Plastic debris pollutes our marine environment and harms wildlife that depend on clean surroundings to prosper. Boaters can do something about it.
Clean boating involves a number of concerns for us.
A few of these issues are addressed in the article on Ecologically Friendly Boat Travel. Plastic is part of our modern life and its development provides many benefits to society. Plastic has an environmental dark side. It does not break down easily in the environment and comes in many forms that harm wildlife. These include monofilament fishing line, nylon banding straps, commercial fishing nets, bottles and floats, packing materials, and bags.
Plastic harms animals found in the marine environment and damages boating equipment.
Since they take decades to degrade, plastics build up progressively in the environment. Shore and seabirds become entangled in discarded six-pack carrier rings, they feed their chicks plastic packing pellets, tangles of used fishing line snare fish, whales are snarled in ghost nets, and boaters can have plastic bags pulled into their engine cooling systems or suffer having lines wrapped around propellers. If you desire having a remarkable experience, try getting a mad sea otter out of a discarded fishing net.
Commercial fishermen have led the efforts to recycle used plastic net.
They know their future depend on maintaining a healthy environment for the fishing resource. Recycling net prevents harm to marine wildlife and diverts bulky nets from taking up limited landfill space. United States legislators passed the Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 (MPPRCA) to help enforce provisions of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). If you spend any time in the marine industry, you will hear about MARPOL. MARPOL sets the international standards for pollution control for vessels at sea.
What can be done to control plastic pollution in the marine environment?
Support and encourage enforcement of environmental regulations.
Buy consumer products that use a minimum of plastic packing materials. Reduce your personal use of plastics.
Encourage local harbors and marinas to provide adequate facilities for collection of solid wastes including plastics. Bring everything back from your boating adventures. Throw nothing overboard
Most plastic debris (80%) that pollutes the ocean comes from the uplands and not from boaters. Local communities can do a better job with maintenance of their storm sewer systems, solid waste disposal facilities like landfills, and trash collection.
Participate in clean-up day activities and pickup trash when you see it. Call the Center for Marine Conservation at 1-800-CMC-BEACH for information on clean-up campaigns happening in your region. Leave the beach or campsite cleaner than you found it.
These suggestions are just a few of the ways boaters can protect the environment. Ours is an innovative industry and new ideas evolve everyday. You can contribute to the innovation.
Protect the marine environment and protect your future enjoyment of the marine environment! Boaters can create an amazing force for defending the waterfront experience.
The copyright of the article Marine Plastic Pollution in Green/Clean Boating is owned by Alan Sorum. Permission to republish Marine Plastic Pollution in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
nowdays people use plastic artices even after many warning
Apr 1, 2009 11:53 AM
Guest :
verrryyyyy interesting what an eye opener whoa
Aug 3, 2009 10:20 AM
Guest :
The Earth has been facing immense pollution from our garbage and
consumption. The latest deadly pollution is plastic bags that fill up the
landfills. With plastic bags becoming a growing concern, canvas bags has
become the new way to help stop the pollution.Please learn more
athttp://www.ecotrendbags.com With plastic bag pollution being a
rising concern, many shoppers need to start using canvas bags in order to
stop the pollution. Plastic bag pollution is very deadly and takes
hundreds of years to break down. Even if the component is broken done, the
deadly chemicals will go into the ground and water system. By reducing the
usage of plastic bag, Earth can recuperate. That's why canvas bags should
be used world wide to help reduce the pollution. It is our generation
to stop the pollution and start using canvas bags as the solution. With
global warming going out of hand from gas exhaustion, we don't need any
more problems especially plastic bags that are harmful when broken down
naturally. These broken down elements cause sickness and destruction to the
air, soil and water system. Use canvas bags starting today as a way to
stop the plastic pollution that is becoming a major threat to the
environment. Our lives are threatened ever more from the growing usage of
plastic bags. It is time you bring a canvas bag to shopping the next time
you go to a supermarket. Please learn more at
http://www.ecotrendbags.com
Sep 6, 2009 11:51 PM
Guest :
The best thing to do in my opinion, is to get this issue into awareness
& try to get as many people as possible active. Each and every one
counts! So please help spread this very important word around!
1. it takes more than 400 years for a plastic bottle to
decompose 2. plastic bottles contain dangerous chemicals hazardous to
our health 3. Plastic is poisoning our oceans -
http://www.physorg.com/news169927772.html
This may be a partial
solution to the problem: http://www.worldwithoutbottles.com/ Furthermore, we should put more efforts into recycling in a global view
of things.
Kind regards, A person who cares A LOT.
Sep 8, 2009 8:04 PM
Guest :
The Earth has been facing immense pollution from our garbage and
consumption. The latest deadly pollution is plastic bags that fill up the
landfills. With plastic bags becoming a growing concern, <a
href="http://www.ecotrendbags.com/products.html"
target="_blank">cotton canvas bag</a> has become the new
way to help stop the pollution.
With plastic bag pollution
being a rising concern, many shoppers need to start using <a
href="http://www.ecotrendbags.com/products.html"
target="_blank">reusable cotton canvas bags</a> in order
to stop the pollution.
Plastic bag pollution is very deadly and
takes hundreds of years to break down. Even if the component is broken
done, the deadly chemicals will go into the ground and water system. By
reducing the usage of plastic bag, Earth can recuperate. That's why cotton
bags should be used world wide to help reduce the pollution.
It
is our generation to stop the pollution and start using cotton <a
href="http://www.ecotrendbags.com"
target="_blank">canvas bags</a> as the solution. With
global warming going out of hand from gas exhaustion, we don't need any
more problems especially plastic bags that are harmful when broken down
naturally. These broken down elements cause sickness and destruction to the
air, soil and water system.
Use cotton canvas bags starting
today as a way to stop the plastic pollution that is becoming a major
threat to the environment. Our lives are threatened ever more from the
growing usage of plastic bags. It is time you bring a canvas bag to
shopping the next time you go to a supermarket. Please learn more at
http://www.ecotrendbags.com/
