A place that I previously lived near was the Pacific Ocean, which was located approximately two miles from Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, California. I lived near these Southern California beaches for over twenty years and visited them frequently during all four seasons. I have walked miles of their shoreline, taking in the sights and sounds of various birds flying high above in the sky. During the summer, I would get out into the water and bodyboard endless waves that propelled me towards the sandy coastline. What I have noticed throughout my years of visiting Huntington Beach is how the presence of single use plastic bags and bottles have increased along the shoreline, especially in and around the mouth of the Santa Ana river. …show more content…
(Tough Truths About Plastic Pollution, 2:09-2:17) One reason I feel plastic trash has increased in recent years is because tourists who visit from out of town have a celebratory vacation mindset and therefore care much less about their immediate environment. Another reason I feel that coastal pollution has increased is because those who live near and around the 90+ mile Santa Ana river either fail to realize or don’t care about the environmental impact they have made after leaving behind or intentionally throwing their plastic bags, bottles, and other plastic related trash into the river. These plastic bags, bottles, and trash eventually float down river and into the Pacific Ocean where they slowly degrade. “On beaches and the surface of the ocean, it can occur more quickly due to exposure to sunlight and the additional weathering action of wind and waves, which produces the tiny plastic bits found in the ocean garbage patch” (Karr, et al, p. 122) After these tiny plastic bits float slightly below the water, the biodiversity of marine life is severely