Ocean pollution is a big concern in the world because studies are showing it is only increasing over the years (Christensen, 2019). A new study shows that along one stretch of the Pacific Ocean just between Hawaii and California there are around 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic waste gathered, which is a rapid increase since the 1970s (Barron, 2018). The plastic pieces in the ocean usually gather together in “one of the five patches” around the world (Barron, 2018). The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest patch of plastic pollution and if it was all pushed together it would make up twice the size of Texas, which is the second largest state in the United States according to the Ocean Cleanup (Barron, 2018). The Ocean Cleanup did a three-year study concluding all the plastic gathered up could be about 16 times higher than was reported before (Barron, 2018). The litter that was estimated from all the plastic gathered in the patch is about 80,000 tons which would make up to 250 pieces per person around the world (Barron, 2018).
A greater number of the pollutants that are coming into the ocean are from activities on land (“Ocean Pollution,” 2018). Nonpoint source pollution is one of the biggest sources because it includes all the small sources because of runoffs such as cars, trucks, septic tanks, boats, farms, stormwater, and much more (“Ocean Pollution,” 2018) Sources such as oil or chemical spills are known as point single sources and have a very large impact but happen less often (“Ocean Pollution,” 2018). Another source that pollutes our ocean is fossil fuels not only does it harm our air but it harms the ocean as well (Denchak, 2018). The ocean absorbs about as much as a quarter of all man-made carbon emissions and that is a huge problem because it is changing the pH of surface waters (Denchak, 2018). The problem is significantly getting worse and the oceans are now acidifying at a higher rate than they have in some three million years (Denchak, 2018). If we are to keep up with our current rate of carbon emissions it is approximated that at the end of this century, the ocean could be about 150 percent more acidic than in current conditions now (Denchak, 2018).
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The vast majority of people out there believe that ocean pollution is a problem and it is increasing and becoming a more serious concern. Annie Leonard believes that ocean pollution is a concern and needs to be addressed but feels that recycling alone will never stop the amount of plastic entering the ocean (Leonard, 2018) In her article she states, “Recycling alone will never stem the flow of plastics into our oceans; we have to get to the source of the problem and slow down the production of all this plastic waste.” (Leonard, 2018) It was previously calculated that there were about nearly 245,000 tons in the ocean but this was primarily based just the trash on the surface not that had sunk (Conner, 2015) “Our future estimates are in line with the growth of plastic in our waste stream and also population growth” (Conner, 2015). If we do not get pollution under control the numbers will rapidly increase over the number of years.
There are still some people who do not believe in ocean pollution or simply are just advocating it. “Plastic pollution while generally viewed as “bad” by the general public, is almost completely ignored in mainstream media and consequently everywhere else” (Haberstroh, (2017). While being a huge concern many people choose to ignore it and continue to discard their plastic unsafe every day. There has been a lack of effort in trying to reduce plastic use across the whole country and very few laws that regulate the use and protect our oceans (Haberstroch, 2017). There are only four laws in play to help protect the ocean according to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (Haberstroch, 2017). “The oceans are so vast and deep that until fairly recently, it was widely assumed that no matter how much trash and chemicals humans dumped into them, the effects would be negligible.” (Howard, 2019) There used to be a catchphrase about dumping into the ocean, “The solution to pollution is dilution” (Howard, 2019). We now realize that the “dilution” policy put detrimental effects on the oceans. (Howard, 2019)
The effects of ocean pollution in the future are very significant if not brought down as well (Edwards, 2018). Approximately one to eleven percent of marine species will go into extinction every decade between the years 1975 and 2015 (Edwards, 2018). This also affects humans because marine life extension it will affect the food chain (Edward, 2018). Ocean acidification is a rising concern for our future because currently the ocean absorbs around a third of carbon dioxide and the average pH level of the water is dropping and the implications are huge (“Plastic Oceans,” 2019). If pollution is moving at the same rate by 2050 there will be more trash in the oceans than fish (“Plastic Pollution,” 2019). In the past 50 years, the use of plastic has gone up by 20-fold and it is expected to double again within the next 20 years (Kaplan, 2016). By the year 2050, it is estimated that we will be making more than three times the plastic made in 2014 (Kaplan, 2016). Just about all the world's seabirds have eaten a piece of plastic (Kaplan, 2016). Nearly a third of all plastic products end up in the ocean or in a bird's stomach which would make up to approximately 8 million metric tons a year. (Kaplan, 2016) Jenna Jambeck of the University of Georgia made the analogy of “Five bags filled with plastic for every foot of coastline in the world.” (Kaplan, 2016).
Overall, ocean pollution is a major concern because if it is not controlled now the effects on the future ocean are detrimental (Edwards, 2018) There is a lot of evidence showing that ocean pollution is becoming more of a problem and is significantly getting worse (Christensen, 2019). There are certainly many people coming up with ideas to help stop ocean pollution but they need many more people to help take action.
Works Cited
- Barron, Laignee. Plastic Waste in the Pacific Is Growing 'Exponentially'. 23 Mar. 2018. time.com/5212078/great-pacific-garbage-patch-plastic-pollution-study/.
- Conner, Steve. Plastic Waste in Ocean to Increase Tenfold by 2020. 12 Feb. 2015. www.independent.co.uk/environment/plastic-waste-in-ocean-to-increase-tenfold-by-2020-10042613.html.
- Denchak, Melissa. Ocean Pollution: The Dirty Facts www.nrdc.org/stories/ocean-pollution-dirty-facts.
- Edwards, Ciele. Future Effects of Pollution. sciencing.com/future-effects-of-pollution-5690014.html.
- Haberstroch, Kaylie. Opinion: Talk About Plastic Pollution. 7 Dec. 2017. www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/opinion/my-turn/2017/12/07/opinion-talk-plastic-pollution/108370616/.
- Howard, Jenny. Marine Pollution, Explained. 2 Aug. 2019. www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/oceans/critical-issues-marine-pollution/.
- Jen Christensen, CNN. The Amount of Plastic in the Ocean is a Lot Worse Than We Thought. 16 Apr. 2019. www.cnn.com/2019/04/16/health/ocean-plastic-study-scn/index.html.
- Kaplan, Sara. www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/01/20/by-2050-there-will-be-more-plastic-than-fish-in-the-worlds-oceans-study-says/.
- Ocean Pollution. www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts-education-resources/ocean-pollution.
- Plastic Oceans. www.futureagenda.org/insight/plastic-oceans.
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