Social Studies - Causes & Effects Plastic Pollution

Action	Cause (Why did it happen?)	Effect (Short/Long Term) (What happened after?)
Littering	Construction People are lazy People do not care Attitude towards littering Immaturity Stubborn behavior Pack behavior Low fines Lack of education Not enough trash cans	Spread of diseases Injuries Social costs Social tensions Increased probability for fires Breeding ground for insects Soil pollution Water pollution Air pollution Decease in tourism Visual pollution Effects on life quality Effects on animals Effects on plants Effects on aquatic life Effects on birds Economic effects
Daily use of plastic	Plastic is Everywhere! Plastic is used across almost every sector, including to produce packaging, in building and construction, in textiles, consumer products, transportation, electrical and electronics and industrial machinery.	Plastic used in daily life are of extreme scientific and societal concern Plastics can be found in the environmental and food sources  Daily use of plastics can cause toxic impacts on environment and human health Additives are more toxic than monomers to human-beings and wildlife
Provide an example of GOVERNMENTAL CONTROL (Already done/can be done)	Government announces plan to tackle problem plastics and seven single-use plastic items Following the success of the phase out of single-use plastic shopping bags, the Government now has plans out more single-use and problematic plastics to reduce waste and protect the environment, Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage. The proposals are to phase-out: Some hard-to-recycle PVC and polystyrene packaging and oxo-degradable plastic products Seven single-use plastic items, including plastic straws, drink stirrers, produce bags, tableware (e.g. plastic plates, bowls, cutlery) and non-compostable fruit stickers.	There are going to be less usage of plastic in restaurants and more marine life animals will be saved.
Provide an example of POSITIVE SOCIAL ACTION	People bring their own bags when they go out shopping, taking their own non-plastic cutlery when dining out and taking their own drink bottle	Less plastic usage in restaurants and then less plastic rubbish in the environment and the oceans
Tonnes of rubbish being dumped in the ocean	Cargo Activity at the Ports Carelessness in Terms of Sewer and Industrial Waste Dumping Ignorance and Lack of Adequate Knowledge Spillage From Offshore Rigs and Oil Tankers Direct dumping of waste materials Mining of metal ores Lack of strict Regulations and Observations Acts Runoff from the Land Cargo related accidents	Marine Life Extinction Adverse Effects on Human health Poor Oceanic Scenery Destruction of the coral reefs Loss of livelihood of the small fisheries and fishermen Destruction of natural habitats of marine life Loss of the marine biodiversity

News Article: Eastern Pacific Ocean Plastic Pollution

Eastern garbage patch - Concentrations of marine debris have been noted in an area midway between Hawaii and California known as the North Pacific Subtropical High or the "eastern garbage patch." These patches contain a lot of our garbage because ocean currents have moved the waste to accumulate in these areas. Much of the debris is actually small pieces of micro plastic that are not immediately evident to the naked eye.

Why is there plastic in the ocean?

Human created plastic ends up in the ocean accidentally, on purpose, and by mismanaged waste practices. Some waste is from plastics pieces already made to be small: microbeads in face wash can be plastic. Some tiny plastic pieces were once longer plastic items which have just broken down to be small. "Plastic never really go away. They just break down over and over and over again until they become smaller and smaller from sunlight and other environmental factors (like) waves, big storms, those kind of things".

General Causes of Plastic Waste in Oceans

There are a variety of causes to plastics ending up in oceans but one thing in common with these causes is that most of them are controlled by human beings. Here is a list of those causes:

• Land Based sources
• Urban & storm runoff
• Sewer overflows
• Beach visitors
• Inadequate waste disposal & management
• Industrial activities
• Construction
• Illegal dumping
• Ocean based sources
• Fishing industry
• Nautical activities
• Aquaculture

Why is it bad to have plastic waste in oceans?

Some species of birds & fish eat the plastics because they look like food. There are chemicals in the plastics & these can absorb other chemicals floating around in the ocean while the plastic is in the creature's stomach, making them more sick. Debris found in any region of the ocean can easily be ingested by marine species potentially causing choking, starvation, and other impairments. Ocean ecosystems are extremely important to humans due to ecosystem services such as fishing, recreation and medicine. Harming ocean ecosystems is a huge economic and intrinsic loss to humans.

Science - Metal Reactions Blog

This week in Science we are learning about metals and it's different properties. Most of our experiments that we have done so far are to do with the reactants of metal and acid. Acids react with most metals and, when they do, a salt is produced. Instead we get hydrogen gas. It doesn't matter which metal or which acid is used, if there is a reaction we always get hydrogen gas as well as the salt. Below are the experiments that I got to do in class therefore I wasn't present for one of the experiments.

 Metal + Acid Experiment(s)

When a metal reacts with an acid, the same types of products are always formed. In this experiment the metal we are using is magnesium (mg) and the acid is Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4). We believe that if we mix these two reactants our products are magnesium sulfate plus + hydrogen.

Aim: To show that hydrogen gas is produced when a metal reacts with acid.

Equipment: A test tube, a boiling tube, Bunsen Burner, wooden splint, a bottle of acid, a piece of metal, safety glasses.

Method:

1. Light your Bunsen Burner.

2. Add your sample of metal to your test tube. Add 2mL of acid.

3. Carefully invert the boiling tube above the test tube containing the metal and acid (as shown in the diagram below)

 

4. Hold the test tubes together for a few minutes, allowing time for the inverted boiling tube to fill with gas.

5. When you think the tube is full. your lab partner should light a wooden splint.

6. Carefully, but quickly, tilt the boiling tube full of gas upwards and insert the burning splint into the mouth of the test tube.

Observations: Steam being produced when the metal was added with acid, when the flame came near, it made a pop sound.

Outline how you could tell a chemical reaction was occurring in the test tube: There was steam being produced and the metal was moving around, it was trapped.

Metals and Oxygen

When a metal reacts with oxygen it produces a metal oxide.

In this experiment we used magnesium + oxygen to form magnesium oxide. When a substance burns, the burning process is actually a reaction with oxygen. So when you burn something, you are adding oxygen to it.

Making a Metal Oxide

Aim: To make a metal oxide and observe the difference in properties of the product compared to the reactants.

Equipment: A piece of magnesium, Bunsen Burner, safety glasses, metal scissors tongs. 

Method: 1. Light your Bunsen Burner

                2. Hold your piece of magnesium in the scissor tongs. Ensure you are holding onto the                         very tip of the magnesium. 

                3. Place the other end of the magnesium into the Bunsen flame (at the top of the blue                           flame. 

               4.  When the magnesium begins to burn, do not look directly at it, as the light emitted                              can permanently damage your eyes. 

Observations: When the metal would connect with the blue fire, after it would light up it was as bright as a star but close up then it changed and became a white powder. 

Questions:

1. Describe the physical properties of the magnesium before the reaction?

    Silver, Lustre

2. Describe the physical properties of the oxide formed after the reaction?

   It was ashy and the powder colour was white.

3. Why you shouldn't you look directly at a piece of burning magnesium?

   Because it can harm your eyesight.

4. Complete the word equation for this reaction

    Magnesium + Oxygen = magnesium oxide

Metal Carbonates and Acid -Lime Water Test

In this experiment we used metal carbonate + acid to produce metal salt + water + carbonate.

Aim: To show that carbon dioxide gas is produced when a metal carbonate reacts with acid.

Equipment: Two boiling tubes, delivery tube and bung. Bunsen burner, test tube rack, wooden splint, a bottle of acid, small amount of metal carbonate, test tube tongs, safety glasses.

Method:

1. Light your Bunsen Burner

2. Add a 'pea-sized' amount of the metal carbonate into one of the boiling tubes. 

3. Place this boiling tube into a test tube rack. Ensure you have the bung and delivery tube ready.

4. Add 5 mL of acid to the boiling tube and quickly insert the bung and delivery tube into the mouth of the boiling tube. 

5. Holding the other boiling tube with your tongs, capture the gas produced as shown in the diagram below. 

6. When you think the tube is full, your lab partner should light a wooden splint. 

7. Carefully remove the boiling tube from under the delivery tube, taking care to keep it facing upright. 

8. Insert the burning splint into the mouth of the test tube. 

Observations

As we added acid into the carbonate, it started creating bubbles in the lime water boiling tube and as we added more acid the lime water turned cloudy and it was a successful experiment. 

Social Studies - Plastic Pollution/Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Social Studies

This term in Social studies our unit topic is based around the environment. So far we have learnt and explored about Plastic Pollution and Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Plastic are everywhere, in our home, school, work, playground, parks, and beaches. It is such a popular material because it is flexible, lightweight, moisture resistant, and inexpensive. Even if plastics are found deep inland, they eventually find their way to the sea or ocean through rivers and streams. The global consumption of plastic was 260 million tons in 2008. It is estimated to reach 297.5 million tons by 2015.

Bio-degradation is the natural break-down of organic substances. For example, dead plants and animals eventually decay. Plastic does not bio-degrade. Nature does not know how to break down plastic because of what plastic is made of.

Photo-degradation is the break-up of materials by the sun. When something is photo-degraded, it does not change its composition the way it does if it were bio-degraded. The only thing that changes is its size. Plastic can photo-degrade. In large periods of time, plastics break down into very small pieces of plastic that float around.

Landfill

In many developed nations, such as New Zealand, the final destination for the majority of our waste is the landfill, where it is typically crushed and buried. Landfill waste generated in New Zealand has steadily increased in recent years. We do not know exactly how much and what is in our landfill waste, as reporting is only required from 45 of the 426 facilities currently operating under a resource consent. These 45 facilities account for over 3.3 million tonnes of waste in the year ending 30 June 2016. Plastic represents approximately 12% of landfill waste as estimated by regional council surveys conducted between 2011 and 2017.

Plastic debris in the environment

Factors that can affect loss of

plastics to the environment include waste collection and management infrastructure; population density; regulations that apply to commercial and industrial sectors using plastics; import and export policies; and the social practices, priorities and values of the population. These in turn may depend on a variety of factors including national, regional and global policies and legislation, as well as the financial, human, and technical capital of the country. The lightweight and durable properties that make plastics so useful also means that plastics discarded into the environment are persistent, highly-mobile pollutants that are easily transported around the globe. Wind patterns and oceans currents can result in floating plastic debris travelling thousands of kilometres, where they may accumulate in areas far from their source. Researchers have detected plastic pieces in almost every imaginable place on Earth including air, soil, mountaintops, shoreline, freshwater, estuarine and marine environments. These extend to the deepest parts of the ocean, water surrounding Antarctica and frozen into Arctic sea ice.

How plastic affect human and animal health, and the environment

The majority of plastics produced

are still in existence in some shape or form and it is only in the past 15 years that researchers have begun to understand that complexity and scale of this issue. For example, plastics lost to the environment can have ecological effects by changing soil structure and affecting the microbes and plant life growing there. Plastic pollution may damage habitats, reduce biodiversity, and pose a threat to health and welfare. This threat will continue, and worsen, if the input of plastics into the environment continues to increase. the impacts on seabirds and marine animals are best understood. Many of the species affected are already rare and endangered, including some of New Zealand's marine birds and mammals. For Maori, understanding and connecting with the natural environment is integral to identity, whakapapa and culture. Plastic waste and debris can affect the mauri, or the life force, of the environment, which can therefore affect cultural heath and well being. Customary harvesting practices that may involve higher levels of consumption of raw fish, shellfish, and whole fish also give greater exposure to potential health risks. These factors, and the depth of cultural connection with the natural environment, mean that Maori will experience a disproportionate burden of of risk from plastic waste in Aotearoa New Zealand.

How can we reduce plastic pollution?

Policy makers, organisations, manufacturers and consumers can take action to improve the management of plastic waste and reduce the effects on the environment. Social attitudes, to plastics are evolving, with a gradual switch to practices that reduce plastic pollution. Plastic pollution is now not just seen as a nuisance or an eyesore, but a problem that causes extensive harm to our environment and poses potential risks to human health. Waste plastics that are not reused and recycled also represents a wasted resource from loss of material in the economy.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Far out in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean,

there are waters where few ever cross. It is called the North Pacific Gyre. It is filled with an estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of garbage. This littered stretch of ocean is called The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It's made up of debris, or garbage, such as old fishing gear, bottle caps, and plastic bottles. In the late 1980's, Alaskan researchers found relatively high amounts of marine debris in certain areas of the ocean. These areas are known as gyres. A gyre is formed when water currents move around in a kind of clockwise motion. The current catches and holds floating pieces of garbage. The Garbage Patch is estimated to be double the size of Texas. Most of this garbage comes from the Pacific Rim. This includes Asia and North and South America. The garbage gets funneled into this central location. Over time, the garbage breaks down due to the wind, rain, and waves.

Cleaning Up Concerns

Cleaning up this mess is not easy. Large plastics may be easy to clean up. However, microplastics make the task a bit more complicated. Many of these tiny particles are the same size as small sea animals. Nets that could be used to scoop up the garbage would also scoop up these tiny creatures. The sea creatures are essential to the ocean's food web. Getting rid of them could put the entire ecosystem at risk. The cost is another problem. Due to the size and location, no nation will take the responsibility or pay the massive expense of cleaning it.

Taking Action

What can we do to help? We can help by preventing more garbage from getting into our waterways. The most obvious way is not littering. Never throw trash out of boats or alongside roadways. Rain and wind can carry this debris into our drains and out into our waters. Another way we can help is by eliminating the use of plastic or recycling. Plastic is not biodegradable which means that they never completely break down over time. There are reusable and biodegradable materials that can be used instead, such as reusable straws and cups. Some cities are even banning the use of plastic straws for this reason. Finally, we can do our part by educating the people around us. Remind others to always throw away trash in the proper bins and to recycle used plastics. Taking care of our planet is important. Prevention is the first step towards a cleaner, more beautiful Earth.