Inferior quality and low cost means plastic is readily discarded. Plastic is used to make, or wrap around, many of theitems we buy or use. The turtles die aninhumane death from choking or from being unable to eat. Regrettably these same usefulcharacteristics make plastic an overwhelming pollution problem..Plastics take around 300 years to photo degrade. There thecrew found that the water contained six parts of plastic for every partplankton, with a five fold increase in the amount of plastic between1997 and 2007.There is great environmental concern about the effect of plastictrash on all marine mammals. Even small quantities of toxic products in the water candisrupt this balance, with long-lasting effects.Since the invention of plastic earlier this century, it has become apopular material used in a wide variety of unique and innovativeapplications.
A toxic plastic mass of refuse double the size of Texas swirls in thewaters of the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Hawaii.That is an unconscionable amount of waste, so much that more than onemillion bags are used every minute and their impact on the planet isdevastating.Annually approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. Turtles become entangled in fishing nets, andmany sea turtles have been found dead with plastic garbage bags intheir stomachs.American oceanographer Charles Moore reports the volume of plasticpollution in the worlds oceans is so extensive its beyond cleaning up. Too easily discarded.
A recent study concluded that inexcess of 100,000 marine mammals die needlessly each year from thelethal effects of plastic pollution alone. All sevenof the world's turtle species are already endangered or threatened fora multitude of reasons. This includes more than 35 species located off the coast ofSouth Africa. We defile the face of the earth with plastic refusecreating waterway contamination. Seal and whale populations havebeen decimated by unregulated hunting. The problem comes when we no longer want theseitems and how we dispose of them, particularly the throwaway plasticmaterial used in wrapping or packaging. America alone,produces in excess of 800,000 tons of plastic bottle pollution everyyear, and the amount is growing.By negligently discarding plastic items, especially plastic waterbottles, fishing gear and plastic bags, people are unknowingly causingthe deaths of millions of mammals, fish, birds and reptiles each andevery year. Plastic bags are only part of the problem. Its long life assuresit survives in the environment for extended periods where it can dogreat harm. Studies indicate turtles mistake these floatingsemi-transparent bags for jellyfish and eat them.
These elegant creatures are already underthreat for a variety of other reasons.Fish, shellfish, sea birds and all other forms of aquatic liferequire a delicate balance of oxygen, nutrients and clean water tosurvive. Plastic pollutionaffects marine wildlife in deadly ways: entangling creatures and bybeing consumed. Plastic is handy, lightweightand easily discarded.According to the California Coastal Commission, over 80 per cent ofrefuse within waterways, most of it being plastic, originates on landrather than coming from boats. World-wide our precious planet isdefaced and poisoned with more than 100 million tons of plasticpollution annually.
A turtlecarcass found off the coast Hawaii plastic juice cups had more than 1000 pieces of plasticin its stomach including part a toy truck wheel, a broken comb and lankof nylon rope.Plastics are utilized because they are easy and inexpensive tomanufacture, strong and durable. Plastic is now found invirtually all the oceans and rivers of the world, even the most remoteand once pristine. Because plastic does not easily decompose and requires highenergy ultra-violet light to break down, the volume of plastic waste inthe worlds oceans is steadily increasing.Turtles are particularly vulnerable to plastic pollution.Worldwide over 100 bird species are known to ingest plasticparticles
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