A Plastic Ocean:

There are about 228,450 different species living in the oceans. As of today, 14 billion pounds of trash end up in the ocean every year. That means 228,450 oceanic species are suffering as a direct consequence of human actions. As of 2015, 90% of seabirds have ingested plastic and thousands of marine animals die every year due to plastic related causes. Documentaries such as A Plastic Ocean are trying to raise awareness on this topic.

Originally released in 2013, A Plastic Ocean is a documentary about the alarming rise of plastic in our oceans and communities near these oceans. In this film, the viewer follows journalist Craig Leeson and free diver Tanya Streeter as they look deeper into the effects micro-plastic has on the ocean and the organisms living in it.

I personally had a lot of mixed feelings when watching this documentary. On one hand, I really enjoyed this video because it was well organized and decently entertaining. On the other hand, I found this documentary incredibly hard to watch because it depicted the suffering of marine animals and of oceanic ecosystems as a whole. For me, this suffering was even harder to watch knowing that it was indirectly caused by myself and the human race as a whole. Furthermore, I felt extremely frustrated watching this movie because governments who could create change do not seem to be addressing this issue. I also felt disappointed when I learned about the amount of chemicals that are in plastics and how little the government is doing to protect us from these toxins. I wish that our government would be more proactive about protecting us rather than forcing us to take a stand to get certain laws passed. All this being said, I still did legitimately enjoy this video.

I was super interested in finding out more about plastic and its effects on human beings so I did a little more research. This is a video that goes more into depth on how plastic works:

Works Cited:

Howard, Brian Clark. “A Running List of Action on Plastic Pollution.” National Geographic, 10 June 2019, http://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/07/ocean-plastic-pollution-solutions/#preparingEmail.

Moon jellyfish. Photography. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016. 
quest.eb.com/search/132_1314077/1/132_1314077/cite. Accessed 4 Sep 2019.

Reuters. “There Are 228,450 Known Species in the Ocean – and as Many as 2 Million More That Remain a Total Mystery.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 17 Mar. 2015, http://www.businessinsider.com/r-oceans-yield-1500-new-creatures-many-others-lurk-unknown-2015-3#targetText=There%20are%20228%2C450%20known%20species,that%20remain%20a%20total%20mystery.Copy bibliography citation

Sperm Whale with plastic waste. Photograph. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016. 
quest.eb.com/search/132_1350119/1/132_1350119/cite. Accessed 4 Sep 2019.

Truthout. “99% Of Seabirds Will Have Plastic in Their Guts Within Decades.” EcoWatch, EcoWatch, 22 Mar. 2019, http://www.ecowatch.com/seabirds-plastic-pollution-2609353767.html#targetText=In%202015%2C%20a%20study%20by,in%20their%20guts%20by%202050.