Knudsen 1

Gabriella Knudsen

Mrs. Spragens

Senior Project

7 November 2018

If you can’t Reuse it, Refuse it

The ocean is constantly a dumping ground for garbage, chemicals and anything else

people decide to throw out of their house. Whether people intend to litter in the ocean or not,

garbage sooner or later ends up there. There are many ways for this to happen. Waste can be

picked up by storms or rainwater and get swept into creeks and rivers that eventually flush into

the ocean. Garbage is then carried by the ocean currents that move in a continuous circle, which

is seen in the Pacific. There is an area of waste debris that is twice the size of Texas that flows

through the currents in the Pacific, in a never-ending cycle (Rabideau). While it sits there

collecting in gyres, it takes a toll on marine life, and on the water itself. People have a vision that

the only trash in the ocean is what can be seen on the beach. However, the percentage of trash in

the ocean that cannot be seen from land is astronomical compared to the waste on shore.

Additionally, the ocean is becoming drained of its fish by an intense amount of fishing, which

people take part in. The ocean is used by most humans as vacation time to snorkel, scuba dive,

swim and also enjoy the beach. The ocean covers more than 70% of the planet and if people keep

using it as a wasteland, it will change society and the world people live in today (NOAA). The

ocean will drastically change if nothing is done immediately. Humanity places an extreme

amount of pressure on the ocean by excessive overfishing and polluting the waters with

harmful waste and chemicals which destroy habitats and marine life; this must stop in

order for human life to prosper.

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The world needs to stop producing plastics because they are the majority of the garbage

that circulates the sea. It is estimated that humans have dumped 4.9 billion tons of plastics into

the environment since they were extensively introduced in the 1950s (“Plastic”). Most of these

synthetic items that are found in the ocean include convenience products, packing and shipping

materials, raw plastic and fishing gear. The UN Environment Programme claims that, of the 9

billion tons of plastic waste the world has produced, only 9% is recycled (Breggin). This is

tremendously disturbing. Over the last decade, the impact of plastic waste has increased rapidly

on marine life. “Animals are killed when they ingest or become entangled in the plastic debris.

Many endangered and threatened species are suffering high mortality rates” (Blockstein). Sea

mammals mistake plastic for food, get sick and end up dying because their body cannot digest

garbage. It is detected that 100,000 sea mammals die every year because of plastic. Plastics also

break down habitats and reefs. “More than 11 billion plastic objects are polluting Asia-Pacific

coral reefs...Reefs littered with plastic were at least 20 times as likely to have diseased corals as

unpolluted reefs, researchers say” (Garisto). Coral reefs are crucial ecosystems that have a huge

influence on marine life. Plastics break down corals leaving them diseased and less likely to

thrive again. Corals break down when they die and then disrupt other organisms on their reef

habitats. When plastics agitate one thing in the ocean, like coral reefs, the impact is larger than

people know; it throws off everything in the ocean’s diverse ecosystem. Studies also show that

like bottles, many plastics sink immediately, so the sea floor could hold far more garbage than

the surface. In 2013, volunteers with the Ocean Conservatory’s International Coastal Cleanup

accumulated more than 12.3 million pounds of shoreline trash. Within this waste pile, they

gathered more than 940,000 plastic water bottles (Wilcox). This data does not even include what

is in the ocean itself. “‘The ocean is covered in a thin layer of plastic,’ says Marcus Eriksen,

director of research at the Five Gyres Institute. ‘It’s like a plastic smog.’ The pieces resemble
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confetti and are so dispersed they’re almost imperceptible, even when they collect in slowly

rotating gyres” (Wilcox). Plastics are accumulating more than ever in this uprising world of

consumerism.

Plastics do not only affect sea life, but also the livelihood of humanity. Over time,

plastics break down into tiny particles called microplastics. Most microplastics can be small

enough that people cannot see them. “Trillions of microplastics end up in the ocean, with

seafood eaters ingesting an estimated 11,000 tiny pieces annually” (Curtin). Microplastics are

ingested by fish and marine life and then eventually, end up on the dinner table. The toxic

chemicals produced by plastics are ingested by humans which can lead to harmful effects.

Plastics are not the only thing that creates microplastics, there are also microfibers. These are

tiny threads that shed off of clothing. Every time people wash their clothes in the washing

machine, an estimate of 1.7 grams of microfibers are released. “These microfibers then travel to

your local wastewater treatment plant, where up to 40% of them enter rivers, lakes and oceans”

(Messinger). They are small enough to be consumed by a small organism and then up the food

chain, including humans. Synthetic microfibers are precarious because they have the potential to

bioaccumulate and concentrate toxins in the food chain. Microplastics are not just seen in the

ocean, they also finesse their way into drinking water. “Plastic fibers have also been found in tap

water around the world; in one study, researchers found that 94 percent of water samples in the

United States were affected” (Curtin). This issue affects the livelihood of humans as well as the

environment. People have this idea that purified drinking water and plastic water bottles produce

no contamination, but they do and there does not seem to be a viable solution. This is one of the

most important problems in humanity in the 21st century.

Overfishing is another catastrophic impact, people put on the ocean. Marine animals and

fish are decreasing every year at a critical rate. Once common species, such as the American
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sawfish and whitetip sharks, are now down to as much as 99 percent. Additionally, “the seas

have lost upwards of 75 percent of their megafauna -- large animals such as whales, dolphins,

sharks, rays, and turtles -- as fishing and hunting spread in waves across the face of the planet”

(Roberts). People are fishing so much that it is causing a decrease in fish numbers as well as

biodiversity of marine life. Many species are becoming endangered due to overfishing. Many

companies and corporations are built on fishing and their main goal is to make a profit, so they

are not focused on preserving those species. “In 2010, a quarter of commercial fish stocks

assessed in the U.S. were considered overfished, meaning that they lie below target levels,

themselves far below historic highs” (Roberts). This issue seems to heighten a similar conflict

which is fishing nets. Nets are often cut from the boat and left in the ocean. These nets are called

ghost nets and the amount of them discarded into the sea is estimated to 1500 kilometers

annually (Blockstein). Floating around, sea mammals get caught in them and die. They also

destroy habitats and do not decompose because they are often times, made of plastic. Other

animals that do not live in the ocean but are dramatically affected by fishing nets, are birds.

“There is evidence that more than 50 bird species have ingested plastic; entanglement is

responsible for significant mortality in certain seabird species” (Blockstein). When these birds

hunt they dive deep into the water, not knowing that there is a net below. There also could be

fish entangled in the net which leads to the bird being trapped as well. Other creatures such as

seals also get caught in nets. “The National Marine Fisheries Service reports that 20,000-40,000

northern fur seals die from entanglement annually, causing an estimated 15% mortality among

young animals of this threatened species” (Blockstein). These numbers will keep rising if nets

continue to be abandoned into the ocean and people keep overfishing. People need to let time

pass for these species to reproduce or control how much people fish with laws and regulations.
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Not only are people impacting marine life, but the water itself is being altered by

pollution and the chemicals being dumped in the ocean. All human activity impacts the ocean’s

waters, regardless of the proximity; it’s not only contaminated water flowing into the ocean, but

also the fertilizers and gas emissions produced by people in their everyday life. “Over the last

several decades, human activities have so altered the basic chemistry of the seas that they are

now experiencing evolution in reverse: a return to the barren primeval waters of hundreds of

millions of years ago” (Sielen). With the pollutants, that are going into the ocean, the water itself

is changing from where it was a long time ago. Humans have not adapted to this and do not

know what will happen if the water continues to evolve the way it is. Humans have not

experienced the ocean it will become if nothing is done. The ocean’s ecosystems will change

drastically because the organisms that can handle this change of water, because of fertilizers and

chemicals, they will survive and overthrow the other animals that cannot handle it. “...Humanity

has come perilously close to reversing the almost miraculous biological abundance of the deep.

Pollution,...and climate change are emptying the oceans and enabling the lowest forms of life to

regain their dominance” (Sielen). Marine life will die because of the severe changes in the water,

that they are not adjusted to. Life cannot afford to lose major ecosystems in the ocean because

the world depends on it. “...The disruption of entire ecosystems threatens our very survival since

it is the healthy functioning of these diverse systems that sustain life on earth. Destruction on this

level will cost humans dearly in terms of food, jobs, health, and quality of life. It also violates the

unspoken promise passed from one generation to the next of a better future” (Sielen). The World

is unaware of what will happen to the livelihood of humans, if harmful chemicals and fertilizers

are kept in use. The ocean cannot handle deadly toxins and when animals at the top of the food

chain die off, everything will be thrown off balance. This impact will not be adjustable for

people or the environment.

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With every impact, humans have on the ocean, from plastics, overfishing, and toxins, it is

tough to see the ocean having extraordinary waters and prosperous ecosystems. Plastics do not

decompose and the ones that do, the chemicals and toxins do not just vanish. The world needs to

be educated on this catastrophic issue. If people become apprehensive of this concern, there will

be countless actions to support this obstacle. Humans have a vast responsibility to take care of

the planet they live on. Today, there are numerous organizations that have made a tremendous

impact so far. But this is not enough. The resolution, the world needs now is, to terminate plastic

production, put restrictions on overfishing and seek out new ways to live without pernicious

chemicals. If this were to happen, the ocean would rehabilitate into a diverse, affluent ecosystem,

it once was. The Earth was not just created for humans. The sea is the lifeblood of all creation. It

is humanities responsibility to prosper this exquisite ecosystem.

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Works Cited

Blockstein, David E. “Congress Tackles Ocean Plastic Pollution.” BioScience, Jan. 1988,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aqh&AN=10142401&site=eho

st-live.

Breggin, Linda K. “Bans of Single-Use Plastics Rise in Popularity, Protecting the

Oceans.” Environmental Forum, 2018,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=131701201&site=pov-live.

Curtin, Joseph. “Let's Bag Plastic Bags.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 3 Mar.

2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/03/03/opinion/sunday/plastic-bags-pollution-oceans.html.

Garisto, Dan. “Coral Reefs Are Sick of Plastic.” Science News, 3 Mar. 2018,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aqh&AN=128009837&site=eh

Ost-live.

Messinger, Leah. “How Your Clothes Are Poisoning Our Oceans and Food Supply.” The

Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 20 June 2016,

www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/20/microfibers-plastic-pollution-oceans-

patagonia-synthetic-clothes-microbeads.

“Plastic (Not so) Fantastic: Be Careful Assessing Alternatives to the Material We Love to

Hate.” New Scientist, 19 May 2018,

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ost-live.

Rabideau, Phillip. “Ocean Trash.” Teen Ink, Nov. 2016,

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ov-live.

Roberts, Callum. “The Sorrow Beneath The Sea.” Newsweek, 21 May 2012,
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search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=75292761&site=po

v-live.

Sielen, Alan B. “The Devotion of the Seas.” Foreign Affairs, 2013,

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st-live.

US Department of Commerce, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “How

Much Water Is in the Ocean?” NOAA's National Ocean Service, 1 June 2013,

oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/oceanwater.html.

Wilcox, Christe. “There Are Now Five Trillion Pieces of Plastic Floating in an Ocean

Near You.” Popular Scientist, June 2015,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aqh&AN=102480491&site=eh

ost-live.