User:K1carter/Marine plastic pollution
The litter that is being delivered into the oceans is toxic to marine life, and humans.
Not only is the plastic pollution problem having environmental impacts on ecosystems directly, it is also affecting the air being inhaled and climate change rates[1]. Plastic pollution and climate change are linked together and the effects of both are complements. The toxins released by plastic pollutants breaking down and releasing into the air are causing climate change rates to move up and worsen as a fast pace. The way that plastic contributes to climate change issues is because of the way plastic is made. Through fossil fuels being used to run machinery creating more plastic, it is released into the air resulting in greenhouse gas[2]. While the greenhouse gases are let into in the air and affecting the oxygen supply, it is also being consumed by marine animals in the ocean. The ocean contains millions of pounds of plastic residue and large pieces, but also contains most of the greenhouse gases produced[2]. Not only does making plastic produce gases into the air, but in some of these plastics that get found in large clumps in the ocean, the plastic itself lets go of greenhouse gases while breaking down in the water[3].
The greenhouse gases produced by the making of plastics makes it difficult for the ocean to trap in carbon and help slow the processes of climate change[4]. With this happening, the Earth and oceans are being threatened and the temperature of air and how long we will be able to continue living with these conditions is withering away. Another way that plastic consumption and pollution results in increasing climate change rates, is from incineration of plastic waste. This releases way more toxins into the air and then it all gets consumed by ocean water. The oceans end up taking up chemicals, but also the small pieces of plastic that were not fully broken down. This causes dirty marine water and affects the ecosystems living in the oceans[5]. The incineration of plastic products pushes black carbon into the air[6]. Black carbon comes from emissions and is a lead contributor to climate change[7].
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[edit]- ^ Ford, Helen V.; Jones, Nia H.; Davies, Andrew J.; Godley, Brendan J.; Jambeck, Jenna R.; Napper, Imogen E.; Suckling, Coleen C.; Williams, Gareth J.; Woodall, Lucy C.; Koldewey, Heather J. (2022-02-01). "The fundamental links between climate change and marine plastic pollution". Science of The Total Environment. 806: 150392. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150392. ISSN 0048-9697.
- ^ a b "Plastic waste and climate change - what's the connection?". www.wwf.org.au. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
- ^ "Why plastics can be garbage for the climate". Yale Climate Connections. 2019-08-20. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
- ^ "Plastic and Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet". Center for International Environmental Law. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
- ^ "What To Know: How Plastic Pollution Causes Climate Change". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
- ^ "We know plastic pollution is bad – but how exactly is it linked to climate change?". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
- ^ "Black carbon". Climate & Clean Air Coalition. Retrieved 2022-05-25.