I knew that our oceans are being polluted, but I had no idea of how big and threatening this problem was to our survival. I learned about it last May. I was reading and discussing a book with 4th graders, with Mrs. Vissat, one of my colleagues, in her reading class, at Jefferson Elementary School, in Schenectady. The title of that book was The Voyage of Plastiki, a beautifully illustrated and well-written book. It is the story of “Plastiki”, a sailboat made from 12,000 plastic bottles. Plastiki sailed from San Francisco in California, to Sydney in Australia, the summer of 2010. Its crew wanted to raise awareness about the plastic pollution in our oceans, and they did because I was shocked to see those images of plastic in the ocean. Hence I researched ocean plastic pollution online.
I share my findings here. About 80% of the debris (trash and garbage) in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch comes from land-based activities in North America and Asia. The remaining 20% of debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch comes from boaters, offshore oil rigs, and large cargo ships that dump or lose debris directly into the water. The majority of this debris—about 705,000 tons—is fishing nets. More unusual items, such as computer monitors and LEGOs, come from dropped shipping containers. I learned that plastic goods do not biodegrade (do not get absorbed by nature), but instead break down into smaller pieces, which is very harmful to marine life, and to us humans because we eat seafood.
Sea animals, like turtles, often mistake plastic bags for jellies- their favorite food. Albatrosses mistake plastic resin pellets for fish eggs and feed them to chicks, which die of starvation or ruptured (broken) organs. Seals and other marine mammals often get entangled in abandoned plastic fishing nets, which are being discarded (because of their low cost)- it's cheaper to dump them in the ocean. So, seals and other mammals often drown in these forgotten nets—a phenomenon known as “ghost fishing.”
Marine debris (ocean trash) can also destroy marine food webs in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. As micro plastics (tiny pieces of plastic) and other trash collect on or near the surface of the ocean, they block sunlight from reaching plankton and algae (sea plants) below. Algae and plankton are the most common autotrophs, or producers, in the marine food web. Autotrophs are organisms that can produce their own nutrients (food) from oxygen, carbon, and sunlight.
If algae and plankton (sea plants & food for fish) communities are threatened, the entire food web (all food in the ocean) may change. Animals that feed on algae and plankton, such as fish and turtles, will have less food. If populations of those animals decrease (lessen), there will be less food for apex predators such as tuna, sharks, and whales. Eventually, seafood becomes less available and more expensive for people. These dangers are more serious because plastics release and absorb harmful pollutants such as PCBs (harmful chemicals) into the seawater. These chemicals can then enter the food chain when consumed by marine life. You can find this info by logging on to http://nationalgeographic.org/
And additional information and images at http://www.lazerhorse.org/
And according to the Ocean Conservancy (an agency that protects the oceans), every year 28-billion pounds of plastic ends up in our ocean. Seals get caught in discarded fishing gear and die trying to free themselves. Dolphins and turtles mistake plastic bags for their next meal and die eating them. Fish ingest deflated balloons and choke to death. Ocean Conservancy believes (I do too) that it doesn’t need to be this way. If we take action now, we can reduce plastic in the ocean by 45%, saving ocean life, making our ocean cleaner and our earth healthier. Over-fishing, pollution and habitat fragmentation are wearing down the health of our oceans. Add to that ocean acidification—a process caused by increased carbon emissions that can degrade coral reefs and corrode the shells of sea creatures—and warming, and it's not surprising that ocean ecosystems are rapidly collapsing. (Source: https://takeaction.
What can we do help our oceans today to help our oceans? Here’s what the organization: MORE OCEAN- LESS PLASTIC- THE 5 GYRES INSTITUTE, suggests; “Pledge to go plastic free
(without plastic) for a day, week, year—or forever. You can go plastic free today by refusing the top five sources of single use plastic: plastic bags, plastic bottles, plastic to-go containers, plastic takeaway cups, and plastic straws. Follow us @5Gyres to get tips on living #plasticfree. Together, we can make a difference—one piece at a time.” (Source: https://www.5gyres.org/faq )
I’d like to suggest in joining the organization: CITIZENS’ CLIMATE LOBBY. I already did! They have a local group, which meets every 3rd Saturday of the month at the Colonie (NY) Public Library, from 10am- 12 noon. To join, log on to: https://citizensclimatelobby.
I have also joined and supported Oceana, an organization that helps protect the oceans. You can join them by visiting their online site http://oceana.org/ You can find many other good /reliable organizations that help protect the environment by searching Charity Navigator , an online site that lists the best agencies.
Here are my conclusions/suggestions. It is clear that plastic pollution is a serious threat because it concerns our ability to live on this planet. Hence, it is evident that we all must do our part, if we want to succeed- save the oceans, and have a future for our children. In the meantime we must use less plastic and follow the 4-Rs, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
However, our efforts won't be enough unless the State and federal governments join together with the plastic industry to stop the plastic from reaching the oceans. That is why it is important to write to our local leaders, in our towns/villages, cities, and/or at the county levels, and also to our political leaders in Congress and at our state. We should encourage them to take effective/positive actions to save our oceans. We must must ask them to regulate the plastic industry in finding ways of reducing/controlling plastic pollution in the environment and especially our oceans. Governments could also give financial incentives to states, in order to encourage them in curbing plastic pollution, and to eventually ban all throw away plastics. Our government could also educate and provide financial incentives to businesses and/or organizations, like schools, hospitals, and even to State government agencies. Use-only-once plastic should be banned and/or controlled, or at least curbed, recycled, and eventually, its use completely avoided, so that plastic would not pose threat and end up the environment. California did it! They banned all plastic bags. So can we!
So, is there any hope for our oceans? Can we save them? I think we can, but only if we all band together (individuals, families, the media, schools, corporations and governments) and cooperate and work hard at it. However, there isn't much time we must get going! Or it maybe be to late!
Learn more about ocean plastic pollution from these 2 documentaries- here below - you can watch their trailers on YOU TUBE, or buy them the entire videos on Amazon. I did! And They're great documentaries; they show the problems and then give us the solutions!
Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf5JI0b1L7k
To see A PLASTIC OCEAN TRAILER log on to:
https://youtu.be/6zrn4-FfbXw
(just copy and paste this address, here above, in the address box and click enter)
We can all play an important role in saving the planet; parents, teachers and schools, with our good example, by following the 4Rs; recycling, reducing, reusing and refusing plastic ourselves, and also by teaching our children about the ocean, and by passing on good scientific/factual/reliable information. Governments and the media must also do the same, hence support and inform citizens for the good of all humanity.
LET'S CLEAN UP OUR OCEANS! FROM NOW ON; LET'S REDUCE, REFUSE AND AVOID PLASTICS! LET'S DO IT FOR OUR CHILDREN! and ourselves too! Before it is too late!
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