Trash is one of the world's biggest unsolvable problems, there is just too much garbage and it’s slowly killing our planet. In Edward Humes’ book Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair With Trash, he states “Americans make more trash than anyone else on the planet, throwing away about 7.1 pounds per person per day, 365 days a year.” (Humes 5). People in America are the biggest contributors to the Earth’s overflowing amount of garbage. Without solution, trash will take over the Earth and there will be severe causes of concern that future generations will have to deal with. These concerns include: our oceans being polluted with trash, no safe way to get rid of our garbage entirely, and producing any type of waste is unacceptable.
So much trash is being produced that it’s ending up in our Earth’s oceans, this is a cause of concern for marine life and future generations. Humes states “And here’s why: Half the oxygen we breathe emanates from microscopic phytoplankton sloshing around the surface of the ocean.” (Humes 131). If we humans receive about 50% of our oxygen from the ocean's surface then we must try to cut down on the amount of trash we make. With time, our oceans may soon be entirely covered in trash; killing marine life and decreasing our amount of oxygen. Leaving this issue for future generations to take care of, will be detrimental to the health of our planet.
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Once produced, garbage (specifically plastic) can remain on the earth for up to 1000 years till it decomposes; meaning our future generations will have to deal with it. There is no way to make garbage disappear without harming our environment. Some may think that burning their garbage at home will get rid of it immediately, but it’s actually quite dangerous to one's health. Humes states “Emits dangerous levels of dioxins, poisonous and cancer-causing compounds formed by low-temperature, smoky, inefficient combustion. Dioxins have no human uses or value, and are not made intentionally.” (Humes 53). If people who burn their garbage to make it disappear continue their ways, we may ruin Earth’s atmosphere with dangerous toxins. This would cause irreversible damage and an unsafe way of living for future generations.
Any type of waste is unacceptable, but because recycling exists many fail to notice the amount of waste they are producing. Humes states “Recycling in particular has long served as a balm and a penance- a way of making it okay to waste, the assumption being that if someone recycled, then the energy and materials are not being lost, and our disposable economy of abundance doesn't really seem wasteful after all.' (Humes 154). People overlook the amount of waste they produce, because of recycling. Most items that are recycled, just end up in landfills with the rest of the waste that we produce. All this waste adds up and the issue is unfairly going to be left for future generations to solve.
Overall trash is a concern for our generation and future generations as it is fatal not only to us humans but to all living things and our planet. Garbage is a major concern because it is slowly taking over the Earth’s oceans, killing marine life and cutting down our amount of oxygen; it’s adding up to massive amounts that people are burning to get rid of, which releases harmful toxins into the Earth’s atmosphere; and people are disregarding the amount of waste they produce because of methods like recycling, that promote a healthier environment but are actually doing little to nothing to improve the issue of waste.
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