Is the future plastic or is there no turning back

An artist depiction on the severity of plastic in the ocean which can lead to the destruction of ocean life which is depicted through a mermaid washed up on a beach.

In recent years, plastic rubbish that is discarded and found in the ocean has been increasing since the years have gone by. In recent news and according to an article released by the United Nations back on the 28th of March this year, they claimed that we have exactly 11 years from now to change the course of global warming before it is irreversible which was said at the General Assembly which involved leaders from all around the world. The General Assembly President María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (Ecuador) had made a statement stating that "we are the last generation that can prevent irreparable damage to our planet". She called for all leaders to act and work with one another in order to overcome this issue from worsening.

According to an article released by CNN, they had stated that the amount of plastic in the ocean is worse than we thought according to the research that was recently carried out. A scientists had made a statement saying that plastic litter "is one of this generations key environmental challanges" because its a massive issue that causes the destruction of millions of lifeforms in the sea which could in turn hurt humans. According to CNN the real problem comes from microplastic that comes from things such as toothbrushes, bottles and shopping bags which are carried by the ocean currents.

They have found that the number of plastic emissions have increased since 1957 and a massive increase in the 1990's according to his study. They initially were doing a research on Plankton. According to Claire Ostle a Co-author she claimed that this happened through chatting with the guys that carry out the metal work to help fix the equipment and the volunteers working on reeling the recorders. A research scientist at the Marine Biological Association in the UK. She said that they were talking about how the plastic kept getting caught up in the equipment.

She and her team look over as many as 60 years worth of data from the ocean covering over 6.5 nautical miles in the North Atlantic and adjescent sent. They said that plastic entanglement in their equipment has increased as much as 10 percent since the year 2000 onwards.

A previous study has found that as many as found that as much as 4.8 million and 12.7 million metric tons of plastic entered the ocean in 2010 from people living within a 50 kilometer radius (31 miles) of the coastline. Global plastic production has tripled over the past four decades, a separate new study found. That study which was publish on Monday in the journal titled Nature Climate Changed , found that if this continues any furthur the making of plastics will comprise 15% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050; by comparison, all of the world's forms of transportation now account for 15 percent of emissions.

As a conclusion, we as humans need to be responsible over the waste we produce and to use biodegradable items that are environmentally friendly. If we carry on living dangerously and recklessly, the impact done towards the environment would not be reversible. This is very much our home as much as it is to the millions of creatures living on this planet too. So we being the most advanced lifeforms on this planet need to be the gatekeepers for life to blossom and thrive.

Articles which the information was taken from:

- https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/16/health/ocean-plastic-study-scn/index.html ( The amount of plastic in the ocean is a lot worse than we thought, study says - Jen Christensen April 16 2019

- https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/ga12131.doc.htm ( Only 11 Years Left to Prevent Irreversible Damage from Climate Change, Speakers Warn during General Assembly High-Level Meeting)