The Effect Of Plastic On Marine Life
There is an “island” floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean this island is just a bunch of trash that has accumulated over the years. It is from people not properly disposing of trash and thoughtlessly throwing waste into oceans or not even knowing where it goes. These plastics have created an enormous problem; a problem that has now become twice the size of Texas. Oceans are becoming polluted because of plastic creating patches of garbage in the oceans, and coral reefs are on the verge of dying due to the pollution.
Plastic is having a significant effect on the marine environment. It is causing big problems in the ecosystem, but the most dangerous plastics are microplastics. These plastics are decreasing the population of all marine life. Marine animals mistake microplastics for plankton, and when ingested, the plastic then enters our food chain causing health problems to many. According to the article “Marine wastes is...”, “A portion of what remains afloat might seem small, but it is the cause of a large problem with far-reaching effects”. However, companies who produce these plastics do not try to stop the problem. The company's primary focus is to make money and keep their business growing. There are many ways that companies sell these plastics. One of the ways they make money is by selling to chain stores such as Walmart. They sell plastic bags, packaging for egg crates, and many more. These companies who produce the plastic do not care about whether it's affecting the environment or not.
The Pacific Garbage Patch is one of the most massive gyres of garbage in the Pacific Ocean. It incredibly keeps increasing, and it has a larger mass than it’s expected to be. This is happening because people are not caring about the effects that plastic is having in the oceans. The Patch carries tons of waste that is mostly made of plastic. According to the article, seventy-nine thousand tons of plastic debris, in the form of 1.8 trillion pieces, now occupy an area three times the size of France in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii, a scientific team reported. The team said 'We wanted to have a clear, precise picture of what the patch looked like.
All the trash keeps on accumulating becoming more dense. The devastating 2011 tsunami in Japan left large amounts of debris that all went into our oceans causing a lot of long term damage to the environment. This led the oceans to become heavily polluted with garbage, oils, and many dangerous chemicals. The tsunami wiped out a big portion of marine life. The Garbage Patch will continue to grow denser if the society does not take action into the matter. There are many ways to help out in keeping the patch from increasing. One of the best ways to help out is by recycling and reusing plastics.
Many pollutants such as plastic wastes are killing coral reefs. This is one of the main reasons that oceans are disappearing. Corals are dying because people are letting detergents, fertilizers, oils, runoff into the rivers and then into the oceans. It is causing our coral reefs to become extinct. It is affecting our oceans substantially because it is killing homes of fish who rely on coral reefs such as clownfish who host sea anemones who consume microorganisms. The sea anemone also relies on the ocean reefs. Another effect that is killing corals is global warming.
Global warming rises temperature in the ocean causing corals to bleach then die. To keep our reefs from drying, we need to stop overfishing keep the water quality and its maximum, and keep harmful chemicals from getting into the ocean. If Global warming continues corals will eventually become extinct, and we will have a decrease in fish such as tuna, and many of the marine life that people consume. If society does not change plastic will continue to affect the environment, and businesses will keep on producing these toxic plastics that are killing all marine life. If people do not recycle plastic, it will continue to get into the oceans only to making the Patch grow denser and the seas more polluted. Harmful chemicals will continue to run off into the oceans if people do not find a solution to dispose of them properly. Aforementioned this will lead coral reefs to become extinct. Also, many marine life animals will lose their homes if changes are not made will see long term effects on the environment. This will also cause a bunch of health problems for many due to the pollution fish carry. Subsequently, all marine life will eventually become extinct and will be left with nothing in the oceans.
