Let the Experts Talk and What are the Physiological Issues?

              At the beginning of this week, first I wanted to learn what experts are saying about plastic pollution. I wanted to know what environmental scientists and such people had to say about the ocean and all the plastic in it. After some internet research (EasyBib helped), I found an interview on William J. Cooper, a professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, and director of the Urban Water Research Center at the University of California, Irvine. Copper spoke about human behavior towards oceans and he stated, “‘The plastics in our oceans continue to build up and it is estimated that millions of seabirds, fish, sea turtles, and marine mammals die each year.  A very subtle point is that when people go to the beach, or fly over the oceans, they see oceans that appear peaceful and infinite.  Many people feel disconnected from the oceans, and feel that changes in their own behavior would not significantly result in a difference in the oceanic environment.  That is false. With 6.7 billion people, even one act per day per person to save the oceans could have a dramatic and lasting effect!’”  Copper believes humans have an impact on the oceans and that they can make an impacting by prudent in their actions.

                This led me to my next question and that was how do people determine if they will take action and in a case as big as plastic pollution. Many people are not well educated on the causes and effect additional to the consequences of improperly disposed plastic. If they are well informed, will that change their habits? Experts say that rising levels of plastics pollution are killing thousands of seabirds each year. Studies on 600 gull-like birds washed up on North Sea beaches revealed 95 per cent had plastic litter in their stomachs. If I inform people on these saddening facts, will their emotions be affected enough for them to change for the best or will they still remain as they were before and care less? Copper also stated, “‘I believe the most important of all potential solutions is the education of everyone!  If one wants to think of this as a business proposition, think return on investment (ROI), clearly reaching out to young students is at the top of the list. Education, outreach, mentoring, can also involve a cascading of educational levels starting with lifelong learners mentoring college and university students, and those students teaching younger students, and younger students teaching yet younger students, this would result in a downward age stair step amplification of this investment.’” Copper supports my argument because just as he does, I side with the fact that people can change their messy habits if well informed about plastic pollution.  Educating the young ones will go far on a long run because as we know that plastic takes more than 500 years to biodegrade, we know that the plastic in the ocean now has a long way to go so the best thing to do is to prevent more plastic from entering the ocean. The younger ones need to learn this because they will be here longer than the rest of us.