<By Steven Lopez> <Tues/Thurs 8:00am – 9:20am> <Pollution> <By Steven Lopez> <Tues/Thurs 8:00am – 9:20am>

How did I become interested in pollution? (Intro) When I was 7 years old, I went to throw out the garbage. As I was walking to the dumpster I heard rustling from the near by ditch. A cat had ran out with a can stuck to its head. When I approached to help take the can off the cat, it got scared and ran away from hearing my loud footsteps. The cat unknowing ran into the street with the can still attached onto its head. In heartbeat the cat had not heartbeat, for the reason being it got smacked by a car. This event horrified me enough to develop an interest for environmental science and to take action against pollution that harms not only the environment, but the animals in that live in that environment.

I will occasionally take time to pick up trash in my surrounding area to prevent harm to the animals that may be harmed.

How bad is (plastic) pollution for the world? Everyone has seen trash that has been thrown out by someone, but littering never tends to be bad for the reason that we have organizations that are run by the government such as EPA to prevent it from coming to drastic measures. However, it is never completely gotten rid of the pollution. Eventually, sometime in the future we will be met with such pollution that it will cause huge and irreversible effects on the environment. We are already seeing this, as our atmosphere is being eaten away and out waters become filled with trash. I’ve witnessed littering in the ocean, such as a small plastic bag or a single water bottle, but I can only imagine the build up it is causing in our seas. Somethings you just have to see for yourself. Today plastic can be found in piles whirled up my the currents that is called a gyre. There are five major gyres, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific and Indian Ocean gyre. Billions of pounds of plastic float amongst all of these gyres, and it makes up to about 40% of the worlds ocean surface. The pollution has a effect on the wildlife along these bodies of water.

Plastic isn’t biodegradable, it can take anywhere between 450 years to 1,000 for it decompose.

Americas throw away 35 billion plastic bottles every year.

How are we affected by pollution? Recent articles have uncovered the fact that there is now microplastic that is no bigger than 5mm. Plastic is made from petroleum, some of which may use phthalates and bisphenol which can be absorbed by the body. 93% of Americans age 6+ test positive for Bisphenol A. During 2010, BP had caused a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. My family that lived in New Orleans, had to come stay with us, because their water was effected by the oil. My aunt got sick, and tested positive for Bisphenol poisoning.

As of September 5, 2017 plastic fibers have been found in tap water around the world, study reveals that 94.4% of U.S. tap water samples contained plastic fibers. A lot of us could be developing illness’s from these plastic fibers as we speak.

I have seen many animals that mistaken pieces of plastic for food, this kills the animals because their stomach can’t break down the plastic. Causing a great deal of numbers on the species that face this problem.

What can we do to reduce pollution? Everyone can help reduce the number of plastic that is thrown out on a daily basis, by doing the following. Use items that can be reused, to avoid using plastic. An example such as using cloth bags, metal or glass bottles that can be reused as a better alternative to plastic. Throwing any plastic garbage into a recycle bin so it can be taken to a recycling center. Learning about the serious affects pollution has on the earth has given me interest to be a environmental scientist. I would be contributing on a large scale to help inform and prevent the climbing over pollution, if I could learn as much as possible about how the actions we do affect the earth.

I recycle my plastic by, throwing it into the green trash can I recycle my plastic by, throwing it into the green trash can. Plastic can be reused in a large variety of way, that can benefit society.

There are non-profit organizations that help spread information about pollution. I’ve taken the time to go out on my own, and clean up the beach with some family members.

Sources of information http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/ocean_plastics/ Katie Forster - http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/microplastics-microbeads-ocean-sea-serious-health-risks-united-nations-warns-a7041036.html https://www.ecowatch.com/22-facts-about-plastic-pollution-and-10-things-we-can-do-about-it-1881885971.html http://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/Plastic-Waste-Facts

Citations to the images Http://Kids.nationalgeographic.com/Content/Dam/Kids/Photos/Articles/Other%20Explore%20Photos/A-G/Celebrations/Earth-Day/Earth-Day-Pollution.adapt.945.1.Jpg Https://Encrypted-tbn0.Gstatic.com/Images?q=Tbn:ANd9GcQ-dmbEpfFc6wpYEccprg4aK7Ph7C7TbzJGIanfhnjsbRvZlp7k Https://static1.Squarespace.com/Static/55b29de4e4b088f33db802c6/587dde64bebafb893ba75be6/587dde64bebafb893ba75be5/1484872261864/V3_Marine-Reports.jpg. Http://Coastalcare.org/Wp-Content/Uploads/2009/11/Plastic-Pollution-La.jpg  Https://Voices.nationalgeographic.org/Files/2013/04/MicroplasticsPenny-as-Smart-Object-1.Jpeg. Https://Static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-Public/Thumbnails/Image/2014/07/12/20/14microbeads.Jpg. Http://Mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/Kuow/Files/Styles/Medium/Public/201311/Bird.jpg. Http://Media.npr.org/Assets/Img/2014/06/17/4811409813_a4d4aa8bc5_o_wide-d325e9c935c6b3e0577ded54bc4ca7d57f6cfac9-s900-c85.Jpg. Https://Www.recycleyourplastics.org/Wp-Content/Uploads/2014/08/Home-Plastic-Material.jpg. Http://Atlantaintownpaper.com/Wp-Content/Uploads/2011/06/Plastic-Recycling.jpg. Https://Static.boredpanda.com/Blog/Wp-Content/Uploads/2014/07/Plastic-Bottles-Recycling-Ideas-9.Jpg. Http://Www.naturalawakeningshawaii.com/Natural-Awakenings-Hawaii/September-2015/Beach-Cleanup-Planned-for-Westside-Oahu/beachcleanup_nb.Jpg. Http://Www.scholastic.com/Content/Images/Articles/sn_ts/sn_ts_062509_fixed.Jpg. Http://Data.whicdn.com/Images/66478325/Large.jpg.