Answer Happy

1. Explain what Steve Palumbi means in his TedTalk when he says “Punch a minnow, hurt a whale?” Discuss your answer in terms of bioaccumulation, biomagnification, plastics, and POPs. How does this relate to human health? 2. Explain why it is not only important to reduce our plastic use but also to remove plastic that has already been deposited in the waterways, oceans, and on our shorelines. Basically, why is it bad to leave large pieces of plastic to remain in the environment for long periods of time? Discuss biodegradation and photodegradation in your answer. 3. Describe the process of making plastic. Discuss extraction, refinement, cracking, polymerization, and nurdles in your answer. 4. List the 3 types of primary microplastics. How are these primary plastics used and how do they reach the oceans? 5. List and describe how ingestion, entanglement, and rafts can directly or indirectly impact marine organisms and ecosystems. This should be a relatively long answer. 6. How do microplastics in the ocean create a “chemical cocktail”?