Oceans in Peril

The most ironic story every told…

Plastic Irony

Plastic was invented in 1907 by chemists as a solution to save the natural world from the destructive forces of humans. Elephants were hunted on a disturbing scale to meet the demands of ivory billiards which were growing more popular, until plastic came in to save the day.

While the initially design of synthetic plastic was created with good intentions, the outcome has developed into an environmental crisis.

It wasn’t until World War II that plastic production in the United States increased dramatically by 300%. Fast forward 6 decades, the plastic industry has erupted into a $600 billion global industry and scientists have determined that  8.3 billion metric tons has been produced. Of that total amount, 6.3 billion metric tons has become plastic waste. Only nine percent of which has been recycled. 

Microplastics washed up on shore

Plastic takes up to 400 years to break down into smaller pieces, microplastics, but never fully degrades. Meaning all of the plastic produced since 1907 still exists in some form, besides the 12 percent that has been incinerated.

A Sea Full of Plastic

Plastic waste wreaks havoc on marine ecosystems, causing harm to birds, marine mammals, fish, down to the tiniest of plankton. It has been estimated that a mind boggling 8 million metric tons of plastic makes its way into the ocean every year.

Roland Geyer, an associate professor at UCSB’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, uses his research to put this monstrous number into perspective “Using the average density of uncompacted plastic waste, 8 million metric tons — the midpoint of our estimate — would cover an area 34 times the size of Manhattan ankle-deep in plastic waste,”

Eight million metric tons is about how much plastic was produced worldwide in 1961.

Social Awareness 

Screenshot footage of scientists desperately trying to remove a plastic straw from a wild sea turtle’s nostril

In 2015, a video of scientists trying desperately to pry a plastic straw from the nostril of a helpless sea turtle went viral. The gruesome reality of the environmental impacts of single use plastics was brought tothe public eye, causing an outcry from the public to “Ban Plastic Straws” 

This case demonstrated the power of social media campaigns. The ability to spread environmental awareness to such large audiences has the potential to spark social reform.

The pending success of the plastic straw ban in companies and cities across the United States demonstrates the effectiveness of social media and when used properly its ability to spread awareness and spark social reform. While the straw ban is a step in the right direction, does this mean our work is done?

Not even close.

A study conducted by Plymouth University concluded that plastic pollution affects at least 700 marine species, while other estimates suggest that at least 100 million marine mammals are killed each year from plastic pollution.

The Solution to Plastic Pollution

There have been large scale efforts to clean up plastic pollution, specifically from the great pacific garbage patch, unfortunately many scientists remain skeptical of widespread success.

As a collective we must push for extended product responsibility. It is a policy based approach in which producers will finally be held accountable for the products they produce.

Until larger scale efforts are made successfully, the main focus must be reducing the amount of plastic waste we use on a daily basis. There are many alternatives to single use plastics. When we’re not producing waste we are not contributing to the problem.

We must join forces to fight for the health of our oceans and the time is now.

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