ocean it is being kept in large ocean currents all around the world which makes huge garbage patches. The biggest garbage patch is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch which is located west from LA and north from Hawaii. Its so big its the size of two full Texas. Most of the garbage patches are not visible though. Plastic still breaks down to small piece even though it still last for a long time. But when it does this it is even more of a hazard because the main animal in those regions fish confuse those tiny pieces of plastic with food. Solution There are many possible solutions for this issue. But we cant just simply wait it out and let the plastic disappear because it takes up to 400 years for a piece of plastic to fully decompose. We can see here that the recovery rate is way lower than the gaining plastic rate so we have to start doing something. Some of the solutions people have came up with so far is to either switch to a more biodegradable resource than plastic or just try to use reusable products and recycle as much as possible. Switching to a more Biodegradable resource isn't a bad idea Like paper and cornstarch. But it cost a lot more money and energy to use it. My favorite solution is using reusable materials and recycling as much as possible. Which should save money and the planet. But everyone has to do it if this solution were to make a big impact. Who's for it/ Who's against it Well theirs not really anyone that is against helping the oceans and not putting plastic in the ocean. But there are sides on if we should stop making simple plastic appliances anymore. People that are for plastic People that are for plastic are either plastic producers that get a lot of profit out if making plastic appliances. Or as someone who likes the convinces of using plastic plates and cups because there cheap and you don't have to wash them you can just through them away. People that are against plastic An example of people that are against plastic would be the NRDC which is a environment protection organization who thinks we should cut down on simple plastics to protect the environment. My opinion on the Issue I think simple plastic appliances like cups, plates, and bags should stop being used and replaced with a more biodegradable material. I think that because plastic objects like that seem to be most commonly thrown away. And I think we should also start using my solution that I said earlier from now. Works Cited "Google." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. "Plastic In Our Oceans by Abbie Barnes - Action For Nature." Action For Nature RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. "Plastic Pollution in Our Oceans." NRDC:. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. "Plastics in Our Oceans." Plastics in Our Oceans. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. "Plastics in Our Oceans." Plastics in Our Oceans. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. "Water Matters." State of the Planet Our Oceans A Plastic Soup Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. Works Cited The End