“Ocean Trash” by Philip Rabideau is an environmental article about how we’re ruining our own environment. We are defacing our beautiful oceans. Philip mentions that “…there is an area of marine debris in the Pacific that is twice the size of Texas.” Looking at Texas on a map it’s unreal to imagine twice of that area of trash laying on the ocean seafloor or floating and being relocated by oceanic currents. Not only is this pollution damaging the waters, but it’s hurting sea creatures when they consume it, thus “the biodiversity of the oceans is crumbling as pollutants are introduced at exponentially increasing rates.”
Living next to the ocean and going to a school a couple of blocks away from the water, I can relate to the work, and this piece has really given me a different perspective on the problem that arises every day. I have seen many people litter and unfortunately I litter too, but as many of the people living in the area, including me, I was ignorant to the dilemma and didn’t understand how badly this is hurting the environment. I tell myself that one little piece of trash isn’t going to do anything. This statement is very wrong. Every little piece of trash from someone turns into a little piece of trash from everyone in the city, borough, state, and country. All those little pieces of trash combined ruins our environment, and we need to do something to stop it. As Philip Rabideau correctly said, ”As individuals, by acknowledging the impact our choices have, we can begin to reverse the damage and return to a state of harmony with the natural world.”