You should take the time to save our ocean and wildlife. We did the damage, and it won’t fix itself, so we have to take it upon ourselves to clean our oceans. 

The ocean covers an estimated 70% of the Earth’s surface and is among the most valuable natural resources on the planet. It is vital for all plant and animal survival. It provides food, over three million jobs, regulates the climate, provides for recreation, and helps produce air. More than half of our atmosphere’s oxygen comes directly from the ocean. However, it is extremely polluted by many sources, primarily plastic. An effort has to be made to eliminate plastic pollution because plastics are the most abundant element of litter, they harm marine life, and release toxins into the ocean. Plastic is currently the most abundant form of litter in our oceans. It makes up 80% of all marine debris from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. In some regions of the ocean, there is more plastic than certain species. Research showed that “in the most polluted places in the ocean, the mass of plastic exceeds the amount of plankton six times over.” 

As the ones who caused this problem in the first place, we should take action as a whole to clean up the ocean. We can do this by reducing the use of single-use/disposable plastics, such as straws, cups, and other plastic utensils that are not reusable. These items are used and thrown out daily, which results in  about 8.3 billion straws polluting the coastlines around the world. “It’s possible that around 8 million tons of plastic get into our oceans every year, harming plant life, water quality, and marine animals around the globe,” said journalist Jay Serafino. We could also reduce pollution by using alternatives to plastic, such as paper products. Any plastic you do use, should be recycled. You could also clear some time out of your day to go and literally clean trash out of the ocean. If you are not near the ocean, or able, then you can support the companies/ brands that promote cleaning litter out of the ocean. Some good brands are 4Ocean, or DiscoverOcean. These companies clean the plastic out of the ocean and reuse it to make and sell bracelets. Any profits made from the bracelets go back to cleaning the ocean. 

You should help clean the oceans around the world and save wildlife. Be conscious of your waste, take time to volunteer and help, and buy from companies that support eradicating plastic from oceans. You can do it starting now.