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Self-Reflective Essay
This assignment was rough.

Annotated Bibliography
Auman, H.J Barnes, David K.A. Barnes, D.K.A Baulch Sarah, Bravo Rebolledo, California Coastal
Commission, Choy C.A Drazen, Leichter J.J, Mcllgorm A. Campell, Moore C.J, National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Marine Debris Program, Pendleton L. Judith, Rios L. Moore, Rochman Kurobe,
Schlining K, Stickel B. Jahn, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Van Franker,
The Problem With Marine Debris. 23 Apr. 2015. California Coastal Commission Public Education
Program. coastal.ca.gov. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.
In the essay titled The Problem with Marine Debris, The California Coastal Commission explains
that marine debris affects not only animals, but people too. The California Coastal Commission explains
that when tourists go to see the coastline, they may leave trash behind. Leaving this trash behind is
what causes a lot of the marine debris the Coastal Commission describes. Fish begin to devour plastic,
causing humans to eat the fish with the plastic toxins in their systems the Commission advises. These
pollutants, the Commission points out, are also damaging to boats. The author states that fishing lines
and nets can snarl the rotor of boats. We could all help out by diminishing the amount of plastic that we
use, and or recover plastic in other ways the Commission states.
This is a well-rounded essay on the topic of marine debris and the impact it has on wildlife,
people, and water quality. As illustrated in the paper, the author uses logos to get the message of the
harms of trash in the oceans. Not only does the author point out that the harm is impacting wildlife, it
also impacts people, boats as well as polluting the water with synthetic materials. Pathos is used to

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convey emotion to the readers about the animals dying of starvation, later to find out that they had
plastic sheeting and plastic in general in their stomachs. Animals that people eat are filled with
treacherous chemicals that are harmful.
The essay pointed out that not only does marine garbage affect aquatic life, it also affects
people who consume and eat the sea-life. Invasive species can travel and invade different areas of the
ocean, killing off certain species in the ocean. I will use these examples that have been backed up by
logos for my research paper. The intended audience clearly is people who live near the coast of
California. The Coastal Commission also notes that there are certain ways to solve the ocean litter
problems.
California Coastal Commission, U.S EPA, OPC, Charles Moore, H. Ogi, S. Copello, D.W Laist, Hannah
Nevins, H.G Auman, Y. Mato, David Barnes. n.d. Clean Water Action. Clean Water Action.
cleanwater.org. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.
In the essay, The Problem of Marine Plastic Pollution, The Clean Water Action notes that water
pollution is a land based sources and plastic is at the top of the list for harmful substances that are
causing this issue. The Clean Water Action states that artificial man- made materials are destroying
marine life and causing harm to animals. Certain animals like sea turtles and whales are stated to have
plastic found in their stomachs, The Clean Water Action states. There are many species that are seizing
beaches and the sea that come from the drifting pollution in the water states the Clean Water Action.
Academic language is used throughout by the Clean Water Action and conveys their message in an
understandable way. The Clean Water Action uses logos in this piece to help others understand the
impact of water pollution coming primarily from people on the shore littering, and the detritus making
its way to the sea. They point out that eighty percent of the pollution is not coming from ships and
various other things from the ocean. The Clean Water Action backs up all of their claims with evidence
effectively.

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This publication pointed out the effects of plastic on people, marine wild-life and boats. The
primary focus that the author had was to inform people about plastic and the harms it presents to
animals. This has some great examples in it of how some of the animals are affected by these toxins and
the plastic in general. I am going to use this information for part of my research paper. Contrasting to
the one that the California Coastal Commission wrote broadly about the effects on animals, people, and
boats, while the Clean Water Action is more focused on the injuries to animals. The two papers
compared both implemented an importance on keeping our oceans free from debris considering the
fact that plastic does not biodegrade.
NOAA. New economic study shows marine debris costs California residents millions of dollars. 12 Aug.
2014. Marinedebris.noaa.gov. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.
In the essay titled New Economic Study Shows Marine Debris Costs California Residents
Millions of Dollars, NOAA argues the loss of money to beaches in California due to the pollution that
comes on the shore. People are deciding they would rather traverse father distances from the beaches
that are at a convenient location to them to refrain from running into pollution as the NOAA states. As
tourists avoid going to these convenient locations, the NOAA goes on to say, residents are frequently
losing money when people fail to visit these beaches.
This essay has the fallacy of Red Herring. The NOAA only has the view of losing money and
blames it on pollution. Logos are used through the surveys the NOAA conducted, one of which is only
about the reasons people go to the beach.
Overall this essay by the NOAA is of some use to me. The text written by the NOAA only talks
about how people should clean up the beaches so that they would earn more revenue. This source is
biased and the only thing that I can use from this is the fact that people do not want to go to beaches
that have been polluted. The similar things with all of the essays is that they all include the harms to
people in them.

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Introduction
What about the trash that keeps washing onto the shore? Who is doing anything about this?
The government does have litter laws, but
they are not enforced.
Studies show that eighty percent of
pollution in the oceans from on the land,
leaving only twenty percent of the garbage
coming from the ocean. This is why people
who litter should be fined a thousand dollars
for every piece of trash they leave. Doing so,
with a lot of enforcement, would keep people
from littering. Every plastic bag, bottle, or toy

Figure 1. http://saveourshores.org/what-we-do/pollution-prevention/

that gets thrown on the ground is harmful to

everyone, not just animals, people too. People are going to beaches and seeing trash such as cans,
towels, newspaper, and glass (figure 1).
People are the main cause and this needs to stop. There are fish and animals who are eating
these plastics, misconstruing them for foods with the nutrients that they need, and then later dying of
starvation. One simple solution that everyone can take, is recycling. Break into a new habit of walking
over to a trashcan and disposing of ones own trash. Again it is not a hard thing to do. Do not be the one
who litters, take action immediately.

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Literature Review
One claim that has been made continually throughout all of the papers is that plastic is a huge
harm to everyone and everything. People, animals, and boats are harmed by trash floating around in the
sea. Not only is the garbage in the sea, it is also on the beaches. Some of these animals may be eating
plastic and dying of starvation due to the fact that the plastic made them feel full.
Another source talked about how people how some people who live near these beaches are
losing money due to pollution. A video source states visually, not necessarily saying in words anything
about plastic, although it sates through the photos how bad the water pollution really is.
Some of the sources that I am using mainly come from government websites that are trying
their best to promote anti-pollution. I have yet to come across a source that is for the aquatic pollution
in California. One of my sources is from a place that cares about revenue that comes from people who
visit beaches and the ocean, so I will have to keep in mind the fact that they are promoting antipollution to generate money.
One other source that I found contained information on the topic of how animals eat plastic,
often mistaking it for food and end up dying because they starve to death. Animals, for example sea
turtles, will eat the plastic thinking that it is a jellyfish.
Additionally a picture is worth a trillion words and in the video, there are a lot of eye-opening
pictures that show what trash is doing to the ocean. Not only are the animals effected, people are
harmed too. People consume the sea life that have eaten the debris, particularly plastic, and people
become sick over the fact that they ate a poisoned fish, etc.
I found another video of a high school teacher (Benjamin Kay) who physically went down to a
beach to show the world how bad the plastic pollution really is. This video really brings to reality the
true dangers of plastic to everyone and everything. As shown in the video, a white plastic filled foam has
washed on the shore of a beach in California.

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Marine Life and Coastal Economies Threatened by Seismic Airgun Use in Atlantic Ocean in this
paper, Cranor explains that there is sound pollution in the ocean as well, and animals are in danger of
the sound. Cranor paints a picture that one could relate to and understand why the tectonic blasts are
harming the animals. Although this information does not directly pertain to pollution on the coast of
California, it does offer a different perspective on the pollution that is occurring. This is the type of
pollution that many of us would not think about that often, even never thinking about this specific issue.

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Analysis and Evaluation of Sources

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Commentary
In doing all of this research on ocean pollution, it has opened up my eyes to the seriousness of
the issue. People are leaving junk on beaches, throwing trash on the ground, all of which is going to the
ocean. Some debris flows down sewers to the ocean. Waves wash litter from the beaches into seas as
well. These debris all take years to biodegrade, causing animals to mistake them for food.
While reading though the many articles on this topic, I came across the same statistical
reasoning that eighty percent of waste in the ocean comes from garbage that was on the land. Plastic
being a leading factor in amount of trash found in the ocean. It takes hundreds of years for a plastic
bottle alone to biodegrade. Some animals mistake garbage, plastic in particular, for food, they then eat
the plastic having a sense of being full, later dying of starvation.
There was a video made by a science teacher who physically went down to the beach and filmed
what had washed up onto the shore. Among some of the trash, were some Styrofoam cups. (Kay) There
were throw-a-ways like plastic bottles and candy wrappers among the many debris found on the shore.
The mess was appalling and came from a storm drain near-by.
Plastic is made from petroleum. This is both harmful to ones self and to animals, yet one uses
plastic a lot throughout our daily lives. Sixty thousand plastic bags are discarded in the US every five
seconds. (Chris Jordan, 2010. Sharp, Smith). This seems like a huge waste, in the video Great Pacific
Garbage Patch- Ocean Pollution Awareness. Oceanpollutionpatch states through pictures, that there
are plastic bags aimlessly floating around in the ocean. The CCC states that Sea turtles mistake plastic
bags for jellyfish, Sea turtles are eating the plastic that has been dumped into the ocean. Plastic is not
nutritious, and it is harmful for people, and animals.
There are so many ways that pollution is traveling to the ocean, one of which is when one sees
litter next to a storm drain. Storm drains carry pollutants to rivers. Rivers lead to lakes, as well as oceans.

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One should pick up trash when they see it, and then properly dispose of it, I know that this is a great
idea.
Solutions and Conclusions
When it comes to answers Melody Sharp and Sara Smith seem to have it covered. They offer ten
solutions to the prevention of pollution. Buying products with the least amount of packaging, reducing
the amount of plastic by bring ones own metal mug, bag, etc. Recycling everything in general, declining
to use one time use items such as plastic grocery bags, tableware, etc., Sharp and Smith go on to list.
Properly disposing of ones waste, keeping storm drains clean. Number seven tell everyone how to
properly dispose of ones trash. The list by Sharp and Smith still goes on, these are some of the ways one
can prevent pollution in the oceans.
In California, plastic bags have been banned from many cities. (UCLA) That means that over ten
million people in California are living in plastic free cities. UCLA states that California is planning on
passing a zero trash policy to reduce or eliminate in urban areas that has been floating into rivers,
beaches, and coastlines after a major rain storm.
Some things that have been done with plastic pollution include the following; thrown into
landfills, down cycled (converting trash into new items), and even exporting ones trash into another
country. (Sharp and Smith). It costs the state of California alone, seventy-two thousand dollars a year to
collect and dispose of one time use items. That is just the beginning, Fifty-two million a year just to
strive to clean up the beaches. (Sharp and Smith)
The California Coastal Commission (CCC) offers similar solutions to pollution prevention.
Keeping the storm drains clean, buying products with minimal packaging, and refusing to use single use
items. They also say to keep cigarette butts off of beaches, dispose of fishing lines and nets properly,
learn about proposed government laws on the issue. CCC also hosts a coastal cleanup day on every third
Saturday in September.

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Works Cited

Action, Clean Water. The Problem of Marine Plastic Pollution. n.d. Web. 23 April 2015.
<http://www.cleanwater.org/feature/problem-of-marine-plastic-pollution>.
Commission, California Coasal. The Problem with Marine Debris. n.d. web. 23 April 2015.
<http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/marinedebris.html>.
Commission, California Coastal. The problem with Marine Debris. 2015. Web. 23 April 2015.
<http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/marinedebris.html>.
Great Pacific Garbage Patch- Ocean Pollution Awareness. Perf. oceanpollutionpatch. 2012. YouTube. 23
April 2015. <https://youtu.be/1qT-rOXB6NI>.
Kay, Benjamin. "Plastic Pollution Nightmare in Santa Monica, CA - Storm Drains Flushed into Ocean." 21
November 2013. Web. 22 April 2015. <https://youtu.be/ifgka3iG5OQ>.
Melody Sharp, Sara Smith. Save Our Shores. 2015. web. 19 May 2015. <http://saveourshores.org/whatwe-do/pollution-prevention/>.
Moore, Charles J. Chocking the Oceans with Plastic. 26 August 2014. New York Times. Web. 17 May
2015. <http:www.nytimes.com/2014/08/26/opinion/choking-the-oceans-with-plastc.html>.
NOAA. Marine Debris. 12 August 2014. Web. 23 April 2015.
<http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/research/new-economic-study-shows-marine-deris-costscalifornia>.
oceanpollutionpatch. 31 August 2012. Great Pacific Garbage Patch- Ocean Pollution Awareness. Web. 21
April 2015. <https://youtu.be/1qT-rOXB6NI>.
UCLA Reports Urges New Global Policy Effert to Tackle Crisis of Plastic Litter in Oceans. 2013. Web. 19
May 2015. <http://www.enviornmental.ucla.edu/newsroom/ucla-report-urges-new-globalpolicy-effort-to>.

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