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What will the effects be if we don't stop plastic pollution in our oceans?

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What will the effects be if we don't stop plastic pollution in our oceans?
ENVIORMENTAL STEWARDSHIP RESEARCH PAPER
Emily Nuttall
English 101, fall 2013

Question: What effects will we see in the future if plastic pollution in our oceans does not stop?

ABSTRACT
Plastic Pollution has become a global issue in our oceans. Although we hear about this from time to time the problem has grown tremendously beyond our knowledge. There are a growing number of animals dying each day due to plastic particles that either get stuck around their head, or that they swallow. If we do not stop plastic pollution in our oceans the ocean will eventually lose its habitats and our ecosystem will be changed forever.
Introduction
Plastic pollution is an ever-growing environmental concern. Plastic debris are a choking and an extensive barrier to wild life. Take out cups from Starbucks, plastic spoons, bottle caps, and disposable milk jugs are all examples of plastic pollution that we may use on a weekly or even a daily basis. Plastic pollution is one of the most important problems that we have in our oceans because plastic is not biodegradable, it does not break down so it never really goes away. What will be the effects of plastic pollution in the future if this problem does not stop? Will just animals be at risk for harm? My prediction is that if we do not stop littering and we do not start recycling, there might be animal extinction on the rise or the human race will be in harms way.
METHODS
In order for me to find information for this paper on plastic pollution in our oceans I went on Neumann’s database as provided by my instructor. I typed in key words to find helpful articles, for example: “pollution” “ocean” and “plastic”. After typing in these key words I searched for articles related to my topic that would give me the most information. By looking at each articles summary and also the date that the article was written I slimmed down my options and found the remaining that most applied to my topic. I also asked my family what they think we can



Cited: Doucette, K. (2009). AN OCEAN OF PLASTIC. Rolling Stone, (1090), 54-57. Moore, C. (2008). Synthetic polymers in the marine environment: A rapidly increasing, long-term threat. Environmental Research, 108(2), 131-139. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2008.07.025 Hayden, T. (2002). Trashing the Oceans. U.S. News & World Report, 133(17), 58.

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