| Our Oceans, Our World By: Isabella Hecht At the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium in California, there is a round window to a tank full of jellyfish. They float gracefully through the water, rippling their bodies slowly to move, glowing slightly as they catch the light. Right next to this window is another, similar window, into what seems to be the same tank. But instead of jellyfish, the window shows pieces of plastic bags that float through the water in much the same manner as the jellyfish they resemble. The exhibit makes a point both ironic and profound. Human refuse is both wiping out and replacing the natural inhabitants of the ocean. Very few people personally throw their trash directly into the ocean, and therefore feel no responsibility for the state of the marine life. However, everything you do has an impact on the environment. For example, when it rains in Los Angeles, some of the water goes into watering plants, but most of it ends up in the bay. During a large rainstorm, the flow into the bay can be up to ten billion gallons of water per day. Water runs through a 5,000 mile network of open channels, gutters and drains that collect runoff from the streets. Anything that falls into the curbside openings or catch basins will eventually make its way into the bay – trash, oil from cars, dog waste, etc. Even if you never intended your trash to end up in the ocean, eventually it can get there. Once it’s there, it’s not going anywhere in a hurry. Paper takes up to six weeks to degrade in the ocean. Cigarette butts, the #1 garbage item picked up on the beach, can take up to 5 years to disintegrate – the filter expands when wet and releases toxic chemicals that are eaten by fish and birds. Plastic bags will take up to 20 years, and since they look so much like jellyfish, they are often eaten by other animals that can be poisoned. Aluminum can take up to 200 years to decompose. Plastic bottles can take up to 450 years, and when eaten by fish they can make it difficult or impossible for them to swim and breathe. Tangled fishing line takes 600 years and can strangle fish that get caught in it. And Styrofoam, of course, never degrades, simply breaking into smaller and smaller pieces, which fish mistakenly eat instead of plankton and then starve. So what can you do? Do you notice any common theme among all these trash items that work their way into the bay and are so dangerous to fish? Lots of them can be recycled. Dispose of trash in the proper receptacles. Avoid buying toxic soaps and cleaners that will go down the drains and to the ocean. Use paper instead of plastic bags. Avoid Styrofoam, which is non-biodegradable in the oceans and out. Most of all, recycle when- ever possible. None of these things that you can do to save the oceans are new. You have heard about all of them before, pertaining to global warming and saving the environment. This goes to show that everything is connected. By working to save the oceans, you will also be slowing global warming. When you reuse or recycle a paper bag instead of a plastic bag, that is one less tree cut down, a little bit less carbon in the atmosphere, and one less plastic bag poisoning fish in the oceans or sitting in a landfill. Everything is connected. By protecting the marine life, you will also be helping to save the planet. |
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