Exploring the environmental education of climate change caused by the wicked problem of marine debris.
Storified by scanlan ·
Sat, Apr 23 2016 09:32:04
In environmental education we desire to succeed in making individuals and communities understand the complex nature of natural and built environments, we aspire to teach the impacts of human interactions with the biological, physical, social, economic and cultural aspects of the environment so that people aquire knowledge, values and attitudes with the practical skills to participate in a responsible and effective way in anticipating and solving environmental problems in the quality management of behaviours in environmental biodiversity.
The essential link between plastic and climate change is the use of carbon and chemicals in the production of base materials to create plastic packageing. C02 is the main cause of atmospheric pollution that thins the atmosphere. The ozone layer is damaged and there is an increase in the intensity of the suns rays reaching the earth causing global warming that is warming the ocean and changing the earths biodiversity.
The cycle of plastics impact on the climate and coast.
Plastics are made from non-renewable resources that once depleted cannot be replaced. Fossil fuels such as natural gas, oil, and coal are used in the production process of plastics, emitting dangerous green house gasses and toxic chemicals. As plastic decomposes gases are produced in high concentrations, when plastics are in land fill they produce a methane gas that is 20 times stronger than carbon dioxide and re presents up to 4% of emissions from landfill. Despite the increased use of recycling systems waste still becomes landfill causing serious problems for the environment. Every year more than 6 million tonnes of rubbish is dumped into the worlds oceans. 80% of this waste is plastic with an estimated 46,000% pieces of plastic per square mile of ocean. Plastic waste that accumulate in the ocean and coast is known as marine debris.Marine debris or marine litter is defined as any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material discarded, disposed of or abandoned in the marine and coastal environment. (UN environment programme 2009)The majority of marine debris waste consists of plastic, it is estimated that most plastic in the ocean originates from plastic bottles and plastic packaging.
A community project to assess youth understanding of marine pollution
A community project to prevent marine litter, Increase recycling, effectively manage the impacts of waste and promote the use of recycled materials in the manufacturing of similar products. Whilst producing this waste management case study I have based my research on my current city of residence Cairns.
The impact of plastics manufacture on the ocean and our climate.
The manufacture of plastics is estimated to represent 10 percent of total Australian manufacturing activity. It has a total merchandise trade value of 61,530 (A$m) in exports and imports for the year 2014-2015. In Australia chemicals and plastics manufacturing has a contribution of 11.02% to manufacturing value added. (ABOS cat N8155.0 June 2015) Globally there is an estimated amount of approximately 6.4-8 million tonnes of marine litter entering the ocean each year with 13,000 pieces of plastic litter floating on every square kilometer of ocean surface. It is estimated that by the year 2030 there will be 168, 764,800 tons of accumulated plastic in the ocean, because most plastic bottles and packaging have an estimated decomposition rate of 0.00308 per year for 450 years. The nature of plastics decomposition ensures that there is a continuous rate of pollution to the ocean and a persistent threat to climate change. Educating the corporate involement and public participation in conservation intitatives for the prevention of marine debris encourages ‘A circular economy is an industrial system that is restorative or regenerative by design. It replaces the end of life concept with restoration shifts towards the use of renewable energy,eliminates the use of toxic chemicals which impair reuse and aims for the elimination ofwaste through the superior design of materials products systems and business models. Ref: Ellen macarthur foundation 2012 towards the circular economy: economic and business rationale for an accelerate transaction mckinsey ellen macarthur foundation.
The recycling and waste management of plastics and glass.
In the education of environmental issues, children learn and are most enthusiastic when they are participating in actions that are based on the EE learning objectives. The most effective participatory activities are those based in the environment or formulated to resemble the natural environment. Interaction with nature subjects enhances the learning, quality of life and emotional regulation in children. Good mental health positivly influences the cognative and spacial awarness of children for more effective learning. Children are able to recognise the relationships between the core subjects of education such as science, maths, arts and social studies in their natural environment. The children participating in EE learn through a process of experiential application of the knowledge that they learn and so build their skills in cognitative and sensory interactions with their environment and its place in the biodiversity of the natural world. (Children and nature, A quasi-systematic review of the empirical evidence Nov 2011, A report for the london sustainable development commission by Tim Gill.)
Students can learn through data collection in active community participation of the issues they are studying. Current data collected by the Tangaroa Blue Foundation, Australian Marine Debris Initiative,recorded a total collection of 98747 plastic (water,juice,milk,soft drink) bottles collected fromthe coastline of Queensland, Whilst finding a total collection of 49106 glass (beer stubbies,premixed alcohol bottles,glass jars,sauce bottles,glass wine,spirit and similar) bottles. The findings from this data determine that a school programme for marine debris collection would be an effective learing strategie, it connects the students learning with the environment to reduce the number of plastic and glass marine debris bottles. *insert link for Tangaroa Blue*
The reason I have chosen plastic as the core products for the recycling waste initiative is because these are marine debris waste products that have the longest life and decomposition rate whilst having the capacity to be recycled and effectively used as a resource.
After consultation with local council representatives and waste management regional reports, It was determined that the local council had an effective sorting of general waste and recycling items. However there was an identifiable need for a target based recycling initiative.
It was decided that a target based recycling initiative was required for local coastal areas focusing on the increase in recycling and re-purpose of specific waste items associated with the recreational activity. Following the identification of the issue I consulted with the public to assess their understanding and to determine what would be the best strategic education and campaign plan for the problem.
Unlike the studies of childs play barriers in urban locations where parents worrie about the suburban dangers of parks and street play, the children of our coasts are impacted by coastal marine dangers from marine debris and the enviromental impacts of climate change. Beaches and coastal parks become littered with discarded waste from the recreational play of children and families, marine debris is washed up from the oceans of many continents and increased climate change causes extream coastal storms and flooding.
The analysis framework concept was applied to plastic bottles in accordance with the Honolulu Strategy to set a zero marine debris target with integrated solid waste management and extended producer responsibility.
The framework sets out the target areas that are drivers and causes of plastic in the marine environment. These are anyanthropogenic, manufactured, or processed solid material discarded, disposed orabandoned in the environment, including all materials discarded into the sea,on shore or brought indirectly to the sea by rivers, sewage, storm water, waves or wind.
Plastic and glass bottles marine debris may result from activities on land or at sea resulting from human behavior. The marine debris from single use containers has multiple causes and factors combining to affect the nature, quantity and distribution of the debris around the world.
There is no single solution for the marine debris from plastic bottles such as suncream and water bottles but involves many social, economic and physcological dimensions.
In order to reduce the marine debris from plastic a collective, collaborative effort of agencies, governments and the private sector is required to implement a broad suite of sustained, strategic and coordinated initiatives.
The focus for education of the marine debris impact on the environment must be based in the prevention of the debris from entering the ocean and the mitigation of its occurance. *insert link to CAFNEC drain stenciling*
A framework analysis of the ocean pollution was created to describe the catalyzed issues from the marine debris with suggested examples of responses required. It guides monitoring and evaluation of global progress on specific strategies at different levels of governance and implementation including local, national,regional and international action.
*Insert embed url for framework*
Integrated solid waste is the key issue of marine debris from plastic and glass bottles; it is identified in the framework as the product packaging, chemical composition and impact on the environment.
The framework shows that there is a consumer responsibility that is an integral part of the marine debris prevention reduction; such issues are the product packaging, disposal and chemicals produced during and after the decomposition that could be recycled and made into another product for a sustainable marine debris prevention initiative.
The framework analysis shows that the manufacturer has an environmental responsibility as being the producer of the product. If the manufacturer operated sustainable initiatives when producing the product this could help reduce the impact from the introduction of new containers and focus on prevention of marine debris.
During the development of the framework analysis the manufacturing processing initiatives of plastic has been explored to assess the possible sustainable approaches for the production of plastic. It was discovered that there is a number of different management agencies that would need to take actions for there to be a sustainable solution to plastic container marine debris.
The task for environmental education of these issues is to teach the core issues of the subject so that children have an understanding and knowledge of the different sustainable biodiversity responsibilities for the life cycle of plastic. Children may effectively learn these concepts through experiental learning in art and science to creatively visualise the component environemntal impacts. By connecting the nature play tomscience and art the educator is bringing the outdoors to the classroom for the children to create and learn safetly.
Case study of understanding and learning in marine pollution.
In the assesment of knowledge it was found that most children knew what the reef was and some of its key species but they were not aware of or did not understand the relationships between humans, pollution and its impacts on ocean marine life biodiversity.
Marine pollution environmental education requires the student to have an undestanding of the habitat degradation or destruction that is caused by debris waste pollution. Ecological environments are affected causing reduced productivity of an area's environmental and economical value. Debris found in the subtropical convergence zone can become a navigationalhazard as it collects and moves around the pacific ocean. Aesthetic appearance and beauty of our environment.Our beaches become littered with unsightly waste, coastal areas are diminished of their natural beauty because of waste collection, benthic habitats are degraded causing areduced number of pelagic species which impacts the natural habitat and numbers ofspecies in pelagic waters. Pollution created by marine debris causes the creation of alien species impacting on thenaturally occurring inhabitants of an ecological area.Alien species are transported on drifting materials to areas that they would not have otherwised reached. This reduction in socio-economical value of an area and its environment is causing by a decrease in native and pelagic marine species caused by death or a reduction in their natural food. Debris waste is ingested by marine animals and organisms, often being mistaken for food by animals such as sea turtles and whales who consume the smaller items of debris such as micro plastics because the plastic is attached to their food. Debris eaten is some times regurgitated but in most instances the debris causes illness, starvation and death. Students of marine education learn about the scientifc connections between humans societial behaviour and marine life biodiversity.