The documentary, A Plastic Ocean, focuses on revealing the amounts of plastic in our oceans and how animals directly affected by the pollution have an impact on the humans that eat those animals. Throughout the documentary, various scientists who study plastic pollution in living organisms were shown doing their work and how it helps fight our problem. One scientist that was interviewed was Dr. Jennifer Lavers, who studies sea birds in Tasmania, Australia. Baby birds are often consuming plastic from the day that they’re born because of the food their parents give them. Since these birds live near the coast of large bodies of water, the plastic that pollutes them is accidentally mistaken as a living organism by their parents. The plastic that the babies are fed negatively impacts them, through being unable to digest more food, difficulty swimming, or early death.
Another story that A Plastic Ocean covered that I thought was interesting was the massive spill of small plastic beads and bags from Hong Kong in 2012. During Typhoon Vicente, six shipping containers filled with plastic beads were spilled into the water surrounding Hong Kong and other countries. This tragedy had a major impact on the fishing industry in Hong Kong, since plastic pellets were being found in the bodies of most of the fish they caught, and grocery stores would not buy them.
The effects of plastic and the damage it causes can be seen in all parts of our world, regardless of where you live. Chemicals are in the food you eat, the air you breathe, and even materials you use in day-to-day life. In order to save life on Earth from becoming extinct, all people need to work together in order to find a way to stop the effect of pollution. Even though people are trying their best to use reusable water bottles, metal straws, and tote bags, large corporations are still mass producing these materials at a fast rate. If you would like to learn more ways you can use less plastic, here’s a link with more information: http://www.greeneducationfoundation.org/nationalgreenweeksub/waste-reduction-tips/tips-to-use-less-plastic.html.
Works Cited:
Gottlieb, Benjamin. “Hong Kong’s plastic pellet problem.” The Washington Post, 6
Aug. 2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/
hong-kongs-plastic-pellet-problem/2012/08/06/
6bbc018a-dfe3-11e1-a19c-fcfa365396c8_blog.html. Accessed 5 Sept. 2019.
“Jennifer Lavers.” Adrift Lab, 2019, adriftlab.org/jennifer. Accessed 5 Sept.
2019.
AP Biology with Kristen 