I got this picture HERE
Our planet is suffering! People are suffering! Animals are dying! We need to DO something! YOU can do something!
The Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch is twice the size of Texas and 3 times the size of France! There are more than 1.8 TRILLION pieces of trash in this garbage patch.
LET’S DO SOMETHING!
What is the great pacific garbage patch:
It is a large patch of garbage. There are two main groups of garbage, The Western Patch, which is located near Japan, and The Eastern Patch, which is located between Hawaii and California.
Both of these patches are huge problems. They are gathered by the ocean’s currents pushing them into an enormous patch of garbage. The individual pieces of garbage are not just floating plastic bottles or ballcaps. Most of the patch is actually made of microplastics, tiny pieces of plastic that you usually cannot see.
Why is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch still growing? Because plastic is not biodegradable, it does not decompose. Instead, it just breaks down into smaller pieces.
So, with more plastic gathering, and no plastic decomposing, it is just growing bigger.
What is happening:
Animals are eating trash, thinking that they are eating food. They then die because they gained no nutrients from the trash. Sea creatures are getting stuck in nets and trash and getting injured and sometimes dying ðŸ˜.
I got this picture HERE.
There is one thing causing this. US!! Before humans existed there was no plastic in the oceans and no animals dying because of plastic!
We need to fix this mess we got ourselves into.
I got this picture HERE.
What can we do:
We can do something about this!
I’m sure you already know the 3 R’s. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.
But there are lots more! How about Replace? Replace one use plastic and paper cups with reusable mugs and cups. Replace one use paper towels with reusable cloth towels.
What about Refuse and Reject?
Refuse to use plastics you can only use one like plastic bottles and plastic cups.
Reject things you don’t need, reject doing things you know are not good for the earth.
Practice using all of the R’s in your home!
What is already happening:
People are already doing things to solve this huge problem. The solution I think has the most promise is by The Ocean Cleanup. You can visit their website HERE.
One of their goals is to remove 90% of ocean trash by 2040. Their other goal is to clean 1000 rivers in 5 years. Let’s help them do this!
Did you know that 80% of ocean plastic comes from rivers? A good way to clean the ocean of plastic is to stop it before it even gets to the ocean. They are using a machine called the Interceptor. It collects the plastic in the river and then a ship empties it when it is full.
It is run by a robot and 100% solar powered. For cleaning the ocean, they are using a giant net that uses the ocean’s currents to push the trash into the net. One it is full, a boat comes to empty it. This net has not entangled or captured any sea animals. When the boat comes to empty the net, the operators are careful to make sure there are no animals in or around the net. I think this solution can work if people work hard to remember their R’s and help not put more plastic into the water.
I got this picture HERE
What does water mean to me?
Water is a very important part in life. If water wasn’t here, we would not be here.
I spend a lot of time in the water, swimming, boating, riding and swimming with my pony. Water makes me feel happy! I love the feeling of diving into the water and swimming.
#WorldWaterDay #Water2Me
Thanks for this. I am old enough to remember a time before plastics bags and even plastic toys. It is unfortunate my generation adopted plastic as one of the most commonly used materials. Hope my children and grand-children are able to correct the stupidity of many in my generation.
ReplyDeleteCora,
ReplyDeleteYou did some very nice work on your We Can Do This post.
Your opening was perfect,
Part #1: You described the issue and you made a plea for your reader to do something.
Part #2: You clearly outlined the problem. I was hooked.
Thanks for describing exactly what the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is, I needed that explanation. You reminded your readers about the devastating effect of plastic that ends up in the ocean. Sometimes people either forget how bad this is for the environment or they don’t want to think about it.
You created a very helpful What Can We Do section. This reminds the reader to do their part.
Your What Does Water Mean to Me section was powerful. You were able to personalize the impact of polluted water.
Thanks for sharing the website on Ocean Cleanup. It is an excellent resource to educate all of us about the specifics of the problem.
Thanks for sharing, Debra