Ocean Pollution: Plastics on the Ocean and How to Address this Issue

Ecology
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Ocean pollution
The oceans are the largest natural resource on the planet, and it is the habitat to millions of species marine and terrestrial. We, the humans also depend on oceans for food, transport, etc. However, unsustainable human activities on land and oceans have destroyed this natural habitat. One of the main ocean pollutants is plastic which is dumped into water bodies which eventually drain into the ocean. In other cases, humans dump marine debris directly to the oceans. The reason why humans have developed a voracious appetite and overconsumption of plastics is that of its properties. It is a lightweight, durable, moisture resistant, strong, inexpensive and versatile material which seems to be the best choice for most utility options especially packaging. Plastics in oceans have destroyed the ecological balance, and marine life has been decreasing with some species going extinct often before they are discovered. Ocean desertification has become prevalent in many areas of the ocean depending on the intensity of the human activities around them. Ocean desertification has led to reduced oceanic biomass, and the ecological balance of marine life has become unstable. This is because the human activities have led to reduced sunlight penetration on the ocean floor, oxygen levels have plummeted thus less planktons grow on the ocean floor and the entire food chain in oceans is adversely affected. We humans are also part of this food chain it is becoming increasingly harder to get food from oceans in the recent past. There is need for urgent intervention to protect this natural resource for ourselv3es, future generations and for other species.
Why Plastics on the oceans is an ecological issue
One of the main pollutants of the oceans is the plastic. There are natural waste collection points in the oceans which are naturally collected because of the nature of ocean currents flowing in these areas. Over the years, gyres, as they are commonly known have collected millions of tons of plastics CITATION Ang15 \l 1033 (Chen, 2015). They have become natural disposal centers of the oceans and have become filthy thus affecting marine life adversely. One of the greatest collection points is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch which is an area thousands of kilometers in between Asia and America where millions of plastics have collected CITATION Lus14 \l 1033 (Lusher, Burke, Connor, & Officer, 2014). These plastics tangle marine life and often killing them. Some are ingested and they have been found in the bellies of many terrestrial and marine animals CITATION Jam151 \l 1033 (Jambeck, et al., 2015). Most terrestrial birds are victims of ingesting the plastic which appears as food when they fly over the oceans. Ingesting plastic affects their digestion, their nutrients intake and significantly lowers their life expectancy. Hundreds of species have been found to have ingested plastic across the food chain.
Microplastic is also another problem which is on the oceans. When plastic debris on the ocean breaks down, it can become very small pieces barely 5mm in size. Such sizes are easily ingested and though no studies show how they can be absorbed and accumulated in the tissues CITATI...