Ocean Pollution Presentation:
Overview
For this project we were instructed to choose a world problem, something that we were passionate about solving. My group and I picked ocean pollution specifically physical trash pollution. We started by researching how much this problem affects lives. We found out that this is a huge problem, we are killing ecosystems and habitats, creating patches of garbage in the ocean as big as Texas, and endangering thousands of species of plants and animals. Something has to be done soon or else our beaches are going to turn into landfills. We decided to solve this problem from two angles. Our first solution was to create plastic out of biodegradable ingredients. This means that instead of taking centuries to break down like normal plastic this plastic will only take a couple months. This solution worked great the plastic looked like plastic, was easy to make, and most importantly was much more environmentally friendly. Our second solution for all the plastic that already exists to stop getting into our oceans was to create new and improved storm drains. In a normal storm drain all the garbage, leaves, and water goes down the same pipe and ends up in the water. In our storm drain the trash is separated from the water therefore stopping it from reaching the ocean. (For more details look at our presentation below)
For this project we were instructed to choose a world problem, something that we were passionate about solving. My group and I picked ocean pollution specifically physical trash pollution. We started by researching how much this problem affects lives. We found out that this is a huge problem, we are killing ecosystems and habitats, creating patches of garbage in the ocean as big as Texas, and endangering thousands of species of plants and animals. Something has to be done soon or else our beaches are going to turn into landfills. We decided to solve this problem from two angles. Our first solution was to create plastic out of biodegradable ingredients. This means that instead of taking centuries to break down like normal plastic this plastic will only take a couple months. This solution worked great the plastic looked like plastic, was easy to make, and most importantly was much more environmentally friendly. Our second solution for all the plastic that already exists to stop getting into our oceans was to create new and improved storm drains. In a normal storm drain all the garbage, leaves, and water goes down the same pipe and ends up in the water. In our storm drain the trash is separated from the water therefore stopping it from reaching the ocean. (For more details look at our presentation below)
Statistics
- More than 30 billion plastic water bottles are thrown away a year
- In the Los Angeles area alone 10 metric tons of plastic fragments are carried into the Pacific Ocean everyday
- We currently recover only 5 percent of the plastics we produce
Review
This project was very successful in many ways. We finished our project early and had a lot of time to practice our presentation over and over. Also, my group worked very well together and we all collaborated and worked on it together. I also really liked the point of the project and what we were doing which made the project much more enjoyable to work on. Some things that didn't go so well were there was a lot of distractions. I go distracted a lot which made it hard to work on our project. Also, our conversations sometimes strayed away from being on topic. Another thing that we struggled with a bit was that some group members had differing ideas then ideas at some points. However, we worked through this and found great compromises. Something I learned from this project was how big of a deal ocean pollution really is. Another thing I learned was that I really like trying to solve big problems by breaking them into smaller parts. It's easier to deal with a problem if you can look at many different angles and figure out the best way to solve it. It also encouraged me to recycle and compost instead of put it in the garbage, and NEVER to throw anything in storm drains. We all have a footprint we leave on the Earth and I don't want to contribute to landfills and the destruction of our planet.
This project was very successful in many ways. We finished our project early and had a lot of time to practice our presentation over and over. Also, my group worked very well together and we all collaborated and worked on it together. I also really liked the point of the project and what we were doing which made the project much more enjoyable to work on. Some things that didn't go so well were there was a lot of distractions. I go distracted a lot which made it hard to work on our project. Also, our conversations sometimes strayed away from being on topic. Another thing that we struggled with a bit was that some group members had differing ideas then ideas at some points. However, we worked through this and found great compromises. Something I learned from this project was how big of a deal ocean pollution really is. Another thing I learned was that I really like trying to solve big problems by breaking them into smaller parts. It's easier to deal with a problem if you can look at many different angles and figure out the best way to solve it. It also encouraged me to recycle and compost instead of put it in the garbage, and NEVER to throw anything in storm drains. We all have a footprint we leave on the Earth and I don't want to contribute to landfills and the destruction of our planet.