Katie G. New Jersey

Protect The Ocean. Don't Throw Trash In It.

People are throwing away too much trash in the ocean and its getting worse every day

Dear future  President


Imagine traveling in the ocean and all you see is trash and occasionally you see a fish. Is that a world we should have? I don't think so, but if we don't put an end to throwing trash in the oceans that's going to be the type of world we will live in.

One reason that we need to stop polluting the oceans, is it's hurting the fish and birds around the ocean since they are mistaking garbage for food or getting caught in it and it’s hard for them to escape. According to Anthony F Amos, who works at the university of Texas in Austin marine science institute.  “fish, birds, marine mammals, reptiles and other animals can't do what they are designed to do.” Also, he saw one royal tern’s bill that had a plastic bag on its neck and was left wearing it) it was later cared for. However, this could never have happened if there wasn't trash in the ocean in the first place.

The second reason is all the trash that has been thrown overboard has created a big pile of trash called The Great Pacific Garbage Patch and it's getting bigger every day. According to Oliver Milman, (during a survey, they saw debris everywhere. The heart is 386,000 sq miles!)

 The last reason is all the garbage is piling up in the ocean and pretty soon the whole ocean is going to be trash. According to greenscience.com ,there are 5 major patches in the world, which shows there is tons of trash thrown away everyday. In addition, plastic makes up 80% of the patch since it cannot decompose and biodegrade fully so it builds up quickly. When plastic finally breaks down, it causes trillions of plastic particles to float around in the ocean.

 On the other hand, it's not really anything we can see from Hawaii or areas around there. It's also not a real island so it doesn't effect anyone or anything. However, if we keep throwing trash into the ocean, we will see it eventually, since it will be everywhere, look nasty and start affecting places like Hawaii and many other areas in the Pacific. Wouldn't all the trash be at the bottom where people can't see it? Sometimes it comes from landfills so we shouldn't blame only the people that have thrown it overboard. The water is clear in Hawaii and other Pacific areas where the trash is going to end up. So we are throwing too much overboard and into landfills. We are throwing away too much each day and we should do something about it.

Is that a  world we should have? We shouldn't, so let's keep trash out of the ocean.

Sincerely Katie 

Brielle Elementary

Eighth Grade Citizens

The students in the eighth grade who wished to post their letters are featured here. Students worked for several weeks in both Social Studies and Language Arts classes, crafting their arguments. They participated in Penpal Schools Decision 2016 as well as Media Literacy Week.

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