Pollution is an important problem on planet Earth. Pollution can come in many forms, such as; ocean pollution; air pollution; land pollution; and can also be found otherwise in proposed problems such as global warming, which is affected by CFS pollution. Many choose to focus attention on global warming as the most prominent problem caused by pollution, however, ocean pollution is the biggest threat to both the lives of human and the lives of the marine ecosystem. Littering is a large part of the debris in the ocean, and is an issue that must be addressed before it is too late. Ocean pollution is an expansive problem that the government can in part solve by having prison inmates clean litter in places that affect the ocean most.
(figure 1)
Ocean pollution is an concern almost everyone has heard about. Littering is one of the major factors affecting this problem. The ocean is extremely important, as it provides almost 70% of the oxygen that humans breathe, as reported by the National Geographic. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, ten percent of the world’s population depends on fisheries for their livelihood, and 4.3 billion people depend on fish for 15% of their protein animal intake. The ocean is an invaluable resource the Earth cannot afford to lose. What it the current state of the ocean? It is in danger? According to DoSomething.org, “Over 1 million seabirds and 100,000 sea mammals are killed by pollution every year.” An estimated 14 billion pounds of trash is deposited into the ocean every year, and the number continues to rise as countries continue to dump their garbage into the ocean. This is a huge problem, and many animals are dying because of it. But what is this ocean trash composed of? The Ocean Health Index has reported that 80% of the debris in the ocean come from the land, and the most prominent items found in the ocean in the last 25 years have been cigarettes and filters. Cigarettes compensate for 32% of the total ocean pollution, with 52.9 million cigarettes and cigarette filters having been collected. This is closely followed by food wrappers and containers, of which 14.7 million have been found. According to the Ocean Health Index, at least 41% of ocean pollution is littering alone (see figure 1). The death of 100,000 animals is only a short term cause of all of this litter. Eventually, the oceans will become unable to house life at all, and most sea life and coral reefs will cease to exist. The oxygen output will continue to decrease, the food chain will be altered radically, and generations of people will lose their job. However, this seemingly unstoppable problem can begin to be curbed through the use of inmates.
In a majority of the United States since 2003, inmates have been enlisted to pick up trash along the roadways, a set up that an ocean clean up could easily emulate. This effort has yielded cheap and effective waste management on highways for just over a decade. Holding facilities with non-violent inmates that are required to perform community service could be sent to the beaches to collect litter in the ocean and along the coasts. In 2017, through the Ocean Swell initiative, they had a reported 3,743,118 pounds trash collected by 209,643 volunteers. On average, this is eighteen pounds of trash per person that was recovered from the ocean. There are 641 first-offender minors in the The Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) correctional facilities along the coast of California, as reported by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. In one year the 641 minors could clean an average of 11,538 pounds of trash out of the California oceans. According to ProCon.org, an organization created to provide reliable information and facts, 53% of felonies are nonviolent. In the “MONTHLY REPORT OF POPULATION AS OF MIDNIGHT January 31, 2019” from Division of Correctional Policy Research and Internal Oversight, it is shown that there are 126,836 felony prisoners in the CDCR that are housed by the coast of California, and 53% of this population, presumably non violent. This leaves approximately 67,223 inmates that could also clean the ocean. In one year, approximately 12,010,015 pounds of trash could be disposed of properly. Combining both the minor and adult inmates would lead to an average of 12,021,553 pounds of trash recovered and kept out of the ocean every year. This is almost one percent of the trash that ends up in the ocean every year. One state, by imploring its inmates to clean up the ocean, could, on average, can clean one percent of the debris that end up in the ocean.
Not only is this proposed program good for the ocean and marine life, it is also good for those nonviolent inmates. In jails, with nothing more than to eat and lie in bed all day, many inmates jump at the chance for work, as it gives them something to do. As Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones reported, “[I]n jail work is a privilege. It gets awful boring just sitting around.”
(Cleaning highways can be reward to inmates, Journal News) It also keeps the prisoners out of worse trouble, improving their behavior. He continues as he says, “These are jobs, for the most part, that other people wouldn’t want. It’s better for my officers that prisoners work. If they’re tired from working they are not trying to hurt my officers. It is also better for them. We try to teach them some work ethic.” Not only does cleaning up teach the inmates work ethic and keep them out of trouble, many programs have found that the rate of violence in the surrounding areas has dropped, and that those who had to clean up were less likely to be second offenders. As Jennifer Scott, an inmate jailed for prohibition and part of a highway cleanup crew is quoted in the Springfield News-Sun article, “When we walk out of here we will change our lives and be productive members of society,”. The highway program has helped many inmates realize the need for a better life, and the ocean cleanup will no doubt do the same. Being on the beach, albeit gathering trash, will also be beneficial to the overall health of the minors and inmates working. Working in the sun will provide their bodies with a substantial amount of Vitamin D they will not get while inside of the prisons, which is good for bones, blood pressure, and supporting the immune system. Sunlight also increases levels of chemical serotonin, which decreases stress, and which will prevent violence in the inmates, as reported in the Health Line’s article What are the Benefits of Sunlight?. The introduction to a regular amount of sunlight can positively affect the minors in the detention centers along the California coast, as it can help reduce and prevent depression of the those housed there. Being beside the ocean and under the blue California sky will also help lower the stress of the inmates, as the Barcelona Institute for Global Health has found that seeing ‘blue places’ like the lakes and rivers are even more effective than seeing ‘green places’ like parks and forests. This program would serve to both clean the ocean and serve a role in promoting healthy lifestyles through the introduction of regular exercise and sunlight and by decreasing the rate of depression and violence in inmates, as well as teaching them work ethic.
The last benefit of the program comes from the awareness that will spread by having the inmates clean the beaches. People are more likely to recognize a problem if they experience it themselves or have seen it for themselves, and the litter in the ocean is no different. The main reason people litter is because they are unaware of the consequences. Eric Bullard says in his article Littering, “There are many psychological reasons why people litter. For instance, they may not have a sense of ownership or respect for public spaces, and therefore do not believe there is any harm in leaving trash behind.” However, the opposite effect will occur with the inmates, whose duty it is to own, clean up, and respect public places. Once the inmates have cleaned up enough garbage, seen their first maimed or dead animal, or accidentally been hurt by litter that should not be present, as well as when it occurs to them that this duty is theirs, they will become more self aware of their habits, and more aware of the problem overall. Scott, when working with her cleanup crew, also mentioned that “It [the job] is going to make me think twice before I throw stuff out my window,” in regards to littering on the side of the road (Local county now letting women inmates pick up trash on side of road, Springfield News-Sun). Not only will the proposed program benefit the ocean and marine life, it will also benefit both the inmates and the communities by raising awareness.
The funding for this endeavour would come easily if more rigorous fines were attached to public beaches. Although fines have already been established on beaches, many of them are inadequate. As the National Conference of State Legislators states in their article States With Littering Penalties, “For relatively minor cases, courts typically impose a fine and may order litter cleanup or community service. Fines range from $20 in Colorado to $30,000 in Maryland. In more serious cases, offenders may be subject to imprisonment, with sentences ranging from 10 days in Idaho to six years in Tennessee. Laws in Maryland, Massachusetts, and Louisiana also provide for suspension of a violators’ driver’s license in certain cases. Penalties in all states typically increase for subsequent convictions.” If fines could be monitored more efficiently, then enough money could be used from the fining to support the program, with no extra cost to normal civilians.
Some may argue that banning plastic throughout the United States will be entirely more effective than small projects like this, but the banning of plastics have been widely observed to be expensive and hurt many people. When California banned straws in 2018, there was internet wide backlash from citizens that were older and those with disabilities. Citizens who are older and disabled depend on straws to be able to drink hot drinks, and alternatives, such as paper straws, were found to be unhelpful. Articles like “’People need them’: the trouble with the movement to ban plastic straws”, “Banning straws might be a win for environmentalists. But it ignores us disabled people.”, and “Pushback against plastic straw bans from disability rights groups” became widespread. The movement left many people disgruntled, and more helpless. Banning plastics, although a noble cause, has been found to be ineffective. Another claim may be that inmates can run away. The highway clean up programs that one such as this proposed program could emulate only allows nonviolent inmates who have not been escapees, and have them watched by volunteering or paid overseers and police men, like aforementioned Sheriff Richard Jones. The chance to escape will be very low, and therefore those inmates who will participate provide no danger to civilians or risk of escaping. There have been no recorded reports of highway clean up crews that have had the issue of runaways, and therefore it can be assumed there will not be more by changing the location of a similar program.
The extreme amount of debris in the ocean is a worldwide problem that can be combated by having nonviolent inmates in coastal jails cleaning up litter on beaches. Nonviolent inmates will benefit greatly from the work, as it will contribute to their health, both mentally and physically, and the ocean will stay cleaner as a result. This can easily be funded by more rigorous fines on beaches, and will result in more responsible citizens and less harmed environments. Everyone can do their part to combat this widespread problem, and having the government create programs to help this endeavor should not be an option, but should be required by the people.
Citations
“11 Facts About Pollution.” DoSomething.org | Volunteer for Social Change, http://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-pollution.
Ocean Conservancy. “Building a Clean Swell.” Oceanconservancy.org, Ocean Conservancy , oceanconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Building-A-Clean-Swell.pdf .
Bullard, Eric. Littering. 2019. INFOhio, isearch4.infohio.org/client/en_US/spar_mrls/search/results?qu=ocean litter&te=.
“Incarcerated Felon Population by Type of Crime Committed, 1974-2012.” Should Felons Be Allowed to Vote?, felonvoting.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=004339.
Nall, Rachel. “What Are the Benefits of Sunlight.” Heathline, Healthline, http://www.healthline.com/health/depression/benefits-sunlight .
National Geographic Society. “Save the Plankton, Breathe Freely.” National Geographic Society, National Geographic, 7 Aug. 2015, http://www.nationalgeographic.org/activity/save-the-plankton-breathe-freely/.
“Oceans Crucial for Our Climate, Food and Nutrition.” International Rice Commission Newsletter Vol. 48, FAO of the UN, http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/248479/icode/.
Pack, Lauren. “Cleaning Highways Can Be Reward to Inmates.” Journal-News, Contributing Writer, 6 May 2012, http://www.journal-news.com/news/local/cleaning-highways-can-reward-inmates/qQ1dfgUX1012yI5WRfR6RL/.
Perry, Parker. “Local County Now Letting Women Inmates Pick up Trash on Side of Road.” Springfieldnewssun, Staff Writer, 11 Dec. 2017, http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/crime–law/local-county-now-letting-women-inmates-pick-trash-side-road/VVZ6f7wY3aLcSvnoJbLaQL/.
“Picking up Litter: Pointless Exercise or Powerful Tool in the Battle to Beat Plastic Pollution?” UN Environment, http://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/picking-litter-pointless-exercise-or-powerful-tool-battle-beat-plastic.
“States with Littering Penalties.” NCLS, National Conference of State Legislators, Mar. 2014, http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/states-with-littering-penalties.aspx.
“Strategy: Requiring Inmates to Perform Community Service.” National Crime Prevention Council, http://www.ncpc.org/resources/home-neighborhood-safety/strategies/strategy-requiring-inmates-to-perform-community-service/.
“The Health Benefits of the Beach Are Scientifically Proven.” Wide Open Eats, Wide Open Eats, 8 May 2018, http://www.wideopeneats.com/health-benefits-beach/.
“Trash Pollution.” Ocean Health Index, http://www.oceanhealthindex.org/methodology/components/trash-pollution.
“Why We Protect Our Oceans.” Marine Conservation Institute, marine-conservation.org/what-we-do/advocate/why-we-protect-our-oceans/.
This was originally written for my College Writing II class, and I decided to post it here so you all could see what I’ve been doing instead of writing, heh.
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