I want to pursue my studies in environmental science because I believe this is the most pressing concern for our world right now. I was born in China with severe hearing loss most likely due to exposure to prenatal environmental toxins. In East Asia, I lived for several years in some of the worst pollution in the world. When we came to America, I lived through Hurricane Sandy whose damage was made worse by human-made global warming. At home, we re-use, recycle and reduce consumption - older generations never had to do this. My generation is very aware of the destruction of the environment from humans. And now we have to fix it. I want to use science to find ways to help the earth.
I recently attended the Climate Strike protest in New York City and was so inspired by the enthusiasm I saw. I have many ideas of things I want to study and research to come up with solutions. I have learned how plastic is a huge problem, especially in the oceans. Oceans cover 70% of the earth and are one of the most important and valuable resources on the planet. Unfortunately, humans are responsible for degrading the oceans at an alarming rate due to pollution, runoff, over-fishing, dumping garbage and carbon emissions among other reasons. The majority of garbage that enters the ocean is plastic.
Humans are filling the oceans with an estimated 8 million tons of plastic every year, and that is expected to increase 22 percent by 2025. Seventy-nine thousand tons of plastic garbage now occupy an area three times the size of France in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii. The amount of plastic found in this area, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or Pacific Trash Vortex, is increasing exponentially. There is another similar garbage vortex in the Atlantic Ocean. Plastic takes 500~5000 years to fully break down. Plastics are devastating to sea life. Animals eat the plastic thinking it is food and it fills their bodies, pierces their insides and kills them. Fishing nets are particularly cruel to the animals who get caught up in them and die. Straws, bags and other parts of plastic get wrapped around living things and embedded in their bodies, all of which is heartbreaking and painful.
People need to reduce their plastic usage. Single use plastic is unnecessary and wasteful. Humans buy a million plastic bottles per minute globally and 91% of all plastic is not recycled. Reduce, recycle and reuse should be what all people do. Also, that plastic and trash needs to be removed. Several scientists are taking on this challenge and looking for new ways to get rid of the plastic problem.
According to bacterial researcher Morgan Vague in her TED talk, humans produce 300 million tons of new plastic each year and 10% of that ends up in the ocean. Vague has researched special bacteria that have evolved the unexpected ability to eat plastic. She believes this could be the answer to our problem. These bacteria are able to break down PET plastic (short for polyethylene terephthalate which is the most common form of plastic) and turn them into digestible sugars. This process is effective but slow, so Vague also recommends using sunlight to heat up the plastic which speeds up the process. These bacteria are naturally occurring so there is no worry that they will spread out of control.
Another researcher 24 year old Boyan Slat has a project called “The Ocean Cleanup” that aims to remove large amounts of marine debris from these oceanic gyres. His invention uses surface currents to let debris drift to collection platforms by using floating booms that divert the debris. The idea still has potential to help the situation even though it is having problems at the moment.
I am inspired by these scientists who are finding innovative solutions to the plastic problem. I have such big plans and am thinking about ways to fight climate change through technology constantly. I will work hard my environmental science studies to also contribute to the scientific community that is focused on fixing the plastic problem.
I recently attended the Climate Strike protest in New York City and was so inspired by the enthusiasm I saw. I have many ideas of things I want to study and research to come up with solutions. I have learned how plastic is a huge problem, especially in the oceans. Oceans cover 70% of the earth and are one of the most important and valuable resources on the planet. Unfortunately, humans are responsible for degrading the oceans at an alarming rate due to pollution, runoff, over-fishing, dumping garbage and carbon emissions among other reasons. The majority of garbage that enters the ocean is plastic.
Humans are filling the oceans with an estimated 8 million tons of plastic every year, and that is expected to increase 22 percent by 2025. Seventy-nine thousand tons of plastic garbage now occupy an area three times the size of France in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii. The amount of plastic found in this area, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or Pacific Trash Vortex, is increasing exponentially. There is another similar garbage vortex in the Atlantic Ocean. Plastic takes 500~5000 years to fully break down. Plastics are devastating to sea life. Animals eat the plastic thinking it is food and it fills their bodies, pierces their insides and kills them. Fishing nets are particularly cruel to the animals who get caught up in them and die. Straws, bags and other parts of plastic get wrapped around living things and embedded in their bodies, all of which is heartbreaking and painful.
People need to reduce their plastic usage. Single use plastic is unnecessary and wasteful. Humans buy a million plastic bottles per minute globally and 91% of all plastic is not recycled. Reduce, recycle and reuse should be what all people do. Also, that plastic and trash needs to be removed. Several scientists are taking on this challenge and looking for new ways to get rid of the plastic problem.
According to bacterial researcher Morgan Vague in her TED talk, humans produce 300 million tons of new plastic each year and 10% of that ends up in the ocean. Vague has researched special bacteria that have evolved the unexpected ability to eat plastic. She believes this could be the answer to our problem. These bacteria are able to break down PET plastic (short for polyethylene terephthalate which is the most common form of plastic) and turn them into digestible sugars. This process is effective but slow, so Vague also recommends using sunlight to heat up the plastic which speeds up the process. These bacteria are naturally occurring so there is no worry that they will spread out of control.
Another researcher 24 year old Boyan Slat has a project called “The Ocean Cleanup” that aims to remove large amounts of marine debris from these oceanic gyres. His invention uses surface currents to let debris drift to collection platforms by using floating booms that divert the debris. The idea still has potential to help the situation even though it is having problems at the moment.
I am inspired by these scientists who are finding innovative solutions to the plastic problem. I have such big plans and am thinking about ways to fight climate change through technology constantly. I will work hard my environmental science studies to also contribute to the scientific community that is focused on fixing the plastic problem.
