Plastic is what led to modern life and it is growing rapidly that could even outnumber humans on earth. Although plastic is useful, cheap, and accessible, we should not use plastic because it has harmful effects on the air, land, and sea humans depend on.
First, if plastic is burned they can cause air pollution which increases greenhouse gasses. Plastic is composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine, and sulfur which are greenhouse gases that are burn from plastic. Green House gases are what keep our planet warm otherwise Earth would be like Mars. Although greenhouse gases are to balance our temperature, if there is too much it would destroy ozone that helps stabilized temperature and would greatly harm our atmosphere. According to National Geography, “Temperature has increased dramatically over time and ozone has deteriorating. The widespread concern about ozone deterioration that allows a large amount of Ultraviolet B rays which cause skin cancers, more importantly, Earth have two poles that are made from ice. If temperature increase thus would melt which result in flood”. An estimate in India who face the most tragic flood has ever happened, calculation by the National Disaster Management Authority have evaluated at an average of 1600 people died due to flood each year.
Secondly, when plastic is buried they release chemicals that could greatly harm the soil which affects crop growth. Plastic has chemicals that when release to the body of water or buried, they could bring toxin and poison living things surround it. Moreover many animals and bird likes crows are being surrounded by plastics which is hard to find foods. Furthermore, plastic that ended in ocean cause marine life to greatly damaged. Laura Parker writer who specializes in covering climate change and marine environments in National Geographic writes, “The miracle material has made modern life possible. But more than 40 percent of it is used just once, and it’s choking our waterways.” Sea Turtles are victims, their prey is jellyfish. Many plastic bags can be confused as jellyfish which turtles can’t digest and many have died from plastic. Researchers found out that the younger turtles are at higher risk of death, therefore, death chance of turtles has increased nearly 50%. In addition to plastic bag, microplastic has increased to about 51 trillion particles–500 times more than stars in our galaxy–in our sea. In 2015, Jenna Jambeck, a University of Georgia engineering professor, estimated that about 14 million tons of plastic just form coastal region. She and her colleagues said that most plastic isn’t thrown off ships but are from rivers and smaller water bodies.
Finally plastic could bring harm to human body. Carcinogenic, neurotoxic, and hormone-disruptive chemicals are the main ingredient found their way into our ecology through water, land and air pollution. When consume or inhaled they chemicals, as a result, it leads to fertility problems, cancer, male impotence, heart disease, and others condition.
To all readers who want our next generations to live peacefully and happily in a healthy environment, therefore we should abolish single-used plastic.
