 Have you ever drank out of a plastic cup or straw, and then immediately threw them out? Chances are, you have. Have you ever recycled a plastic bottle or straw?
Chances are, you've done that too. Did you know, according to National Geographic, only nine percent has been recycled. The vast majority--79 percent—is accumulating in landfills or sloughing off in the natural environment as litter. Meaning: at some point, much of it ends up in the oceans, the final sink. Most of it ends up gathering up into large patches. One, for example, is called the great pacific garbage patch. It is the largest accumulation zone of plastic in the world according to the ocean cleanup According to conserve the turtles,Over 1 million marine animals (including mammals, fish, sharks, turtles, and birds) are killed each year due to plastic debris in the ocean. That doesn't even include all the pollution that is made out of substances other than plastic. Scientists estimated that there are 100 million tons of plastic in oceans around the world, according to the ocean cleanup .There is so much plastic in the ocean that, according to the ocean cleanup,humans can clean up only clean up 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 5 years. Some scientists estimate that there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050, According to national geographic The great pacific garbage patch is more than two times the size of texas, and 9 feet deep according to CNN.Thats one of the reasons it is so hard to clean it up. Another problem is the financial cost. It costs about $122 million and $489 million, according to Pricing on ocean pollutionDid you know that the money that was donated to restore the Notre dame was about the same amount of money needed for the cleanup?! The pollution on the earth is a huge problem. If we don't continue to protect our oceans, they can't continue to protect us. Here are a couple of ways you can help 1. Choose sustainable items 2. Reduce, reuse, and recycle. 3.Volunteer for cleanups in your community 4.Educate others on the situation 5.Conserve water 6.Shop wisely(organic,anti-pollution,etc) 7. Use long-lasting light bulbs and batteries 8.plant trees <3 9. Don't send chemicals into our waterways, choose non-toxic chemicals 10.drive less, walk and bike more Story by Adelina Crosson Comments are closed.
|
