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.
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