Oil Spill Pollution

Surfrider Foundation is an organization made up of a group of three surfers who are concerned about the future of the ocean and started in 1984. They have created ads that appeal to people by making them aware that plastic pollution does not only harm the ocean, it also harms humans and animals. Some of their ads consist of a sushi roll made out of plastic, a cigarette bud shaped like a shark, and a dead bird with its feathers still surrounding it, but there are plastic bottle caps in the middle of the feathers.

Their ads can affect the viewers in a emotional way rather than just telling a person about the problem with pollution. Once you view the ads, you realize the impact the pollution causes on the world.

Pollution can come in various shapes, fashions, and forms, including waste, plastic, and oil spill pollution. In 2010, the United States was affected by the most massive oil spill they have ever had.

The spill was caused by the explosion of the oil rig called Deepwater Horizon that is located in the Gulf of Mexico. Over 130 million gallons of oil were released into the Gulf of Mexico. The spilled oil affected shorelines ranging from Florida to Texas. The Center for Biological Diversity found that more than 82,000 birds, around 6,000 sea turtles, approximately 25,900 marine mammals, and numerous other marine life were harmed by the oil spill. The people could not ignore this oil spill, as such a significant event is necessary for people to noticed the harm pollution can do to the environment.

Top Writers

RhizMan

Verified writer

4.9 (247)

Doctor Jennifer

Verified writer

5 (893)

Belle

Verified writer

4.7 (657)

hire verified writer

All the plastic pollution we have now did not just suddenly occur one day. It has built up for many, many years. On a beach, you might be able to see a variety of plastic bottles and garbage in the ocean. According to TIME, an estimate of eight million tons of plastic have gone into the ocean. This can affect marine life in many ways: sea otters and fish can get caught in thrown away fishing equipment, getting tangled up and die because they are not able to escape from it. In some cases, there have been footage of sea turtles having straws stuck up their nostrils which makes it difficult for them to breathe. Luckily, some sea turtles have had humans rescue them and take the straws out, but not every sea turtle gets saved. In the movie Happy Feet, a penguin is portrayed with a plastic holder around his neck which chokes him and makes it very difficult for him to breathe. I believe the movie put that portion in there to add a real-life problem (plastic pollution) to a family movie so the viewers can see the type of effect a plastic holder can have on the ocean animal life. The most common result of plastic pollution in the ocean is animals and marine life eating it. Plastic is not digestible, so once the animal eats the plastic, it builds up in their stomach over time

Although plastic pollution is a significant problem in our world today and is rapidly building up, people can still do things to help limit and try to end pollution. Many airports, beaches, and public places have special garbage cans that are specifically designed for recycling. Instead of throwing the plastic bottle in a regular garbage, go the extra few steps to throw it away in a recycling garbage can. When you buy a case of water, you can get up to twenty-four plastic bottles (depending on what size you get) sealed in a plastic wrapping. When you pay attention to the bottles and wrapping you realize that the bottles are a lot of unnecessary plastic. According to “Container Recycle,” 60 million plastic bottles end up in landfills and incinerators every day. Rather than using and buying plastic bottles, switch to a metal reusable bottle to limit the amount of plastic waste. Some companies like Current Straws and Mulled Mind have created metal reusable straws for people to buy instead of creating plastic straws that will get thrown away. In Hawaii, grocery store customers are required to bring their own bag to the store which helps minimize pollution. Plastic pollution will always be a problem we have in this world, but if we slowly recycle and clean up when we see trash, we can decrease this problem along with helping save the environment.