ENG-206HN Cause and Effect of Plastic Pollution Grand Can, Lecture notes of Accounting

Download ENG-206HN Cause and Effect of Plastic Pollution Grand Can and more Lecture notes Accounting in PDF only on Docsity! CAUSE AND EFFECT ENG-206HN Cause and Effect of Plastic Pollution Grand Canyon University: ENG-206HN Cause and Effect of Plastic Pollution INTRO Plastic has been used since 1947 as a lightweight, low production, inexpensive, and accessible product (Facts About Plastic, 2020). Although the plastic bottle was invented to better people’s lives, it instead has begun to destroy the world slowly. In 2014 there were an estimated 100.7 billion plastic beverages sold in the U.S alone; that equivalates to 315 bottles per person (Facts About Plastic, 2020). Due to this rapid progression of plastic bottles, people are not able to keep up with where all the bottles are going after they are finished being used. Only 23% of plastic bottles used in the U.S are recycled; the rest end up in land fields or bodies of water (Schriever, 2017). Not only are the bottles killing the planet, but it takes more resources to make a plastic bottle than its worth; for example, it takes three times more water to make the bottles than it does to fill it (Schriever, 2017). All the evidence shows that plastic pollution is bad for the environment and should be banned from production, utilizing the resources it takes to make a bottle to heal the earth. Plastic pollution causes an array of effects on the environment, animal health, and human health, but despite the staggering amount of data, individuals still believe that plastic bottles do not affect human health. EFFECTS ON ENVIROMENT According to Ocean Conservatory, plastic bottles are the most prevalent form of plastic found in oceans and on beaches (Schriever, 2017). Plastic bottles are made of completely recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which means that they don’t biodegrade they 2 CAUSE AND EFFECT photodegrade (Schriever, 2017). Biodegradable products can be broken down by bacteria and other organisms, but photodegradable products are only able to be broken down by light (Schriever, 2017). This is bad for the environment because it means that the bottle breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces sending out toxins that pollute the waterways, airways, and contaminates the soil people live on (Schriever, 2017). Plastic bottles are also able to “absorb pollutants like BPS and PCBs, which can take up to a century to decompose,” allowing the object to release toxins until it is fully degraded (Schriever, 2017). Sarah-Jeanne Royer, an Oceanographer at the Institution of Oceanography at UCSD in San Diego, California, stated that “ [People] attribute [to] the increased emission of greenhouse gases with time… to do photo- degradation of the plastic…,” this means that these defects contribute to the acceleration of gas production, causing global warming (International Environmental Technology, 2018). In addition, plastic bottles being made of 100% PET allows wildlife, most commonly marine life, to consume the plastic, causing millions of animals to die from choking and other hazards. EFFECTS ON ANIMALS In addition to the effects that plastic has on the environment, it also affects animal health, especially marine life. There are three major garbage patches in the world that have grown so big that they are considered plastic islands (Plastics in the Ocean Affecting Human Health, 2020). The three plastic islands are located in the central North Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean (Plastics in the Ocean Affecting Human Health, 2020). The garbage patch found in the Great Pacific Ocean is also known as the trash vortex, it is the largest plastic island known to man estimated to be larger than the state of Texas (Plastics in the Ocean Affecting Human Health, 2020). Plastic bottles are made of 100% PET, only allowing the bottle to break down into tiny fragmented over time, causing marine life to confuse the particle as food (Schriever, 2017). 3 CAUSE AND EFFECT individuals saying that plastic only causes harm when people are misusing it. According to plastic industries across the world, plastic will only harm individuals when it is heated up for a long period of time at a temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit (Ferguson, & Newton, 2018). Professor Anthony Ryan, a professor of physical chemistry at the University of Sheffield, agreed with this statement saying that “it’s not plastic that is the problem, but how people choose to deal with it” (Ferguson, & Newton, 2018). This is controversial due to all the studies that have shown that plastic causes cancer and other health concerns.  CONCLUSION Moreover, plastic bottle pollution is the leading cause of death to the planet. In attempts to make people’s lives better by making a lightweight, low production, inexpensive and accessible product, it has, in the end, caused life to become self-destructive. Plastic pollution has many contributing factors to the destruction of the environment, along with causing death and poor health to both animals and humans. Despite the long list of evidence and statistics to prove that plastic bottles are bad for the world, there are still many who believe that plastic doesn’t affect the world they live in. REFERENCES Facts About Plastic. (2020). Help plastic oceans foundation. Retrieved from https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/ 6 CAUSE AND EFFECT Ferguson, Z., & Newton, L. B. (2018). Stop hating on plastic and learn how to use it right, expert says. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-30/stop-hating-on-plastic- and-learn-how-to-use-it-right:expert/9710296 How BPA and BPS Are Making People Sick. (2001). Retrieved from https://articles.mercola. com/ sites/articles/archive/2017/02/22/bpa-bps-making-people-sick.aspx International Environmental Technology. (2018). Does Plastic Contribute to Global Warming? Retrieved from https://www.envirotech-online.com/news/water-wastewater/9/breaking- news/does-plastic-contribute-to-global-warming/46942 Karolina Kulik-Kupka, Justyna Nowak, Ilona Korzonek-Szlacheta, & Barbara Zubelewicz- Szkodzińska. (2017). The effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals on the human organism. Postępy Higieny i Medycyny Doświadczalnej, 1231. Retrieved from https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=edsdoj&AN=edsdoj.bd5f860a2524ba5acb39c192eb393e8&site=eds- live&scope=site Palliser, J. (2010). Banning the bottle. Science Scope, 34(2), 8–10. Retrieved from https://lopes. idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ904749&site=eds-live&scope=site Plastics in the Ocean Affecting Human Health. (2020). Retrieved from https://serc.carleton.edu/ NAGTWorkshops/health/case_studies/plastics.html Schriever, N. (2017). Plastic water bottles causing flood of harm to our environment. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/post_5218_b_3613577 7 CAUSE AND EFFECT Sharif, K., Lichtbroun, B., Rizenbah, C., & Shoenfeld, Y. (2019). The role of plastics in the spectrum of autoimmune disease-bisphenol A. Retrieved from https://www.science direct.com/science/article/pii/B9780128143070000396 Taylor Smith, K. (2018). Plastic water bottles are a danger to your health. Retrieved from https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=790 8