A Problem of Ocean Pollution

Growing up and spending most of my childhood in one of the most beautiful places Florida has to offer, you learn to love the ocean and its surrounding features. As a little girl pretending to be a mermaid in the Florida Keys water, was such a thrilling experience, until you see trash floating beside you. This was a saddening and painful feeling knowing the affects that are occurring as you are trying to soak up the sun and view the beauty of the ocean. The ocean is a gift to the citizens that occupy two-thirds of the world. Ocean pollution comes from various land activities. These activities may involve, people, machines, companies, and chemical spills. The ocean was once a phenomenal view that society enjoyed without the trash. Imagine reversing society’s actions and recreating something we can enjoy, litter free for thousands of years, once more.

Imagine living in a picture-perfect environment at the beach. Trash is nowhere in sight and your view of the ocean is breath taking as you watch the sea gulls and dolphins travel. This could be a possibility if society would stop polluting the ocean. If money was no object, I would create a nonprofit organization that would bring this dream into fruition. First, I would create a mission statement, that would be to recruit philanthropists with a like-minded vision and love of the ocean. Next, would be to hire workers “top-dollar” to get local beaches into “top-notch shape,”. The beaches would not be littered with cigarette butts, those filters can take decades to decompose after the cigarette butt has been discarded. As they break down the chemicals can be consumed by wildlife.

According to environmental researchers by NBC news, scientists have found traces of these chemicals in roughly 70% of seabirds and approximately 30% of sea turtles. Plastic can holders, which are found around the necks of many sea creatures that cause irreplaceable damage, along with plastic bags. These deaths are noted as death by plastic for sea life, these deaths have increased every year. According to National Geographic, over 5.25 trillion pieces of trash have been discovered in the ocean. Plastic debris really took over our planet. The worst part about this is plastic is not biodegradable. The plastic we use daily should be turned into paper. With the “non-profit organization” taking place this company would supply restaurants and grocery stores with the necessary paper products, such as, straws, cups, and grocery bags. Consumers will be able to dispose of them and recycle these all back into paper products. An alternative solution for restaurants’ and stores, are biodegradable products such as dinnerware and utensils.

Additionally, as a human I love to eat. I am not a picky eater when it comes to tasty food. Whether society intends to take up this knowledge or not, pollution causes humans to ingest contaminated fish and mammals from our polluted oceans. Human health seems to be less important to individuals as they age. With the non-profit organization created, this would help fishermen catch nontoxic seafood for human consumption. Along with enjoying the beauty of the ocean and creating harmony between man and nature.

Loving the ocean as I do, it is disappointing to see such beauty being destroyed.Society as whole needs to think how the ocean is a gift and a privilege to behold. Sadly, over the years, it is becoming harder to preserve our oceans due to its beauty being demolished by the actions of our citizens. Ending ocean pollution starts with the man in the mirror.

Cite this page