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Our Oceans and Landfills Are Under Attack

An analysis why carbon dioxide and human behavior affect our planet.

By Danny RechtPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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Our Oceans and Landfills Are Under Attack
Photo by Louis Maniquet on Unsplash

Earth's oceans protect our sacred atmosphere. The five major and secondary layers of the atmosphere start from the closest to Earth to the highest of our climate, where space rockets cannot reach. The Troposphere is nearest to Earth that outspreads 7.5 miles, which support photosynthesis for plants and animals' respiratory system. The next layer is Stratosphere, which is the ozone layer that guards species from the Sun's ultraviolet radiation and extends 7.5-31 miles. The atmospheric layer that expands 31-50 miles beyond Earth is Mesosphere. Noctilucent clouds within the Mesosphere are created by water vapor and are the last layer of clouds that the human eye can see; moreover, meteors collapse in this layer. Sedentary from 50-440 miles above Earth's surface is the Thermosphere layer. Within the Thermosphere, temperatures rise in elevation because of the minimal molecular habitat. The furthest layer from Earth, Exosphere, ranging from 440-6,200 miles is comprised with low density molecules, and as a result, particles outpour into space.

Human behavior is a direct agent to climate change and oceanic alarm. Earth's exterior consists of 71% ocean and 95% fresh water species' ecosystems. Our oceans provide human oxygen and food rent free. Earth's climate is regulated by the oceans. All forms of weather control and global climate is produced by the oceanic system. All layers of the atmosphere store carbon dioxide, excluding the Exosphere. Within the last two centuries, one third of carbon dioxide (83%) is now captive in our oceans. Furthermore, greenhouse gasses have directly impacted rising temperatures in the ocean by 90%. As a direct result of carbon emissions, four of Earth's atmospheric layers have amplified heat and energy and are now stored in the oceans. Scientists are predicting that coral reefs will eventually decease due to the increase of acidity in the oceans. By 2050, 25% of marine wildlife will be vulnerable and lack food. Illegal fishing and overfishing contribute to demolishing our oceans' diverse ecosystems as well.

Since the 1970's, American textile consumption has tripled. Annual clothing utilization has increased by 80 million internationally, and majority of all apparel will ultimately occupy landfills. The "fast fashion" construct has overtaken the multibillion-dollar industry. "Fast fashion" is a system in which most fashion corporations practice the garment making and retail clothing strategy faster at a historical rate.

Fast fashion contributes to global emissions by 10% annually. Clothing material now adds 85% to the total landfill capacity. According to the Alliance For Sustainability Fashion, 26% of all annual carbon emissions will include clothing by 2050. For example, 300 million leather shoes become housed in landfills. Within 40 years of the decomposition process, the chemicals used during the tanning process recycle into the atmosphere.

According to Forbes, the clothing industry has now increased by 11% resulting to a $33 billion dollar industry. Progressively, the fashion industry today uses a 50-week turnaround rate. The ability to produce a now staggering amount of clothing is a direct result of recycling textile scraps and exhausting cheaper material.

What can I do?

No matter the subject I am referring to in a conversation, the upmost importance to me is education. I value opinions; however, you cannot argue with facts. I believe in creating change by one conversation at a time. The more educated humanity is, we can improve our carbon footprint more effectively. We need to work smarter, not harder. Our focus should be on deconstructing the system that is manipulating our atmosphere so we can be successful long term.

Of course, I take action. After watching endless Netflix documentaries, listening to years of podcasts, and researching academic peer-reviewed articles, I am more knowledgeable about humanity's impact on our Earth.

There are many organizations we can join and actions to take to improve our oceans and the textile consumption.

A few I will highlight are as follows:

1. Donate to American Textile Recycling Service (ATRS), "We're committed to keeping textiles out of landfills, improving diversion rates in our communities and creating sustainable solutions where we live, work, and play."

2. Greenpeace Organization is in the process of receiving signatures for a current petition, "Protect The Oceans." The website directs this petition with the headline, "Our blue planet is threatening our way of life. From destructive fishing and mining, to climate change- the threats facing our oceans are growing greater by the day. We urgently need a network of ocean sanctuaries across the globe to protect them." I can sign the petition, influence my family and friends to sign the petition, and spread awareness on my social media platform.

3. Converse with family members and friends about The Paris Agreement.

References:

1. https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/how-climate-change-relates-to-oceans

2. https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2919/earths-atmosphere-a-multi-layered-cake/#:~:text=Earth's%20atmosphere%20has%20five%20major,%2C%20mesosphere%2C%20thermosphere%20and%20exosphere

3. https://www.epa.gov/coral-reefs/basic-information-about-coral-reefs#:~:text=Coral%20reefs%20are%20among%20the,point%20in%20their%20life%20cycle

4. https://www.roadrunnerwm.com/blog/textile-waste-environmental-crisis

5. https://www.popsci.com/donated-clothes-waste/

6. https://gasp-pgh.org/2020/07/28/clothes-climate-change-how-a-fashion-choice-change-could-lead-to-better-air-quality/#:~:text=A%20staggering%2085%20percent%20of%20textiles%20go%20to%20the%20dump%20each%20year.&text=The%20Alliance%20for%20Sustainable%20Fashion,to%2026%20percent%20by%202050

7. http://atrscorp.com/

8. https://petition.act.greenpeace.org.nz/ocean-sanctuary

9. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/paris-climate-agreement-everything-you-need-know#:~:text=The%20agreement%20aims%20to%20substantially,the%20increase%20to%201.5%20degrees

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