A Plastic Ocean
Our oceans are filled with plastic. Whether you are floating atop or diving deep below, plastic follows you wherever you go. A 2013 documentary, directed by Craig Leeson, follows the path of two ocean lovers, trying to understand the deep rooted problem in our waters. Whales, turtles, seals, birds, fish… Every marine creature is directly impacted by human’s pollution whether it be garbage, oil spills, or the top contender: plastic. Animals mistake plastic bags and small pieces of plastic for food which ends up remaining in their stomachs, eventually leading to their horrific and painful death.
Watching the documentary is truly horrifying. In the past 10 years, we have put more trash in the ocean than from the entire century before. This exponential growth is not slowing down any time soon. If we continue on this same path, by the time the Earth’s population reaches 10 billion, our plastic production will have tripled.
There isn’t a real solution to removing all of the pollution in the ocean, there is way too much; most of it hasn’t even been found. Right now, we need to cut out the use of single use plastics and avoid polluting. There are still people that don’t care enough about the environment to throw their trash into the bin 10 feet away. This needs to change. Our environmental disaster will not improve unless people decide that it is important enough for their time.
Other countries, for example Germany and Ireland, are making solutions for this problem. With the plastic waste, they use it to create either a useful product benefitting people or a way for people to make a profit in exchange for their bottles. If other countries are making decisions benefiting the environment and created solutions to the enormous problem, why can’t we?
Ocean, A Plastic. “A Plastic Ocean Official Trailer.” YouTube, YouTube, 2 Feb. 2016, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zrn4-FfbXw.
