PRESENTATION OUTLINE
.Question
In what way does plastic affect our oceans
. Water pollution
The main causes of water pollution are
. Badly treated sewage waste
. Oil spills
*The dumping of household, farming and industrial waste
While plastic thrown into landfills contaminates the soil and ground water with harmful chemicals and microorganisms, the effects of marine pollution caused by plastic are immeasurable. Just like on land, even in the oceans areas the effect of plastic on marine life has started to be felt.
Studies reveal that around 100 million tonnes of plastic waste are washed into our oceans every year
The United Nations Environment Programme estimates there could be as many as 51 trillion micro plastic particles in the oceans already
Over 1 million marine animals are killed every year due to plastic debris in the ocean. Currently , it is estimated that there is 100 million tonnes of plastic in oceans around the globe. It is expected that another 60 billon pounds will be produced this year alone
In some areas the build up of plastics is estimated to span 5 million square miles. To put into perspective, that is the USA plus India.
.How does that much get there
Eighty percent of the plastic debris come from land. It washes out to sea from our beaches, streets and highways. It flows out through storm drains into streams and rivers. It flies away from landfills and until the stomachs of sea turtles everywhere. Most of the debris is plastic bags, bottles,degraded buays, food wrappers and packaging materials
Large plastics are substantial pollutant over time these plastics will break down into smaller more toxic pieces. Not only are these small plastics more easily ingested, but they also act as hosts for invasive species carrying them to other regions of the ocean exponentially increasing the damages caused by plastics. In addition , certain plastics, contains toxic additives that are distributed into the water and enter into the food chain
All species of sea turtles, adult green turtles to a lesser degree, are affected by marine debris. Juvenile green turtles are heavily affected by marine debris.
.SOLUTION
Reduce, reuse, and recycle plastics.
. Use reusable cloth bags instead of plastic bags when shopping.
. Support local regional and nationwide bans on plastic grocery bags
. Don’t litter. Instead, volunteer at local beach clean up events.
. SOLUTION 2
. Don’t release balloons into the air. They travel far and end up in our oceans being consumed by sea turtles that mistake them for food.
The Great Pacific garbage patch, also described as the Pacific trash vortex, is a gyre of marine debris particles in the north central Pacific Ocean. It is located roughly from 135°W to 155°W N to the collection of plastic and floating trash, which comes primarily from countries in Asia, lies halfway between Hawaii and California and extends over an indeterminate area of widely varying range, depending on the degree of plastic concentration used to define it.
The patch is characterized by exceptionally high relative pelagic concentrations of plastic, chemical sludge, and other debris that have been trapped by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre.Despite the common public image of islands of floating rubbish, its low density (4 particles per cubic meter) prevents detection by satellite imagery, or even by casual boaters or divers in the area
The patch is not easily seen from the sky, because the plastic is dispersed over a large area. Researchers from The Ocean Cleanup project claimed that the patch covers 1.6 million square kilometers. The plastic concentration is estimated to be up to 100 kilograms per square kilometer in the center, going down to 10 kilograms per square kilometer in the outer parts of the patch. An estimated 80,000 metric tons of plastic inhabit the patch, totaling 1.8 trillion pieces. 92% of the mass in the patch comes from objects larger than 0.5 centimeters.
The patch was described in a 1988 paper published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The description was based on research by several Alaska-based researchers in 1988 who measured neustonic plastic in the North Pacific Ocean.Researchers found relatively high concentrations of marine debris accumulating in regions governed by ocean currents. Extrapolating from findings in the Sea of Japan, the researchers hypothesized that similar conditions would occur in other parts of the Pacific where prevailing currents were favorable to the creation of relatively stable waters. They specifically indicated the North Pacific Gyre.
Science CBA
By Kieran Nolan
