Sage Robbins

Charlie Bridgham
Plastic Effects
Climate change is a serious problem that needs an abrupt stop. The lack of recognition
of this issue has led to careless decisions causing ill effects. Human society has been extremely
ignorant of the facts supporting the existence of climate change. Plastic bags are used by
millions of people, they hurt the environment, and speed up climate change. Many citizens
believe that plastic decomposes but this is incorrect. It stays for hundreds of years and never
truly goes away. Plastic bag production is extremely harmful to the environment, animals, and
surface temperatures. If we reduce the amount of plastic bags we make each year we could
help animals thrive more and reduce our earth’s temperature. If the human race continues with
the destructive production of plastic, surface temperatures will rise, the environment will be
greatly harmed, and organisms will suffer.
With plastic bags, production comes millions of carbon emissions and greenhouse
gasses each year. In fact, as stated in the Yale Climate Connections website. Plastics refining is
also greenhouse-gas intensive. In the year 2015, a ton of carbon was released while
manufacturing ethylene. The beginning steps in producing polyethylene plastic. That year
factories produced 184.3 to 213 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. This is nearly equivalent
to how much 45 million passenger vehicles emit each year. The CIEL report has stated that
from 2015 to 2030 the global ethylene production is going to expand by 34%. (Bauman, 2019)
This is explaining the significance of plastic refining. Each year according to this article millions
of metric tons of carbon are emitted into the earth’s atmosphere. This is an alarming problem
because all of this carbon affects plant life and ecosystems. As stated on the website Science
Daily; the main idea is how carbon affects plants. “Trees and other plants help keep the planet
cool, but rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are turning down this global air
conditioner.” This means that as plants try to cool down the earth or ease the heat the raising
levels of carbon contract that and force the plants to stop. This is important because if the
trillions of plants cooling the earth stop, earth’s temperatures would rise. Here is a quote from
National Geographic’s article: ​Plants help absorb our carbon, but for how much longer? ​“The
levels of atmospheric CO2 are rising and it’s assumed that eventually, plants won’t be able to
keep up.” This is important because carbon right now can help plants grow quicker by speeding
up photosynthesis. Though in the future, if carbon emissions raise plants may not be able to
keep up or even survive.
Plastic bag manufacturers and plastic in general also can harm animals. For example, in
western Colorado, there is a species of rodent called Pikas. These animals are extremely furry
and fat. This means that they are generally extremely warm and thrive in colder climates. In the
website Scientific American, it talks about how pikas tend to cool down: “​The Pikas adapted to
their environment by using thick moss as insulation from the summer heat, or by using the
​ s it is extremely warm during
nearby forest as shade so they could stay active during the day​.” A
the summer, pikas need to cool down just like many other organisms. Though as temperatures
rise from plastic pollution and other contributors it gets a little harder for pikas to cool down.
Climate Change is affecting not only pikas but millions of other animals as well. For example,
under the ocean coral polyps have been thriving for thousands of years. According to the
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: “Global ocean temperature has risen by 1.3°F since
the late 19th century and is continuing to climb.” This is an extreme problem because coral
polyps are at threat of being extinct. Or at least most of the species. When exposed to warmer
waters most coral polyps release all of their nutrients. The Coral will then turn white, this is also
referred to as coral bleaching. Though plastic bag pollution barely contributes to the rise in
temperatures all around the world. It is still a contributor to global warming. Another huge
problem relating to plastic is plastic overtaking habitats. Right now there are nearly 165 million
tons of plastic in the ocean. If that plastic were to be weighed, it would be just about 25 times
heavier than the great pyramid of Giza. In a report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, they
predict that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. (Guerrisi/Flickr, 2017.)
As we all know, plastic manufacture is a massive threat to our plants, animals, and
climate. An extremely sad aspect of this problem is how it affects animals. Animals eat plastic, it
gets stuck in their intestines, causing long term starvation and disease. Another reason why
plastic production needs to be halted is that it forces adaptation to a new climate. The extremely
harmful effects of already created plastic the environment by itself, the manufacturing process of
plastic is not any better. First of all, it uses almost 8 percent of the petroleum mined each year.
The process releases chemicals and carbon into our atmosphere. This carbon is then trapped
and releases radiation that heats surface temperatures. If the human race wants to continue to
thrive, there needs to be a change now. The war on climate change must go on.