Project 2

The Stake-Holders

1.     The Government

The Government is one “stake-holder” that contributes to ocean pollution. The government is able to put regulations on many things, and they need to start on ocean life. By allowing the consumption of ocean life, and these big cruise ships and transportation ships that leave oil in our oceans, they are negatively impacting the ocean. The government plays one of the biggest roles as they are capable of controlling and setting limits on the general population and how they go about this issue. It is also seen to have a negative impact considering the fact that the government puts little emphasis on how much trash is dumped into the ocean. According to BidNet, there are some actions that the government can take to help this issue. One being, “Conservation and restoration of coastal lands and habitats, wetlands, tidal marshes, sea grasses and other areas,” another being “Clean up of oil and chemical spills,” and lastly, “Waste treatment and trash collection.” (Calamaras, 2016). By taking these minimal actions, the consequences could be reduced dramatically and the nation would be taking small yet impactful steps to cleaning our oceans and planet.

2.             The Consumers 

By consuming ocean wildlife, people are contributing to ocean pollution. By being a consumer, one is showing a demand for fish. A demand for fish means that people are polluting the ocean wildlife by taking these boats that cause oil and chemical pollution to catch them. These consumers are all kinds of people with all different backgrounds. Although fish is a great source of protein and has many different health benefits, there are ways that the population as a whole can take steps to reduce the impact on the ocean. Such that, a shark fin is something that is used just for show and kills an innocent animal in the process. It is things like these that could be eliminated for a healthier and cleaner ocean. Also the consumers are so involved because they are the people demanding plastic. By using and buying water bottles, plastic bags and small things that could easily be substituted for more environmentally friendly options, they are contributing to the problem. By being consumers, there is one benefit and that is choosing to make a difference.

3.             Media 

The use of media coverage is a positive for ocean pollution. Media allows people to see the harsh realizations that we are facing as a growing population. Due to the idea of “out of sight, out of mind” people tend to forget the negative effects that consuming plastic can have on the environment. Media coverage can vary, but the more of it on this issue the better. It can also be seen as negative as there is not enough of it, and it is not always efficient. By informing the public on this issue by using the media, it is a great way to see improvements on this situation. By knowing what the stakes are, it is easier to continue to find data and research. The people who are made up of media include, news broadcasts, journal and magazine articles and social media.

4.             Citizens 

One of the biggest sake holders are citizens themselves. It is said from The Globalist that, “Today, an average person living in North america or Western Europe, consumes 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of plastic each year…”(The Globalist, 2017). By just observing these two continents, one can see how big of an issue this is. Humans using plastic has led to this evolving issue, and from what scientists can predict it is only going to get worse. Citizens are not only negatively impacting the oceans, they are as well being negatively impacted by their decisions. By eating fish which have been in the ocean swallowing plastic, people are now consuming those microplastics. It becomes a chain reaction, and people are putting their health at risk by consuming these harmful chemicals. Overall, citizens are contributing to this issue by dumping trash into the ocean and putting themselves at risk while doing so. This is a negative impact on not only the ocean pollution, but the human population as well.

References:

Calamaras, D. (2016). Business Insights. Retrieved from https://www.bidnet.com/resources/business-insights/protecting-our-oceans-how-government-is-working-to-reduce-pollution-and-promote-sustainability-en.jsp

The Globalist. (2017, October 12). Plastic Consumption: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Retrieved from https://www.theglobalist.com/plastic-consumption-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

Images:Rotman, J. (n.d.). Image of a shark fin being sliced off. Retrieved from https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/shark-finning-cruelest-cuts

Gordon, A. (n.d.). Trash in the ocean with a ship in the background. Retrieved from https://www.change.org/p/greenpeace-usa-be-the-solution-to-ocean-pollution

The Issue

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a large collection of trash within the Pacific Ocean. It is not just a small group of debris in the ocean. The trash, "is spread across the surface of the water and from the surface all the way to the ocean floor, "("Garbage Patches", 2013). It has a surface area of approximately 1.6 million square meters, (The Ocean Cleanup 2013). It is one of the largest marine debris collections in the ocean due to how much trash is present and the size of it. There is a large amount of plastic that poses a grave threat to marine life. Some might wonder how exactly this patch formed. Well, it was caused by an ocean current, called gyres that pulls the trash in. It is a rotating current that pulls the debris into one specific location, ("Garbage Patches", 2013). The debris ranges from small pieces of plastic to large fishing nets. Due to the small size of some of the plastics, some people may not even notice any trash while sailing over the patch. The small size also makes it very difficult to remove and clean up the ocean. The patch has been forming for a very long time, but has grown as humans use more resources. There are many issues and threats that the patch poses to society. The first is the danger posed to the animals that are living within the patch. Animals may mistake the plastic for food, which can cause many problems to their health. In fact, "These items can take up room in their stomachs, making the animals feel full and stopping them from eating real food," ("Garbage Patches", 2013)." If the animals aren't eating, this will cause them to die of starvation. Ingestion isn't the only threat to marine life. The amount of nets that are in the patch is very dangerous. The nets, "account for 46% of the mass in the GPGP and they can be dangerous for animals who swim or collide into them and cannot extract themselves from the net," (The Ocean Cleanup 2013). If an animal gets caught in a net, it will often result in death. Humans also are at risk due to the patch because they eat seafood. If they happen to eat a fish that ingested plastic, the chemicals will be transferred. This is known as a process called bioaccumulation where, "chemicals in plastics will enter the body of the animals feeding on the plastic, and as the feeder becomes the prey, the chemicals will pass to the predator," (The Ocean Cleanup 2013). The debris can also affect boats that are traveling through the patch. The plastic and nets can damage the vessels, which will cost a lot to fix. There is not just one person or thing to blame for the patch. There is a combination of people and things that are responsible. Some of the stakeholders include the government, consumers of wildlife, the media, and citizens of the world.

The Ocean Cleanup. (2013). Re: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Retrieved from https://theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

References:

“Garbage Patches.” Marine Debris Program, 11 July 2013, marinedebris.noaa.gov/info/patch.html.

The Ocean Cleanup. (2013). Re: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Retrieved from https://theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

Scholarly Article 1

          By: Skyler Cecil

In this article, “Evidence that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is Rapidly Accumulating Plastic”, a group of scientists shares the data collected and the conclusions they made from that data. In the study, they separated and counted different ocean plastics found in the GPGP. Between July and September 2015, they collected surface debris samples from in and around the GPGP. 652 nets filled with trash were carried by 18 aircrafts to be tested and measured. From these samples brought in, biomass and buoyant debris was separated and put into groups. Buoyant debris was put into groups of plastic, glass, paraffin, tar, rubber, wood, pumice, seed, or unknown. 46% of the debris found was made up of fishing nets. The results suggest that ocean plastic pollution is increasing at an alarming rate.

Reference:

Lebreton, L., et al. “Evidence That the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Is Rapidly Accumulating Plastic.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 22 Mar. 2018, www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-22939-w.

Scholarly Article 2

           By: Annie Elliott

The scholarly article I decided to analyze is from an academic journal. It is titled "Occurrence and Ingestion of Microplastics by Zooplankton in Kenya's Marine Environment: First Documented Evidence." This article focuses on a study compiled where they looked at how much plastic zooplankton near Kenya's water ingested. The article begins by explaining to the readers about how plastic in the ocean has been increasing over time. The plastic in the ocean breaks down over time, which creates very small pieces of plastic, called microplastics. The article also talks about how zooplankton ingesting the debris can affect species that are higher up on the food chain. This means human health, since we eat the fish that eat the zooplankton. In the study, zooplankton was collected and analyzed. The authors concluded that there were a lot of microplastics present in the Indian Ocean and were ingested by zooplankton. This then shows that the chemicals from the plastics enter the food web. I thought this article was very interesting because it related so much to our project. We were talking about how one of the dangers of plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was animals ingesting it. This journal just confirmed what our project is saying. The results show that the authors are urging for a solution to this problem.

Reference:

Kosore, C., Ojwang, L., Maghanga, J., Kamau, J., Kimeli, A., Omukoto, J., Ngisiag, e, N., Mwaluma, J., Ong, ada, H., Magori, C., & Ndirui, E. (2018). Occurrence and ingestion of microplastics by zooplankton in Kenya’s marine environment: first documented evidence. African Journal of Marine Science, 40(3), 225–234. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uky.edu/10.2989/1814232X.2018.1492969

Scholarly Article 3

By: Kate Guillaume

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not the only place being infiltrated by trash and debris; the East China Sea is also being hurt by this. Human activities and population growth in the Yangtze River have caused the ECS to become filthy. This is talked about extensively in the article I chose, which is called “Ocean Pollution from Land-Based Sources: East China Sea, China” by Li Daoji and Dag Daler. The level of pollution in the ECS has gotten so bad that the health of marine life is being threatened. The main problems that are causing health issues are nitrogen, phosphate, oil, hydrocarbons, organics matters, and heavy metals. Most of these pollutants flood into the ECS from the Yangtze River’s river basin. The biggest challenge the ECS is facing is to restore natural balance and reverse the damage that has been done.

Reference:

Daoji, Li, and Dag Daler. “Ocean Pollution from Land-Based Sources: East China Sea, China.” JSTOR, vol. 33, Feb. 2004.