another part of my research paper

hopefully someone can give me some feed back!



Fact: in some areas of the Pacific Ocean there is more plastic than there is plankton, tiny animals and plants that are a vital key in marine ecosystems and food chains. In recent years the oceans have suffered more and more from human activities. Some of the foreign things polluting the waters are sewage, marine debris, heavy metals, and oil. Seventy percent of all the oceans’ pollution comes from land based sources . In other words humans are ruining the thing that gave us life the time to change that is now. The sea is being used as a wastebasket for different types of human pollutants and though the affect has been devastating for our oceans, there are plenty of ways to stop the damage.
Sewage is a very harmful component in ocean pollution. Everyone flushes the toilet everyday and what is being flushed is called sewage, sewage is an organic material and biodegradable that is why animal waste is used as a fertilizer. But human waste often contains toxic chemicals, heavy metals, harmful bacteria, and viruses. Sewage enters the ocean either intentionally or unintentionally, it can go through pipes into rivers or directly into the ocean or if the capacity of a system is exceeded then it gets washed into the ocean untreated (also known as raw). Sewage is harmful for two main reasons; the first is that when it enters the ocean little organisms feed on it and it depletes the oxygen supply in the water of that area, off setting the delicate balance of that specific eco system, the other way it pollutes is that the nutrient rich waste may cause a bloom of phytoplankton causing them to clog the gills of fish and to kill the other plants in the area. There is no way to clean up sewage once it enters the ocean the damage is done but a some places are actually drying the sludge and burning it to create electricity, this shows promising ways of disposal and alternative energy sources for the future.
Marine debris is one of the most serious and pressing forms of pollution. Marine debris can be a number of things including undetonated bombs, abandoned off shore oil rigs, out dated rocket engines, drums of toxic chemicals and radioactive waste, sunken ships, automobiles, beverage cans and bottles, pieces of wood, and almost any other item imaginable; but it mainly breaks up into metal, glass, and plastic. The debris enters the ocean in a number of ways: intentional dumping from ships, accidental dumping from ships and garbage barges on their ways to offshore landfills, as part of sewage, by being swept in be the wind or storms, from polluted rivers or streams, and in runoff from beaches littered with trash. Not all marine debris is harmful some is actually helpful, for example ships have been sunken to form “artificial reefs” where the marine life has adapted and made it their home; but plastic debris however, often floats, making it dangerous to marine birds and mammals who either eat it or become entangled in it, the plastic resin pellets look like fish eggs and are also eaten by the marine creatures. When the animals ingest the plastic if they do not choke right away then it becomes caught in the intestine causing malnutrition. The plastic can also cause buoyancy that makes it impossible for the animals to escape from predators. Thousands of people from all over the world participate in beach clean ups every year but this is not enough the only way to stop this tragedy from further devastating our oceans is by stopping it at the source, properly disposing of plastics, and the further advancements on photodegradable plastics which are plastics that biodegrade when exposure to sunlight is prolonged. Not only does this sound promising for healthier oceans but as a way to help the planet overall.