Very soon there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish!
Plastic and plastic packaging has become a very important part of global economy, and within the last 50 years, the production of plastic has basically exploded.
In 1964, 15 mio. tonnes of plastic was produced, and that number grew to 311 mio. tonnes in 2014, and that number is expected to double within the next 20 years.
According to research done at University of Georgia, 8 mio. tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean every year..!!.. and that number is sadly expected to double within the next 10 years!
If we continue this mess, we will soon end up with more plastic in the ocean than fish...In a world that is already facing serious issues with producing enough food for an ever growing population.
Plastic in the ocean, where does it come from?
According to research, 80% of the plastic that ends up in the ocean comes from:
Industry
Untreated Sewage
Tourism
And 20% comes from:
Container Shipping
Ferries and Cruise ships
Offshore Industry
Most of this plastic will in time turn into micro plastic, which is very bad for all that is living in the ocean!
What is the problem with plastic in the ocean?
Marine mammals, fish and birds may end up being entangled in this plastic, which will gradually lead to their death.
Micro plastic end up in the bellies of the animals, wihch can hurt their ability to reproduce..
Is that what we want, can we look ourselves in the eyes, giving these creatures an often very painful death, and is it good for us if they stop to reproduce completely??? The answer to this question is of course...NO!
Plastic—soup, not islands
It's a well known myth that there are big plastic islands many places around the ocean...but the myth is slighty wrong, it's not islands...it's more of a soup..
Micro plastic is gathering because of ocean currents, in five huge soups around the world...the five soups are combined as big as Africa!!!
What is the solution?
To be completely honest, I really don't know what the solution to this major problem is, because as I see it, the world has become addicted to the use of plastic and plastic materials.
One solution could be to find, and start using other materials than plastic, maybe something organic, something that has the ability to decompose in nature in a very short period of time, and something that will not harm the #environment any further...If you have any ideas, please feel free to leave a reply🙂
Actually, the main reason for this post, is not to give a solution, like I said, I don't have it!
But a key part of making changes is awareness, put some focus on the issue...
Hopefully this will impact a lot of people, who then will begin to discuss the subject and maybe even take a stand...
We all have the responsibility, and we all have to take a stand...This way we may be able to influence our politicians, our industry and then maybe...Just maybe we are able to do something about this madness!
Credits
I wouldn't be able to do this post without the help from Pixabay. All photos are Creative Commons, downloaded at Pixabay.
A big thanks to @cleanplanet, who have actually taken the initiative to do a project, that tries to do something!
Funny thing is I saw good solutions on steemhunt recently.
There's a device that will be deployed on the seas to collect plastic.
And there are bottles now made of biodegradable plastic.
I'll see if I can find the links.
That would be cool..Thanks👍
https://steemhunt.com/@plokmi/the-ocean-cleanup-the-world-first-operational-solution-to-cleanse-the-sea
https://www.theoceancleanup.com/
https://www.theoceancleanup.com/technology/
That was actually what I had in my mind, when you mentioned a clean-up...or at least something similar..🙂
Next issue, who is going to pay for a clean-up, I mean who will take the responsibility?? And who is going to take care of the plastic waste once it hits the shore???
Maybe we should have some global clean-up fund that all countries pay to, so they can take care of the bill??🙂
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Very sad situation.every single person can give the solution of this problem if we think deeply about this problem.I think we should start a strong campaign to clean the water.which is life which is every thing.
Great information.
Seems to easy for folks to become complacent or just turn a blind eye.
Thank you @vintherinvest
for the reality checkup. Just because there is no solution doesn't mean this should not be talked about.
Just the opposite.
There are easy small actions that can be done such as stop using plastics bags ans plastic bottles. Even if they are not always banned by the law we should avoid using them as much as possible.
That could be one way of doing it, but the plastic bags/bottles have to be replaced with something else...something that doesn't harm nature🙂
Use paper bags instead of plastic ones, don't use bottle or reuse them ! There are more and more products with plastic free alternatives and we should support them to encourage the industry to make the move !
Ooo, oh, my God, how sad
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