Johanna Rabsey

10/2/15

Earth Science D Even

Shukman, David. "Plastic Oceans: What Do We Know? - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., 1 Oct.

2015. Web. 01 Oct. 2015.

Plastic Oceans: What Do We Know?

The article I chose for my current events report was about the pollution from plastic, and how it’s damaging our ecosystem. Albatrosses were found, dead, from consuming plastic products around the Pacific Ocean. Any type of plastic, and any form of plastic, can be extremely damaging to seals, turtles, seabirds, and many other water-dwelling creatures that openly consumes whatever it sees. Many species do not understand not to eat plastic, so eating it is a normality for them. Many creatures do not even eat the plastic, but can get caught in the rings of a six pack of soda. A baby albatross with a plastic hook penetrated in its beak was one of the many heart breaking sights found by a wildlife ranger.

Statistically, about eight million tons of plastic contaminate the planet every year. This was estimated by Jon Amos, a employee of BBC News. About 90% of seabirds have consumed plastic. Research shows that by 2050, any bird that is found dead will have plastic in its body.  Since plastic bags are so fragile, they break easier than other plastic products, and make it easier for creatures to swallow them. Called micro-plastics, and are much more dangerous to the environment.  In the article, David Shukman states that he accompanied a team from the Plymouth Marine Laboratory for an experiment. In this operation, they traveled to six different places, by their vessel, the Quest, and lowered nets to drag along the surface of the water to collect plastic samples from each area. They had a pole jutting out onto the ocean, with three nets attached to the pole. In their research, the scientists found that a third of the plastic objects were remains of bags.

Theoretically, if the plastic passes to the creatures, then it could also be passed to the seafood we eat. The overarching question according to that theory would be if plastic pollution harm human health? Professor Tamara Galloway of Exeter University finds an estimation of, anyone eating seafood regularly, 11,000 plastic pieces a year. Reducing your carbon footprint is as easy as using a reusable bag when shopping. In England, they starting charging 5 pence for a plastic bag, which is definitely helping to clean up the environment. I went to Scotland over the summer, and in the grocery stores, they charged 5 pence too for plastic bag, so my family started taking reusable bags to the store.

Even if everyone on the planet just stopped polluting the environment, the effects of the pollution currently will still be felt for years and years. According to the statistics in this article, the pollution that is destroying the ecosystem, will be around for a long time and will probably end up killing species of birds, unless something is done about it.