After an entire semester analyzing numerous environmental issues, three of the six we studied proved to be the most intriguing to me: plastics, GMOs, and animal captivity. After extensive research, these three topics have proven to be the most fascinating as well as having a direct effect on humans of all ages. For these reasons the themes mentioned above will be at the center of this final reflection. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Plastic is an everyday necessity when it comes to our world, being used in virtually every way possible. Due to the cost-efficient way of production, there is an overflowing supply of plastic items scattered throughout society. Examples of such items are as simple as a plastic bag from the grocery store or as complex as indispensable components in automobile construction. With such an abundance of supply, many people are starting to wonder how necessary plastic actually is. Much plastic is made with bisphenol A, a chemical that has been linked to numerous terrible health complications; however, information like this is often overlooked by the public as they drink from plastic cups using a plastic straw. This is where the plastic problem really emerges. Most plastic products are pretty small and unimportant in the grand scheme of life, but plastic is so firmly entrenched in our daily lives that it's hard to change. Attempts are being made to make changes, but this usually happens after people realize that all plastic products are carried by the wind as debris that is lost in the environment for several years. Plastic never decomposes, making it a scary piece of trash to have. floating in our oceans and buried in the ground, impacting the environment and landscape day after day. With all this information, the debate over plastic-related wages continues as more and more people begin to realize that change may be necessary while others recognize the extreme financial benefits of such products. In reality, relatively little is known and understood about GMOs, which makes them a very interesting topic. topic in today's world. Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs for short, are organisms whose original genetic material has been altered in some way through the use of genetic engineering techniques. A huge amount of the foods that individuals consume every day are genetically modified and this is starting to scare some people. Many scientists and civilians argue that GMOs are actually significantly more dangerous to people's health than beneficial. These claims are heard around the world and have people clamoring to understand more about what they are eating. Unfortunately, right now these claims are just that, claims. There is no clear evidence to suggest that GMOs are harmful to the environment and the people who consume them. While people debate whether or not GMOs are safe to eat, there are great strides in helping the world economy and hunger. By using GMOs, farmers are able to skip some of the early stages of their growing process allowing them to produce and sell more food much more often creating a surplus that can be used to help other people in need. This surplus also translates into positive economic growth for all countries that have the advantage of enjoying it. GMOs have an impacton the environment in ways never seen before, saving land rendered useless and stopping the spread of pesticides simply by genetically modifying the planet. produced in the initial phase. The impact that all this has on the territory and on the populations that live there cannot be overlooked, but due to accusations of an unsafe product, the debate on GMOs rages on. Animal captivity is an issue that garners opinions and emotions from people of all ages. and cultures.Removing animals from their habitat and placing them in a confined living environment such as a cage in a zoo or aquarium is sure to start a conversation. Zoos are money-making mechanisms that claim to spread information about animals and help animals in need, but that may not always be the case. Some animals don't need to be confined to a cage for the rest of their lives, in fact most don't; however, it is difficult to overlook the joy spread among millions of people and families. Millions of people attend zoos every year, making them a major attraction for people of all ages. While visitors thoroughly enjoy the spectacle known as the zoo, many animal lovers and the animals themselves view the zoo as a prison. Animals are taken out of the wild and away from their families and infrastructure only to be put on display against their will. The ethics of zoos are thoroughly investigated by people all over the world and most of the time they all agree that animals belong in the wild. Taking a single animal away from its herd or group not only affects the captured animal, but also severely affects animals left without a friend, family member, or leader. The entire infrastructure of that specific group of animals can be destroyed by this action. Additionally, the environment and ecological structure can change in ways such as new predators rising too high or an abundance of prey lower in the food chain taking over the area. All of this gets overlooked as people enjoy their annual trip to the zoo to learn about and enjoy the animals held in captivity. The tension around this issue is quite high and people dedicate their lives to the issue on both sides. Zoos will never disappear, but there's a big push for change that could shake up how they behave. The impact that plastic has on the environment and on the civil front is overwhelming either way, but ultimately proves to be far more harmful than beneficial. Every year, 500 to 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide, an astronomical amount that must be reduced (Plastic Bags). Taking it a step further, the United States alone reaches 100 billion, racking up a total of $4 billion for retailers (plastic bags). That price is not one that actually supports our economy, but rather harms it. Nobody buys plastic bags; instead they are given away for free at places like a local grocery store or a megastore like Wal-Mart. While it's hard to ignore the incredible convenience of plastic bags, they are truly harming the environment. Even after being broken down, plastic bags remain toxic. Some people have chosen to argue that this is fine because the bags are broken down, but to counter this you can simply look at recycling versus trash. Every year in the United States alone, 100 million bags are thrown away, compared to between 0.5% and 3% that are recycled. This causes a large portion of the bags to end up in the environment as waste where they can be taken anywhere from 20 to1000 years to degrade (plastic bags); however, the problem doesn't stop there. 10% of all plastic products produced worldwide each year end up in our oceans, 70% of these end up on the ocean floor where they will likely never degrade (plastic bags). These figures are shocking to some people, but the vast majority still continue to use plastic because it is so accessible and prominent in society. While there are great revenue opportunities, it is important to realize the negative costs associated with plastic. The United States alone uses 12 million barrels of oil, more than the entire oil demand of Iceland or North Korea, just to produce 100 billion sacks (plastic bags). With oil prices so high in today's world, that's a huge amount. of money used in the production of a relatively cheap product. In an effort to clean up plastic bags, San Francisco spent 17 cents to clean up every bag. When you take this number and multiply it by 100 billion, a staggering $1.7 trillion is what results from simply cleaning up all plastic bags in the United States (plastic bags). This alone proves that plastic may actually be hurting our economy rather than helping it. Finally, plastic is actually quite harmful to humans who directly touch it when eating and drinking from plastic products. Bisphenol A is a chemical used in the construction of hard plastics that are often used for drinking and eating out. Numerous studies have linked this chemical to prostate cancer, miscarriages, and birth defects. Jill Thompson, coordinator of Citizens for Change in Canada, says simply: “Our food and water should not touch plastic.” (Kinnon). The health risks are too dangerous to continue producing plastic as currently done. When all these factors add up, it is clear that a movement needs to be made to change the use of plastic in the world today because, as it stands now, we are killing our planet and ourselves, slowly, more and more every day. In the debate on GMOs it is clear that the positive effects of these products outweigh the negative ones. It is important to realize that those who vilify GMOs are simply spouting claims. These claims have no real information or studies to back them up because relatively little has been done. What is known is that GMOs bring enormous benefits to the environment and daily life. Part of the beauty of GMOs is that they eliminate the spraying of pesticides in the agricultural process. From 1996 to 2012, pesticide spraying decreased by 508 million kilograms, or 8.8%, compared to the years before 1996. This decrease of 508 million kilograms is equivalent to two full years of harvest in the EU- 27 (Brookes 2012). In addition to eliminating pesticide spraying, GMOs make it possible to cultivate land that would otherwise have been considered unusable. This allows for a dramatic increase in the amount of crops grown each year. Furthermore, due to genetically modified crops, there has been a decrease in fossil fuel consumption and emissions of 27 billion kilograms, the equivalent of taking 11.9 million cars off the roads in the UK (Brookes 2012). The positive effects GMOs have on our environment and landscape are incredible and make people wonder why there is any doubt in their use. Where most of the problems arise for people is the claim that consuming genetically modified organisms can lead to diseasecancerous and other dangerous health risks; however, there is nothing to fear. According to a recent New York Times article, the FDA stated that “genetically engineered dent-resistant apples and potatoes are as safe and nutritious as their conventional counterparts” (Pollack). The foods are just as safe and taste just as good, if not better, than what is available in non-GMO terms. By using tactics like this, farmers are able to skip the early stages of their process and create greater supply more frequently. For this reason, some economically struggling countries such as India and the Philippines have seen a steady increase in annual income (Vendomois). This translates into economic support for countries around the world as the effects of GMOs are widespread and overall positively affect many different stakeholders (Moscini 2001). Farmers earn more from a surplus of crops, and people who sell produce after purchasing it from farmers also benefit from a financial incentive. This allows more food and money to be pumped into struggling countries as well as strengthening personal, national, economic and social resources. and world economies. It is quite evident that GMOs prove to be nothing less than a booming success in all factors of life. There is no reason to kick them out and stop production and consumption when genetically modified foods are so beneficial to everyone. Animal captivity is an incredibly hot topic studied and researched. supported by all kinds of scientists, animal rights activists and ordinary citizens; however, after finishing the whole conversation, it is clear that keeping animals in captivity does far more harm than good. Almost all zoos and aquariums claim to be focused on education, but in reality this is certainly not the truth. Many employees fail to properly educate visitors by spouting facts that sometimes aren't even true (Blackfish). Furthermore, spectators are too absorbed in the spectacle of an animal they have never met to pay attention. A study was conducted with visitors to a stereotypical zoo and it was found that 700 out of 1,000 visitors observed treated the educational panels outside the habitats like wallpaper and did not even recognize them (Pitiful Prisons). While zoos claim to spread education, they are actually more interested in making money, but recently this has also become a problem. Many zoos and aquariums claim to have a positive impact on the area's economic situation; however this is often not the case. Pandas are often the biggest attraction at zoos, but they are incredibly expensive to keep. Expenses run into the millions, and four zoos in Washington, Atlanta, Memphis, and San Diego have reported losing over $33 million to pandas in just three years (Cohn). This is a huge financial impact on any city's economy. After the release of the documentary Blackfish in 2013, Sea World's stock dropped more than 33%, indicating serious potential problems with growing consumer disgust towards animal captivity (Kosman). The economic effect of zoos and aquariums is no longer what it once was. more and more people are starting to realize the unethical approach of these establishments. Zoos claim to be better for animals than they would be in the wild, but it has been documented that animals have worse lives in captivity than in the wild. For example, the lifespan of animals, particularly elephants, is reduced to up to half of what they would be in the wild when placed in captivity (PETA UK). Contrary to this idea, zoos say they are saving.