Digital
19.05 cm × 27.94 cm (7.5 in × 11 in)
Plastic is a material that is not only cheap but easy to produce as well. Consumers and producers alike took advantage of that, producing and disposing of millions of tons of plastic each year. Today, nearly 17.6 billion pounds of plastic has been dumped into our oceans. Anyone can see that plastic is not a good look on our waters, and in addition to it being just an eyesore, it poses a danger to not only the inhabitants of the waters, but ourselves as well. The dangers of microplastics, chemicals, contaminated seafood.. Activists and organizations have been telling us about this for years now, however it is only just recently that the whole world began to notice and really speak about the issue, just 50 years late from when it really started to become a problem.
Many point to a video that went viral when it was uploaded 4 years ago, which brought awareness to the ocean pollution issue. The video, which was of a sea turtle getting a straw pulled from its nose, has nearly 38 million views as of December 2019. In my illustration, I depicted this video as the catalyst that really brought ocean pollution into the conversation. It broke past the wall that is our consciousness and allowed a flood to come in. The flood of water that flows through the walls represents the ocean pollution crisis. Now that this issue is swirling within all our minds, this movement has the chance to grow and call for change. Floating amongst the trash, are people that represent issues and events that have surfaced, we can see them now since we have recognized the problems that we failed to see when they were being held behind the walls.
The children on the top right are the only ones that are interacting with the trash that surrounds them. This is their reality, and the narrative that the living conditions of developing Asian countries are unsanitary is not far from the truth. However, people are pushing the idea that these Asian countries got themselves into this situation as they have been producing the waste that ruins their own land and waters, which is entirely false. A study done in 2018 revealed that companies based in the West have been creating most of the world’s waste and dumping them on countries such as Malaysia.
To the far left, we see two teens on their phones, posing with metal straws for a post. Young teens have taken to the internet to create awareness in their own ways, through posting memes or videos on various platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. TikTok has also partnered with Conservation International to “..address marine plastic pollution and to protect our oceans for a better future.” (As stated on the Conservation International website.)
Below these teens, we see a small argument between a disabled person and a very displeased able-bodied person. There have been strong feelings against the plastic straw, and people have been fighting to get it banned, which sparked outrage from the disabled community, who stated that it was not fair people with motor issues as other straw alternatives have been proven to be unsatisfactory.
Politicians have been responding to the increase in demands for plastic waste reform, churning out bills and laws that would do something along the lines of completely banning plastic straws or limiting single-use plastics within their areas of jurisdiction. On a national scale, countries such as Canada and Peru have pledged to ban single-use plastics in the interest of the planet.
On the far right, we see a woman holding a reusable jar and eco-friendly shopping bags, which have been mentioned everywhere following the going-green movement in order to prevent any more waste from going into the dumpsters or the ocean. Some sources have claimed that reusable shopping bags and other products marketed as eco-friendly are not actually so, and may even take up more resources to produce, but others argued that it would make a difference as they would last longer than any other plastic product would.
In the center, a person holding a camera documents what is going on beneath the surface of the water. Blue Planet II was a nature documentary series on marine life that was released in 2017 that filmed over the course of 4 years that produced more than 6000 hours of underwater dive footage. What was so impactful about this series was that at the end of the series, it examined the effects of human activity on ocean life. Many people reacted to it and brought even more awareness on ocean pollution.
Lastly, standing front and center, are two young activists inspiring action and pushing for change, even despite the unknown outcomes the future presents, the bleakness of the situation that surrounds them right now, and the mess that those before them left behind, they are bright and determined.