Annotated Sumamry

Barnes, D., Galgani, F., Thompson, R., & Barlaz, M. (2009). Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1526), 1985-1998. http://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0205

In this article Barnes et al. focus on the impact that plastics debris have on our planet, as it is one of the most severe issues over the years. However, this problem "is still growing and even if stopped immediately will persist for centuries"(Barnes et al. 2009) The authors use data gained through the United States Environmental Protection Agency to try to identify which type of plastics are highest in term of disposal rate. Their research mainly focuses on how plastic has affected our environment. The fragmentation of plastics has accumulated with just a relatively short time ever since the mass production of plastic in the 1950s. While plastics only constitute to around 10% of the waste in total, the plastics represent a higher proportion of the debris in enclosed seas and at water convergences. Due to water pollution, the government agency in many different countries has to spend millions of dollars to do ocean-cleaning annually, as the pollution had affected severely to marine life. This article is useful to my research topic as it shows a clearer picture to me on how the plastics can affects us as a human race on a global scale.