Scientists'+plea+on+threat+to+ocean+giants

Plastic pollution: Scientists' plea on threat to ocean giants BBC News Accessed on February 7th, 2018

Whale Shark in Isla Mujeres Mexico - Simon Pierce/Marine Megafauna Foundation http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-42920383


 * __Summary__: **As more microplastics start to come into the ocean, larger filter feeders, such as sharks and whales, that feed on plankton and zooplankton will also start to accidentally swallow microplastics. Even though these plastics are less than 5 millimeters long, they can be harmful to ocean life. They can alter the hormones of these large animals, which can stunt growth, development, and reproductive ability, leading to diminished potential for future generations. Currently, fin whales in the Mediterranean Sea are thought to be eating as much as 2,000 microplastic particles per day. To combat this, scientists want to research and monitor the habitat ranges of filter feeders in areas that have high microplastic concentration levels, such as the Coral Triangle, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the world's five oceanic gyres. This is important especially now as a number of filter feeders are nearing extinction. As of right now, 79% of recyclable plastic is placed in landfills or the natural environment.

__**Relevance to **__** __Course__: **This article is relevant to our coursework because it displays a way that human activity has a negative effect on the environment, and how even though laws are made with good intentions, because they are not enforced strictly enough, they tend to be violated (Miller 546). They also relate aquatic environmental problems not only to waste dumping, which is done on a wider scale, but also to individually-caused human problems, such as whaling (Miller 715,716). In terms of the future, there at tentative solutions about different methods humans can practice to maintain ecological integrity (Miller 618).


 * __Opinion:__ **We are at a point in time where the natural environment has a very unclear future, yet very few want to address this as an issue or take action to create a sustainable environment. As such, it is necessary to start implementing laws at a national level that prevent environmental hazards such as microplastics being placed in our natural environment so that it must be implemented. It is also necessary to start implementing laws that prevent companies from dumping large amounts of waste in the ocean. Moreover, it is necessary to enforce strict implementation of these laws to ensure that they are not violated. We need to make an effort to see a more sustainable future, where recycling is the norm, because otherwise, the harm that we do to the environment will come back to haunt us.

__**Law: **__ The laws that most relate to this environmental issue are the //Ocean Dumping Act of 1972// and the //Ocean Dumping Ban Act of 1988.// The //Ocean Dumping Act of 1972// regulates the intentional ocean disposal of materials in waters within U.S. jurisdiction, and authorizes related research. The //Ocean Dumping Ban Act of 1988// provides a partial ban on ocean du mping and prohibits the dumping of sewage sludge and industrial waste. However, these laws do not place enough penalties on companies to stop dumping in the ocean, and also allows for companies to find loopholes around the laws through the interpretative meaning of the word 'waste'.