Jonathan BonifacioMs. Frias AP English Language and Composition March 10, 2014 Ocean Pollution: Ocean Trash Plastic pollution is a growing problem around the world. Plastic pollution causes serious harm to marine life, from fish to sharks to whales; death has affected many different animals and ecosystems, leaving them severely damaged. In the Pacific Ocean, a large pile of plastic is found in an area almost twice the size of Texas; these plastics can easily be mistaken for food by marine life. Ocean pollution doesn't just affect marine life; it can also seriously harm humans with the numerous diseases the water can carry, from typhoid fever to dysentery. A global problem, pollution causes the destruction of many environments in the ocean and on land; activists and environmentalists around the world agree that an effective solution to ocean pollution needs to be found and that it must be implemented immediately to help ecosystems and life around the world. Environmentalists all agree that the growing complication of marine debris is damaging seas and beaches around the world. the world and in the meantime activists are calling on people to prevent further damage to the environment and to help prevent any future degradation of ecosystems. Almost all of the trash found in the ocean today most likely comes from activities on land created by humans; these activities include the release of untreated wastewater into the ocean to industrial discharges near the ocean (Litvinsky). Over the past two centuries, research has shown that degradation has been caused by the release of chemicals from industrial factories and wastewater. Certainly the most common ocean waste worldwide is plastic, which accounts for about 80% of all ocean trash in the world. ...... middle of paper ...... to any marine life because, as previously stated, plastic can absorb toxic chemicals, and when animals see and eat them, the deadly toxins in plastic they will most likely kill any animal that eats them. The longer plastic remains in the ocean, the more toxins the plastic will absorb over time (Bolstad). Every waste disposal in the ocean affects seas around the world; it also affects the economy of nations around the world. Communities and cities where beaches are cleaned regularly usually attract more tourists due to their cleaner beaches (Bolstad). All Ocean Conservancy board members agree that the time to act is now; they believe that with the efforts of many people, a change can be brought about in ocean ecosystems and that the longer the world waits to act, the exponentially larger problem of ocean pollution will become (Litvinsky).