Plastic Oceans Thingy- Jacob Thomas

This passage has made me think about so much about trash. There is always a place for trash to go when you are done with whatever you are using or eating. We humans are so lazy that we don’t even bother to throw away our trash. We usually just throw it out in the yard or on the ground somewhere outside. I’ve a few hours outside a around my neighborhood picking at least ten pounds of trash in a week. It is unreal as to lethargic we are when it comes to throwing away a tiny piece of trash. It’s honestly really gross if you think about how much of the plastic and trash gets thrown into the ocean. It affects our marine life, our wildlife, and the fishing opportunities. All of this plastic has got to stop getting thrown into the ocean.

Over time, the salt water causes the plastic to break down into tiny particles. This water usually gets filtered and put into more bottles of water, but what we don’t see is the plastic particles that are still in the water after it has been filtered. Those particles can cause us to get sick, and if the plastic is causing us to get sick, then there is no telling as to what it’s doing to the marine life, wildlife, and fishing areas.

Fishermen absolutely hate trash in the waters that they use to fish. It can cause the fish major problems with their immune system, which causes them to get sick, and not be able to provide good quality meat that the fishermen want or need. The plastic is also bad for the boats. The plastic could break a very old propeller on someone's boat if it happens to be a very thick plastic. The fishermen also hate it when they use their nets to catch their fish, but since there is so much plastic in the ocean, they usually get more plastic than they do fish. Which causes them to lose money because of the larger number of plastic than fish.

We need to just throw our trash away when we are finished using it. All of this trash has got to stop, it’ll kill our planet, marine life, and even us if we are not careful.

Our Plastic Oceans-- Ashlynn

I never knew how messy humans were when it came to throwing out trash.

Most people just liter everyday and don’t think about the consequences.

Last week I helped the science club pick up trash off of the highway close to the school.

I picked up a bunch of plastic and soda cans.

After helping pick up the highway, it made me realize that it is not helping the world by us littering.

The most interesting passage to me is, “Is it affecting the marine life?”.

This is interesting to me because I didn’t know that 663 species are being affected by the plastic

pollution in the ocean. It is sad to think that it may take a long time to get most of the trash out of the ocean,

so the marine life has to deal with it. The writer says in the passage “Are human at risk?” that ,

“A study last year found 83   percent of the world's drinking water is contaminated, while this year,

researchers found 93 percent of bottled water contains some plastic, often double the amount

found in tap water. “ That honestly makes me not want to drink water anymore, haha.

I’m sure most of us have already drank plastic and

we don’t even know it.

makayla norvell

     
Where does it all go?

   
 Our plastic oceans, brings more noticeable attention to a major problem. Trash is one of the worst epidemics people are facing today, and to make matters worse, it isn't getting any better. In the ocean these huge islands of trash are no different than floating landfills.

     It isn’t even just in the ocean! When you drive from Lake City to Jonesboro and you look out the window, you see plastic, tire pieces, and bottles. We’ve finally become numb to how bad it is. Our clothes are made out of plastic and fake fibers which are ending up in landfills, which then go directly to the ocean.

In the article it says that plastic is pretty much indestructible, which is going to make the work of getting rid of it infinitely harder. We can not just keep shifting the blame on other countries, when we all have a part of cleaning the mess we made as a group. what doesn't make since is the fact that only a few select people are working to fix this issue. How is it fair to the animals we are killing because some people don't think it is important to put a bottle in a blue trashcan?

Tiny steps are going to save us. but at least they are a move in the right direction. what happens next is always going to be up to us.

Our Plastic Oceans - Autumn Courtney

Our world and ocean species are in great danger, and I did not even know it.

My heart is hurting because of what I just read.

If this next generation does not do something, then our oceans will be even more horrible than they already are.

They will be filled with trash, dead fish, and nothing but nastiness.

We must do something! If we don’t soon our oceans will be useless.

There will be no more fun beach days, cruises, or swimming with the dolphins.

The trash will have taken over. The trash will have won.

It makes me so sad because think of the poor animals down in the sea.

They are defenseless, and what they call home is going to go extinct.

All of those animals are clueless as to what is going on.

They do not even know what trash is, yet they have to be surrounded by it all of the time.

And it is not even their fault, they did not put the trash there we did.

So, it is our responsibility, our problem, and we need to fix it as a whole.

We people on this planet need to come up with a solution fast.

Yes, it will be difficult and challenging, but if we want our oceans to last we have to take care of them!

No, the ocean will never be 100% clean, it probably has been and never will be, but now the ocean is endangered.

I love the ocean, everything about it.

So, the next time you think about throwing trash out of your car, remember this, “just one napkin” “just one bottle” may not affect you, but it will affect something else.

Our Plastic Ocean - Carmen Campbell

Carmen Campbell
Jamie Larkin
ENG 1003
31 October 2018

How bad is the pollution?

The huge increase in pollution has been caused by the one and only human beings that walk this earth. Referring back to the garbage truck worth of plastic goes into the ocean every minute. We have caused so much pollution by letting 14 million tons of plastic just slip right into the seas. Waves and the sun rays break down the trash into pieces not even visible to the human eye. According to the passage, it says that 99.9% of the trash in the ocean is plastic, which could have been recycled instead of putting it into an ocean full of animals. The plastic doesn't just sit in the ocean. Once the sun breaks it down it causes problems for the animals, a big enough problem to even end a species. With recycling being so easy, the World Economic Forum that there will be more plastic in the ocean, by weight, than there will be fish. The epidemic needs to be fixed because of the huge risk of a fish species to go extinct. With this happening, there will be a decline in the seafood fish business which will be bad for our economy. Besides the fish being affected, the water is also being affected enough to where it's not going to be drinkable. We have to come to a realization that recycling is easier than we think it is and it could change the world, literally. 

Our Plastic Oceans - Grace Anne Puckett

     The essay "Our Plastic Oceans" is a real eye opener. I've seen videos and other papers over this topic. It's like it strikes something in me, and it's not good. The essay talks about the amount of trash that is found in the ocean. It goes on about how it's killing animals daily and everything is suffering from this. It's not just the animals there is even a chance it could be hurting humans as well.
     Throughout the essay I found myself getting upset. I found that the paragraph called "How bad is the pollution" really got to me. There are 14 tons of plastic pollution. That's just insane and totally unacceptable. However, I realized that it's partially my fault. In the "Where's it coming from?" paragraph it states how even though you throw it away it doesn't mean it is actually taken care of. So that means even my plastic bottles are going toward this pollution. Which is not something I want to be responsible for, if anything I would want to be a solution to the problem.
     The essay leaves you with a little hope and sort of a feeling of go out there to help. It says how it may seem impossible it can be reduced and that's better than nothing. It's necessary to save the lives of marine animals and possibly ours.  It mentions how people gather on one day to do a cleanup. During this time they clean up to 20 million pounds of trash. My thought is why is it only one day and why am I not more accountable for the problem. It was a real eye opener and hopefully I can make smarter decisions that will make a change even if it's small.

Our Plastic Oceans- Tiffany Fulcher

     I knew that there was a lot of plastic pollution in the ocean, but I am amazed that humanity has dumped up to 14 million tons of plastic pollution into the ocean. Plastic makes up a lot of things that we use and it makes sense that most of the trash is dumped into the ocean is made up of plastic, but we shouldn't dispose of it there. It gets dumped out there and eventually forms large places where the ocean is covered in plastic garbage and particles, which is crazy and not good for the environment.

     I didn't how much it affected the water and marine life, but apparently, lots of different species in the ocean are affected by the plastic garbage and plastic particles. I hate to think about animals dying or getting badly injured because of the trash we throw out that ends up in the ocean. They shouldn't have to go through those kinds of things because we won't properly dispose of our plastic products.

     I think it's intriguing and interesting about how the plastics break down and form into small particles instead of completely disappearing forever. I didn't know that. I thought that everything eventually broke down enough to where it was non-existent anymore, but I was wrong. That just makes it even harder to dispose of all the plastics that are in the ocean, which means it will take a very long time for people to come up with a way to get rid of all the plastic in the ocean that is harming and affecting the ocean environment and marine life.

Our Plastic Oceans - Kaitlyn Reed

Prior to reading this article, Our Plastic Oceans, I did not know how bad the pollution was and how badly it affects the marine life. In the first section (How bad is the pollution?) the writer talks about how a garbage truck's worth of plastic comes into the world's oceans every minute. I am not sure about anyone else, but I did not know it was actually that much. I knew that plastic was somehow making its way to our oceans, but I did not know that it was that much. I also did not know that it impacted the marine life the way it does.  In the section (Is it affecting marine life?) the writer says that researchers found that "fish raised in with heavy concentrations of microplastic are "smaller, slower and more stupid" than normal fish," which means that it is affecting fish as they are being developed. They also said that a more obvious happening due to plastic is the whales that have died because they ingested plastic and it prevented them from digesting food. The writer cited World Economic Forum, saying that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish, which is very devasting because not only will it be hurting the marine life but also the animals that may eat the fish will lose a food source. This all really shocked me because I may have known that the plastic was hurting the oceans and its marine life, but I did not realize it was on such a large scale.

Our Plastic Oceans - Ally Pendergrass

In this article, "Our Plastic Oceans," the author straight-forwardly describes the pollution of oceans, without shying away from telling how bad it actually is. The author describes the pollution exactly how it is. The section that really caught my attention was "Are humans at risk?" This was the most interesting to me because we typically only think about how pollution affects the environment and not us. We don't ever think about how it affects the air that we breathe or the water we drink. In this section of the article, the author says "A study last year found that 83 percent of the world's drinking water is contaminated, while this year, researchers found 93 percent of bottled water contains some plastic, often double the amount found in tap water." I found this to be really interesting because almost everyone drinks bottled water and we don't even realize how we're being affected, just by drinking it. This section of the article also says "'I think we'll find all sorts of unintended consequences,' said Ronald Geyer... 'I'd be very surprised to find out that it is a purely aesthetic problem.'" I also found this to be interesting because we are always encouraged to drink more water when in reality, because of pollution, it could negatively affect us in the future. It also tells that seafood can contain plastic. Whenever we eat seafood we don't think about the fish that have been in the water with the plastic and even eating the plastic. We don't think about all the second-hand ways we could be taking in this plastic and the affects that it could have on our bodies.

Our Plastic Oceans - Briley Douglas

In the article, "Our Plastic Oceans," it brings to light the damage us humans have on the oceans with our plastic waste. It's human nature to deny or believe that you never do anything wrong. Being honest I went through this stage at the beginning of the paragraph because I "never throw my trash out the window or anything." But as I read further through the article, I realized that even though I hardly pollute, even wearing deodorant can result in polluting the ocean with tiny particles of plastic.

The title that stuck out the most for me is "Are human at risk?" I often overlook that polluting the Earth and its water can have an effect on the human race. During this paragraph, it shows stats of how bad polluting the earth affects us. It shows that 83 percent of the world's drinking water is contaminated. This tug on a heart string for me because I hate knowing there are people who are out there drinking contaminated water. Another statistic that hit very close to home for me is that 93 percent of bottled water contains plastic. This makes me nervous because I constantly drink bottled water because I believed that it was "safer" than tap water. But after this article, I now know that even though I believe the water in my bottle is cleaner, it can actually be worse than tap water.

I really hope that one day, man kind will change our ways. We are oblivious to the fact that by throwing our plastic out is constantly harming our planet and the wild life here. Each household should invest in recycling and slowly one by one, all families can be green. We need to clean up our Earth because even though the pollution may not hurt us, it's hurting our future generations.

Our Plastic Oceans - Lexi Hall

In paragraph two it talks about where all the plastic is coming from. It says in that paragraph since the 1950's, when products began being made with plastic, only twenty one percent has been recycled. That's crazy, after all these years we have only recycled twenty one percent of all plastics in the world! That shows that majority of people who drink out of coke bottles, water bottles, or eat out of plastic to go containers either throw them on the ground or in the trash. As citizens who want to help with this terrible problem, we need to be trying to stop this from happening. I have never realized how much plastic is thrown into the ocean instead of in recycling bins. In paragraph two it states that plastic is indestructible, we can barely decompose of it when it's recycled. How can we re-use it or dispose of it when it's in the ocean? Americans aren't the only ones held responsible for this. China is responsible for almost half of it. Imagine if we could cut each country contribution in half, we would hardly have any plastic going into the ocean. According to the article even when we wash our clothes the plastic fibers are going into the ocean. How can we stop our fibers from our clothes from adding to this problem? No one at this point knows or we would have a solution already. Hopefully, one day we can lessen the amount of plastic going into the ocean and make a safer environment for sea creatures.

Our Plastic Oceans - Lotti Hoffman

     In the article, "Our Plastic Oceans," we are told of the vast amount of plastic going into our oceans. Throughout the article, it is explained how there are 5 major whirlpools of garbage floating around. This could be detrimental to our marine life. The title of the first paragraph, "How Bad is Pollution?" stuck out the most to me and influenced me to start thinking about my part in the whirlpools that kill our marine life daily.

     I believe our pollution is severe whether it is involved in the ocean or not. I recently did a highway cleanup for Science Club and the number of cigarettes I picked up was crazy. When I read this article it made me think about how much trash is around us. On a daily basis, I probably drink 3-4 water bottles, which could all end up in the ocean, just by me throwing one into the wrong can. After I read this article I really started to think about where my trash goes and how I can stop it from going into the ocean. I decided to start recycling all of my trash during school and reuse items that I would typically throw away, such as refilling my water bottles at the fountains, to do my part in cleaning our planet.

     Part of the pollution problem is that many people may not have access to recycling in their homes. My family does not have a recycle can, so it is really hard for me to do this at home. The article talks about how much of the pollution in our oceans is plastic and how many times our landfills end up in the ocean. It is crazy for me to think about the amount of plastic I see every day and how much of it ends up killing animals.

ocean pollution thing-- Teressa Boatman😃

   "Our Plastic Oceans" would probably be more interesting to anyone but me. I mean, it was informative, I get that. Yes, us as humans have failed our planet! We get it, we're garbage, lol. Trying to figure what we could do to fix this would be helpful. Yeah, it'll take more than just people using big machines, we will have to change our lifestyles, which most people will be unwilling to do.
  Hey, I did have a favorite part! I liked "What's being done?" I mean, sure, some things are being done, but it'll never be enough. There is literally a patch of garbage 2x bigger than Texas. Pathetic to be honest. We will eventually have to change this, but it will never fix it. We're too deep now. I think we're eventually going to kill marine life!
  In conclusion, we are trash, making trash. I really have nothing else to say besides that we need to recycle and quit being the over-loaders we are. anyways, we may never change this, I don't think we are either. Try your best to change this trash we've created, future humans. This time, friends, it won't buff.

Our Plastic Oceans - Heavyn Hadl

Our Plastic Oceans do a great job, I think, of bringing people to the realization of just how bad our oceans and water are filled with waste. This is an issue that we have had for years upon years now, but not many people care to try and fix it. They are more worried about themselves instead of what the future holds for the animals in the sea and even generations to come. With the rate we are currently going, the waste is going to constantly be building up and, like landfills, is going to be a huge problem for our great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. Humans are doing so much harm to this earth, but most people don’t realize. Say, for example, you have trash in your car and you're on the road and nowhere near a trash dispenser. For some people, their first reaction is to use one of their precious fingers, hit one button, and throw the trash outside of the car. And that’s it. They don’t think about it again. Then, let’s say a bad storm causes flooding and that plastic goes into a nearby river or ditch and then it ends up in the ocean. Now, yes, that is just one bottle, but because a lot of people throw their trash out, over time, it had built up and became as bad as it is now. But the thing is, I honestly don't think that people realize what they are doing. I know I didn't before I heard about this issue. I never really realized how bad littering was. Now, I stop myself from littering because I think of the harm it would be doing. But, because of this waste in the ocean, several species are dying and suffering. I love that some people are actually working to try and fix this issue. Kudos to them.

Plastic Ocean -Grace Powell

Where is it coming from? The writer really made some good points in this part of the article, where he points out the reasons and how the waste gets in the sea. People have gotten to where they don’t care about the earth and just continue to destroy our waters, and the author continues to point that out. He makes a big move coming out and speaking statistics about whose fault this is. But it’s not only our fault as a country, and it’s not just china’s fault. He tries to get that point across, that we did this as a whole. It should be a bigger deal to clean our rivers and and keep this from happening anymore than it already has. Our rivers and our sewer systems should not be flushing waste into our ocean waters. Killing species, harming us as humans, we should be able to do something to prevent these things from getting in our waters. Campaigns and banning smaller things to try and prevent these things from happening isn’t going to stop everything. The author uses these statistics, and facts to scare the people who are reading this article, but he does this to prove a point. To show what we as a world are doing. I think he made a wise move in this article to make his point known.

Plastic ocean thing -Gage Crews

“Mom, next time I want to go to a different beach, this one is full of plastic and other

trash,” said Anna disgusted. Plastic waste has been a problem in oceans for a long time.

While there are people trying to fix this, the plastic continues to take over our oceans.

According to the scientist in the article, there will be more weight of plastic than fish in the

oceans. This is a huge problem, that us as a society need to fix.

Plastic comes from many different places. It is found in every single country around the world.

Some of the most common waste found are soda bottles, fishing nets, and other fishing

equipment. China is the most accounted for, because they dump the most plastic out.

Waste is also found in household items like toothpaste, deodorant, and sunscreen.

There are many different types of wildlife affected by the waste. A whale was found dead,

with 17 pounds of plastic, and over 80 shopping bags blocking it's way to digest food.

Fish and birds are other types of wildlife that are affected.

Scientist estimate 663 species in the ocean that plastic hurts.

It is unknown whether humans are affected or not by the plastic. Some of the plastics have

additives that can do damage to human hormones. Also, 83% of drinking water is contaminated,

and 93% of bottled water contains plastic. There are organizations like the #stopsucking

campaign

to stop all the plastic waste. They’re trying to get rid of all plastic straws and banning plastic shopping

bags.

Plastic is absolutely killing our environment, and we are the reason. We continue to throw it out,

instead of recycling it. The article says that a garbage truck of waste goes into the ocean every

minute. That is absolutely pitiful. In order to stop this nonsense, we must come together, and fix it.

Our Plastic Ocean -- Zoe Meyer

The issue covered in this essay is very real and severe, and the author doesn't sugarcoat it in the slightest. He/she stresses this perfectly. The issue is that the ocean is polluted with trash, but more specifically, plastic. According to the author, in 2015 researchers analyzed all of the trash in the ocean (there were more than a million pieces), 99.9% of the trash was plastic. It's taking over everywhere we look or go, and what makes this terrifying issue even worse, is the fact that it may not even degrade. These are some of the causes of the issue that the author explains.

In the first paragraph, the author says that by 2050, there will be more weight than fish in the ocean. This is due to the fact that garbage full of plastic is put into the ocean every minute, and that 14 million tons of plastic have been dumped into the ocean. Where is it all coming from? Practically everywhere. The article says that plastic is appealing to people because it's cheap and almost indestructible, and the fact that it's so sturdy is also one of the major reasons that it is so dangerous. The plastic is also caused by microparticles in deoderent, toothpaste, and sunscreen that may go down drains. When clothes that are made out of synthetic fibers are washed, 200,000 fibers are released into wastewater. The author then gives an example of the Hudson River in New York can dump 150 million plastic fibers into the ocean every day from just washing clothes.
I think this is quite disturbing that we let the pollution so severe. It's damaging so many habitats for underwater creatures and that's just sad. It's crazy how it's like this, and it makes me scared for the future generations to come. Will this make animals become extinct or endangered? Probably. This is just a huge mess that desperately needs to be cleaned, and if we get a lot of the plastic out of the ocean, it needs to be prevented from ever happening again. 

Our Plastic Oceans- Eli G

   "Our Plastic Oceans" is a really interesting article. It talks and informs us about the harm we are causing on our oceans. Most of it we probably know, yet nobody does anything to stop it. Everybody thinks that it doesn't harm anything. It hurts the animals and it also hurts us.
   I think "What's being done?" is a pretty good passage to focus on. What exactly is being done? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. If anything we're just hurting our cause. The Chinese are the main ones at fault here. People have tried banning plastic straws and plastic bags. I honestly don't think that's going to help one bit. People are still going to be slobs. People are still going to find a way to trash our environment and make it a living hell for everyone and the animals.
   In my opinion, this "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" shouldn't even exist. There is no call for people to be this lazy. People need to get up off their butts and try to make a change in this world. We need to clean this place up.

Our Plastic Oceans- Hailey Carr

           "Our Plastic Oceans" is a very intriguing article. It mainly talks about the pollution that is in our oceans. This articles informs people of how bad the pollution actually is, where it comes from, how it affects marine life, what is being done about it, and how we can fix the damage that we caused. After reading the article, the  most important section to me was "Is it affecting marine life?"
       "Is it affecting marine life?" is the most important to me, because I didn't realize how much the pollution actually affects the animals. I never knew that the pollution caused the fish to be smaller in size or not as smart as other animals. It was quite shocking to me to read this section, because it informed me of so much stuff. I never realized that the plastic was being ate by whales, and then later causing them to die. So, if the whales are eating the pollution, that means all of the other marine life is, and eventually if we don't stop filling the oceans with pollution, some animals are going to go extinct.
      The most shocking factor to me is that even though all of us known how much pollution we are putting into the water, no one is doing anything to stop it. We are continuing to create a large amount of pollution and we are allowing it to go into the oceans. The only thing is that even if we started to clean the pollution from the oceans, it would take years. However, it would be completely worth it in the long run to know that the marine life would be better off.

Our Plastic Oceans ~ Katie Towery

(I just responded to the essay as a whole and listed things I found interesting)

     I think the author was smart in the way they organized their article, grabbing your attention with a startling fact: "A garbage truck's worth of plastic enters the world's oceans every minute." They then tell you about their topic, and connect the reader to their essay through the paragraph about "Are humans at risk?" which forces you to be involved in the subject. The author also seems to organize their essay in a logical and chronological way. They explain how bad the pollution of plastic and waste is, where it comes from, the risks to humans and marine life, then the author seems to reel the reader back from the shocking facts to tell the them about what is being done about the matter. The article tries to persuade you to take action to save the water and marine life from pollution of plastic by making you aware of the problems plastic pollution is causing and making you sympathetic towards the subject.

    I'm really surprised that China is the main contributor to plastic waste getting thrown in the ocean, about thirty percent, and also with the United States ranking twentieth out of the world, as stated in "Where's it coming from?"  I am also shocked to know that plastic pollution is in deodorant and toothpaste, as well as synthetic fibers. Although, it doesn't seem to shock me that not many people are supporting the movement of using less plastic, as many products are made of plastic and many companies gain money from making and producing plastic. Not many people support the cause most likely because they don't see it directly affecting them, because they tend to think things that happen in the ocean won't ever affect them and are ignorant to it it possibly affecting them in the future.

Melanie Cheesman - Our Plastic Oceans

Melanie Cheesman

Jamie Larkin

ENG 1003

31 October 2018

How bad is the pollution?

Humans have caused a huge increase in pollution in the ocean. According to the passage, a garbage truck’s worth of plastic goes into the ocean every minute. We have caused 14 million tons of plastic pollution into the seas. The waves and the ultraviolet light have broken the trash, making the trash invisible from the people just looking over the side of a boat. The passage says that 99.9% of the trash is plastic, and it could have been recycled instead of just thrown into the ocean or other waterways that lead into the sea. The plastic in the ocean causes trouble for the animal life that live in here. All of the pollution could potentially kill the animals that live here and end a species. The World Economic Forum says that there would be more plastic, by weight, in the ocean than fish by 2050. That is crazy, especially when it is easy to recycle the plastic. Littering also helps cause this problem with people just throwing trash on the beach instead of throwing it in a safer place. This needs to be changed because if the fish species gets wiped out, there will be a decline in the process of fishing to sell as food. The water could also get too polluted to even get in when visiting the beach. The sad thing is that the scientists do not know how long it will take for the amount of plastic being thrown in the water everyday will subside.

Our Plastic Oceans - Brittany Fulcher

I'm just gonna do the second possible response question, and discuss a move made by the writer that I believe is interesting and explain it.

     In this article, the writer makes a paragraph dedicated to how plastic pollution could be a risk to human life, not just marine life. This is a smart and strong move made by the writer because if people believe they are being affected, not just animals, they will open their ears and start listening. Even with his or her's evidence not being clear, just the words humans and risk together will catch people's attention.
     Plastic is not just a risk to marine life, humans are at risk too. According to evidence given by the writer, 83 percent of the worlds drinking water is contaminated, and 93 percent of the water contains some plastic. It might not be doing anything to humans now, but it could cause some kind of problem in the future. No one pays attention to that though because it has not been advertised like the effects plastic pollution has on oceans and marine life. It was never even intended for plastic to cause this much of a problem. Now it is everywhere and no one knows what to do about, not really anyway.
    Maybe if it is brought to people's attention, the progress made to solve the issue would be further looked into or worked on faster. The writer gave information on what he or she knows about pretty much everything to do about plastic pollution. Maybe since they included the risk humans could face, more people will do the same and something will be done. That is why I believe it was a smart move to include that paragraph in the article. 

Our Plastic Oceans - Alexis Butler

    As a whole, "Our Plastic Oceans" is a disturbing yet interesting essay. The main topic is the pollution in our oceans. This essay describes how bad the pollution is, where it comes from, where it goes, the effects on both human and animals, and what is being done. All of these sections are terrifying, but one in particular stands out to me. "Is it affecting marine life?" was the most shocking in my eyes.
    "Is it affecting marine life" explains the known effects of polluted water on the animals who live in it. Polluted water effects the psychological state of fish in heavily polluted areas. These fish tend to be less intelligent, have less agility, and smaller than fish in cleaner waters. Another effect on animals in polluted habitats is they are more likely to die. These fish are more prone to swallow trash and prevent the digestion of food.
     The worst thing to me is the fact that humans know about this problem. We know trash is bad for the ocean, yet we still dump it. We know trash kills marine life in alarming numbers, yet we don't care. These animals are forced to live in a mess that humans made. They suffer everyday and have short lives, but we don't care. Even for those who do care about this problem, efforts are not taking place as fast as the trash is being dumped.
    At this rate, our oceans will never be clean. Even if humans were to step up and take drastic new measures to clean the ocean, there will always be those animals that unfairly died. By throwing our trash into the ocean, we are digging a grave for an animal.

Zoe Meyer Essay

Zoe Meyer

Mrs. Larkin

Comp 1 Eng 1003

9-19-18

Buddhism v. Christianity

Buddhism is a religion revolving around Siddhartha Gautama’s teachings. He believed that suffering is the root of all evil, basically, and the goal of this religion is to reach nirvana, which is a state of total peace. Christianity revolves around Jesus Christ’s teachings, and the mission is to spread His word of how God created the world and to worship Him. That is what will save you. (“Buddhism vs Christianity”) Both of these religions do have a set of beliefs, customs, and practices. Some are very much alike, such as always being generous, improving your well-being, and more. Some couldn’t be any more different, like what happens after death. Regardless, these religions are quite interesting and can even help people. There are many great similarities and differences between Buddhism and Christianity, and learning about them could even possibly benefit you in everyday life.

Believe it or not, Buddhism and Christianity are a lot more alike than you may think. Many of these similarities that they share are just basic customs and rules we go by every day, such as treating others fairly, helping people, and, well, not murdering others. Others are things the more religious people go by, like improving your wellbeing and conquering hate with love. Even so, these religions are very much alike.

Three of the similarities between Buddhism and Christianity are as followed: to be generous, to help others who need it, and to improve your well-being. Dāna (or generosity) is one of the main central practices in Buddhism. This doesn’t mean just giving someone something because they want it, or just because you’re throwing it out. Your intention is just as important as giving something away. It may be seen as a greater act to give something away you may still use.  If you’re throwing leftovers out with the intention of insects and animals eating it, that’s still being generous, and that’s good. Your intention should be pure. (Liusuwan)

It’s the same with Christianity, seeing as Acts 20:35 says “...remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (NIV, Acts 20:35) Don’t just throw money in a bag that is collected by your church, because more likely than not, your church already has enough money. Being generous is giving to those who truly are in need of help.

One of the unspoken goals of these two religions is to improve your well-being. The Buddha wants you to learn to respect all life-forms including, yourself, others, and nature. You meditate, which is scientifically proven to improve your health. You’re advised to not get stuck in the past or to think about the future which can decrease stress, which in turn makes you healthier and gives you a better mindset. The Buddha taught, which can lead to the same results, is  “the mind is everything. What you think, you become.” (Health Fitness Revolution)

With Christianity, prayer is usually the key to any problems in life you may face, and that can significantly reduce stress. You feel like there’s someone watching over you making you feel safe, and also more confident with how you can handle your problems. You trust that everything will work out okay in the end as long as you believe and pray. Feeling this security with God can definitely improve some part of your mental wellbeing. (“The Health and Wellbeing Benefits of Active and Positive Christian Belief.”)

More similarities between these two summed up are to just be kind to others; to love everyone and your enemies always, to help others in need, to follow the Golden Rule, to not judge others, and to not kill. To love others from Buddhism and Christianity quoted is: “Let your thoughts of boundless love pervade the whole world,” (Sutta Nipata 149-150), and “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you,” (ESV, John 15:12). When it comes to loving your enemies according to the Buddhist religion, you should always overcome the angry, the selfish, the lying, etc, with the opposite emotion for each. When it comes to Christianity, Luke 6:27 says to “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” (NIV) In turn, loving everyone can make you feel more content in your life, which contributes to your well-being.

All of our lives, the Golden Rule has been drilled into our heads. It’s typically told as it is in the Bible which is, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (NIV, Luke 6:31) But this rule doesn’t just stem from Christianity. In fact, it stems from Buddhism as well. Dhammapada 10:1 says “Consider others as yourself.” Judging and killing others kind of go hand in hand with the Golden Rule. Both religions believe that judging others is easier to do than to judge yourself and that if you judge others, you, in turn, will be judged right back. “A man winnows his neighbor’s faults like chaff, but his own fault he hides.” (Dhammapada 252).  “Judge not, that you not be judged.” ( NKJV, Matthew 7:1).

There are five precepts to Buddhism. The first one is to not kill any living thing, especially humans and animals- and definitely not large animals. You are not to indirectly support killing, such as in any way helping someone hunt. Some even say you shouldn’t even think about killing because it damages the mind. (“Buddhism - The Three Jewels and Five Precepts.”)

Now, Christianity has the Ten Commandments. The sixth commandment is the one that tells you not to kill. It’s simply quoted in Exodus 20:13: “You shall not murder.” (NIV) Another source says “... man is unique. He was made in the image of God. Since God is the One who gave life, only He has the prerogative to take life.” (“What The Ten Commandments Really Mean: 6th Commandment”).

We now know all about their similarities, but what about their differences? There are differences between the practices and the goal of these religions. Also, what happens after you die? The religions each have their own thing to say when it comes to these topics.

Rather than praying, which is a big part of Christianity, Buddhists meditate. Meditating helps change how your mind works and makes you more aware. When you want to remove dissatisfaction and suffering from your life, you practice the “rights.” The right view/understanding (which is seeing things as they truly are without influence), the right thinking (setting your life on a positive path), the right speech (honesty and kindness), the right conduct (selfless, peaceful, and honest behavior), the right livelihood (avoiding work that harms others in any way or that diverts you from your beliefs and practices), the right effort (try to make a balance between a spiritual and average life), the right mindfulness (aware of your body, feeling, mind, thoughts, and emotions; avoiding selfishness), and the right concentration (focusing to reach enlightenment through meditation and discipline). (“Core Beliefs In Buddhism”)

Following the guidelines of the five precepts is another Buddhist practice. These are to avoid murdering all living things, not taking things from others if it’s not given to you first, to avoid sexual misconduct, to avoid lying, and to not take or use anything that can cloud your judgment. (“Buddhism - The Three Jewels and Five Precepts.”)

One of the largest practices of Christianity is prayer. This is the communication between the person praying and God. You can pray silently, out loud, or written. Many Christians pray before meals, before bed, or in church. Many also attend a church (or many over time) where they learn more about God, the Bible, and what everything means according to God. There they also praise and sing gospel songs. Many Christians attend a Bible study, where they simply study the Bible.   Baptism is also an important part of this religion. That’s when you either have water sprinkled on your head or to be immersed in water. This signifies a new life with Jesus and joining others who believe. Christians spread the word by telling people about God and they try to recruit members to believe in Him. (“Christian Practices.”)

What happens after death according to the Buddhist religion is very complex. It’s determined by karma. If a person has good actions throughout their life, they will have good results. Not having any bad actions can mean that you have good karma, but it’s even better to practice generosity, righteousness, mediation, and so on. Bad actions cause bad karma, and those actions include lying, stealing, killing, and so on once again. Then there’s neutral karma, no bad actions, and no good actions; just eating, sleeping, breathing, and other basic human acts. After you die, if you haven’t reached nirvana, there are six planes you can be reborn into determined by your karma. Three of them are good, and three of them are bad. If you have good karma, you can be born into the realm of demigods, gods, or man. Demigods and gods have many things that they enjoy that humans do not have the luxury of doing. The only downside of this is that they feel constant envy. If you’re born into mankind, of course they will lack benefits that demigods and gods have, but they don’t have to suffer from the downside that the other two realms do. Mankind does have the opportunity to reach nirvana, though, which is the greatest thing to have. In the case that you have bad karma, you will be born into the realms of animals, ghosts, or hell. All of these planes cause intense suffering, more than you can imagine. You will stop being reborn once you reach nirvana. It is described as “a state of being that is realized through eliminating desire.”  Some think that nirvana is a place with eternal bliss, and others think nirvana is simply nothingness. It is only reached with a lot of effort and over a plethora of lifetimes. (“Comparing Christianity and Buddhism;” “Buddhism: Beliefs about Death;” “Basics of Buddhism”)

According to Christianity for what happens after death, you only have one lifetime with one chance. You either go to Heaven or Hell. If you go to Heaven, “believers will be taken into the presence of Christ in heaven.”  Heaven is supposed to be a place of glory, much better than anything on Earth. Once you arrive, it’s supposed to feel like you’re finally where you belong. You’re made perfect and cleansed from any sin, and since you’re only your soul, you look forward to the day when your body is resurrected from your grave. You live forever in Heaven with Christ. (“What Happens at Death?”) Those who didn’t trust or believe, though, they’ll be separated from God and excluded from Heaven. They’ll be sent to Hell with all the other non-believers and sinners. They sufferer forever in torment with a raging fire that will never go out. Hell is supposed to be worse than any suffering and torment on Earth. (“What Happens in Hell”)

While there is a similarity with one small goal, there’s also another goal that is very different intended for these religions. With Buddhism, the goal is to reach nirvana and escape the process of reincarnation. To do this, you have to eliminate all mental suffering. With Christianity, it’s to love God and obey His commandments all while creating a relationship with Him. You’re also supposed to spread the word to everyone about what He has done for us, to worship Him, and finally, to be released from sin. (“Buddhism vs Christianity.”)

As you’ve read, there are a number of similarities and differences between Buddhism and Christianity. Some of the similarities being almost identical, and some of the differences couldn’t be any farther apart. We understand the importance of being kind and content with yourself and life, and to always be generous and help others. We also know the differences, how many of the practices and beliefs are different from each other. Both of these religions do have a great impact on people, making people feel better about themselves, and maybe even their lives. These religions are so much alike and so different, but both great.

Works Cited

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