One hot-ticket issue that has been addressed extensively in the past few months is one that we’ve seen impact our local environments. These ghostly white entities can be seen wrapped around reeds in the wetlands, tangled around the necks of finely-plumed egrets, in the throats of sea turtles, dotting the landscape like strange flowers, and buried deep in the mud of the Newport Back Bay, visible when the tide recedes. Plastic bags can be found in excess everywhere in natural and man-made habitats. To many, plastic bags are seen as malevolent and criminal, and heavy campaigns have been pushed into our communities to ban the use of them and enforce those beliefs, but in actuality, plastic bags aren’t as horrible as we make them out to be for …show more content…
Some people might refer to this as “unnatural selection” because animal deaths caused by plastic bags are clearly something created by humans, but human-induced evolution has proven to be beneficial to the species that were affected by humans in the first place. For example, the Zoque, an indigenous group from Mexico, have a ceremony in which they pour toxic herbs into streams and collect the dead fish as gifts from the Gods. A study has found that the fish are evolving to withstand the effects of the poison (Unnatural Selection: How
The author proves the falsehood of the long known assumption that plastic is a threat to our planet. By citing the research done by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the author convinces his readers that not only are plastic bags not harmful as people think, but also beneficial. This surprises his audience and shows them how exaggerated the cries of environmentalists, which gets the readers wondering what else have they falsely believed in and what other information are paper-bags advocates hiding from them, and that pulls them into the argument and intrigues them further. Additionally, Summers lists the harmful consequences of using reusable bags by presenting research results and observations. This alarms the audience and raises concern in their
Due to the proximal ban of plastic bags in California, Adam B. Summers argues the reasons why they should not be banned in his article, “Bag Ban Bad for Freedom and Environment”. In order to build his argument, Summers includes an effective use of factual data and evidence, relating to the audience, and appealing to the audience’s emotion.
Solid waste like bags, foam, and other items dumped into the oceans from land or by ships at sea are frequently consumed, with often fatal effects, by marine mammals, fish, and birds that mistake it for food.
Australians approximately use 6.9 billion plastic bags per year (Errata Nolan ITU, 2002). The high consumption of plastic bags highlights one outstanding issue. The adverse impact, consumption and disposal of plastic bags have towards the environment. This involves the resources used to make
According to ecowatch.com, all the plastic humans added up thrown away added up can circle the Earth four times. This is around 500 billion plastic bags, and most of them end up on landfill sites. The plastic bags in landfills usually lay there for over 300 years until they are completely photodegraded, or decomposed by the light, especially sunlight. During the process of being photodegraded, the plastic bags break down into small toxic particles that are either released into the air, or into the soil. These small toxic particles contaminate many different things such as soil and waterways. Since it is in the soil and waterways, animals often come and end up eating these dangerous toxic particles. Some supermarkets use biodegradable bags that are said to be “environment friendly,” but that is a total lie. According to an article about plastic bag pollution by Sharon Jacobsen, it says, “...the truth is that the process of breaking down these petrol based bags causes carbon to become methane which is a greenhouse gas.” Greenhouse gases are very dangerous to the environment since it causes temperature increase around the whole entire globe. Therefore, in conclusion, neither plastic bags or so-called “environment friendly” bags are good for the environment all around us, and we should not use them. Instead, we should use reusable
Firstly, when regarding the debate on whether to get rid of plastic bags the topic of the impact of the environment always appears. David Suzuki explains, “93 percent of beach Northern fulmars […] had bellies full of plastic – a substantial increase from the last time they were tested” (Source A). Birds and other wildlife suffer due to the use of plastic bags. They litter their homes and unfortunately can lead to death when animals mistake them for food or get tangled up in them. It’s not just the wildlife that plastic bags are killing its also natural resources. Plastic has petroleum in it, enough that 8.7 shopping bags can power a car to drive
Plastic has become a staple, and the use of plastic products is abundant in everyday life even if it is not apparent. The production and use of plastics has increased dramatically over the last sixty years, and a vast majority of plastic being produced is not recovered after it is used. It is clear that much of what we have today would not be possible without plastics, but the fact that it is not biodegradable and toxic creates a product that just takes up a vast amount of space and poisons animals. The overflow of plastic eventually makes its way into the ocean and is affecting marine life at an alarming rate. Plastic debris pollutes oceans all over the world as it breaks down into smaller pieces and are ingested by a large range of species. Animals exposed eat the plastic products and it causes health problems throughout the marine ecosystem. Some humans rely on these animals for food without knowing that they have been exposed to toxic products. The smallest organisms or exposure to chemicals can wreak havoc on the human body causing serious illness. It is clear that much of what we have today would not be possible without plastics, but the fact that plastic is not biodegradable and toxic creates a product that takes up a vast amount of space and poisons animals. Plastics contain chemicals that can interfere with the bodies natural functions and can cause adverse health issues if left untreated. Plastic pollution is rampant all over the globe exposing everyone
Plastic is a very useful material but when in the ocean, it endangers animal life. Small surface debris, mostly plastic resin pellets are a common piece of marine debris. Because they are so small they can easily get lost along the way, washing through the water with other plastics and into the sea. Pollution like this is causing harm to sea animals such as the seabird; the albatross. The albatross scoops its food from the ocean and without knowing picks up trash along the way. Plastic debris along with other garbage is then fed to its young mistakenly for food. “Of the 500,000 albatross chicks born here each year, about 200,000 die, mostly from dehydration or starvation. A two-year study funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency showed that chicks that died from those causes had twice as much plastic in their stomachs as those that died for other reasons.”
Each year there is an increase in demands for plastic bags, and therefore more are shipped, creating further environmental pollution concerns. This increase in demand has lead to the phenomenal upsurge in the use and misuse of plastic bags globally, both in developed and developing countries. Statistics show that 4 to 5 trillion plastic bags are produced per annum, whereby North America and Western Europe account for nearly 80% (Geographical, 2005; Reusable Bags, 2005). Cheeseman (2007) states that approximately “380 billion plastic shopping bags are used in the United States annually”; in turn, only 0.6% of this is recycled.
Many individuals underestimate the amount of plastic we use each day. According to the article “Plastic Bags Wars”, “the world consumes 1 million plastic shopping bags every minute”. Plastic bags, along with many other types of plastics, have become a leading source of pollution worldwide (Doucette). Captain Charles Moore, founder of the Algalita foundation states that we use two million plastic bottles in the United States every five minutes. Discovered by Charles Moore in 1997, the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is a prime example of the amount of plastic pollution that enters the
Using these plastic bags are increasing the dangers of thing that are happening in the world.
As the United States deals with the overwhelming amounts of waste building up, Nitin et al explain that “plastics take anywhere from 15 to 1000 years to biodegrade” once they are discarded (Nitin). Changes in recycling methods can no longer keep up with the exorbitant amount of waste produced in the United States. This is why some states choose to take their initiative one step further by placing either fees or a ban on the use of plastic bags. Due to the enormous waste the United States produces on a daily basis and the negative outcomes of this trash including adverse health effects, harmful impacts on nature, and the exponential piling of trash in landfills, the US government should ban plastic bags.
Five hundred billion used globally and one hundred billion of them end up in U.S. landfills, taking about one thousand years to decompose, but only 5.2 percent were recycled (Borrud, 2007, p.75).-These are the figures plastic bags have produced every year. Human beings invented plastic bags for the convenience of carriers and packers. However, just as other great inventions, say, nuclear energy and biotechnology, plastic bags are causing serious issues like global warming, environment pollution and energy consumption. They are gradually becoming sword towards ourselves. In responding to this problem, the city of San Francisco has become the trail blazer to prohibit non-biodegradable plastic bags in its large supermarkets and pharmacies.
I decided to write this report after watching a documentary called, “Plastic Bags Environmental Impacts" on YouTube. The video showed poor innocent animals wrapped up in plastic bags and it made me feel heartbroken. So I wanted to find out what other issues do plastic bags create and if we really need to ban them, or if we need to find other alternatives, or just manage our use of them. Plastic bags have a benefit ‘convenience’, as most people nowadays use plastic bags for all sort of things e.g. moving things, reusing for shopping, art and crafts which show people are reusing them seen they are so convenient. My hypothesis is: Plastic bags are causing a problem and together we need to find a solution. My key questions are: What are the issues that plastic bags create? Are their environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic bags? How can we manage the use of plastic bags?
The type of day handbag should you cause the next big vacation? You do not want to haul around something obtrusively large or heavy, nevertheless, you also have to have room for the requirements. The very last thing you want to worry about on holiday has been the victim of pickpocketing or theft, so choosing the bag that will protect your belongings is crucial. We've curved up a set of the best and safest travel day hand bags to help with making that decision process less of the puzzle.