Those Who Need Our Help

What does need really mean? The dictionary tells us that need is a noun. Here are the definitions:

  1. A requirement, duty, or obligation:

    There is no need for you to lose hope about people who don’t have enough

  2. A lack of something that is wanted or considered necessary:

    Instead of being hopeless, you should help fill the needs of others.

  3. A necessity arising from the circumstances of a situation or case:

    There is no need to worry, but there is great need to take action.

  4. A situation or time of difficulty:

    Can you help a stranger in need?

  5. A condition marked by the lack of something:

    We need someone to set the example for cleanup in our ocean waters

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Who Needs Us To Care

Most English-speaking countries define 7 continents in our world. These make up most of the land on our globe. A continent is a very large landmass. From the smallest to the largest, those continents are 

Australia

Europe

Antarctica

South America

North America

Africa 

Asia.

In 2024, we estimate that there are 

>  100,000,000 (100 million) children living in the streets without a home on those 7 continents.

>  20,000,000 (20 million) are displaced in their home country unable to live with their family.

In the USA, 1 in every 30 American children goes to sleep without a home of his or her own each year. 


About 2.5 million children are homeless annually in the United States. 


There are approximately 443,000 children in foster care in the United States. This means that they live in a home with people who take care of them but away from their mom and dad because their parents can’t care for them at that moment. These children are fostered by other people trying to help them, and they are called foster kids because of the help they receive. Many of these kids don’t even have a suitcase much less a closet or bedroom to keep their things in, and many of them don't have any things at all.

 

Think about the things you call your own. Without a family, it’s very hard to get anything you need. How would it make you feel to help someone have a place to put the things they own? How would you feel if you could make their life warmer and more cared for even if it was by only giving them a safe place to put what they are given?


What Needs Us to Care?

What Needs Us to Care?

The part of Earth not covered with land is covered with water. Most people recognize this water by the names of the 5 oceans. These are the


  Atlantic

Pacific

Arctic

Indian


and most countries - including the United States - now recognize the Southern (Antarctic) as the fifth ocean. The Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian are the best known.

 

In addition, there are 7 seas within those oceans and many rivers and smaller bodies of water feeding into them. A sea is a body of saltwater smaller than an ocean. Most often, seas are 

located where the land and the ocean meet and are partly enclosed by land. The Seven Seas include the Arctic, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, Indian, and Southern oceans. The exact origin of the phrase 'Seven Seas' is uncertain, although there are very old books that date back thousands of years that mention them.


Our oceans are in trouble!


Between 4 and 12 million metric tons of plastic enter the oceans each year! 


This is enough to cover every foot of coastline on the planet! 


That amount is expected to triple in the next 20 years!


By 2040, the amount of plastic trash poured into the oceans each year is expected to increase to 29 million metric tons.


The fact that no one can argue or erase is that plastic is forever—it is basically indestructible!

There is no way to know exactly how much plastic has accumulated in the oceans, but the best guess was probably made in 2015: about 150 million metric tons. Based on this, if things don’t change, our beautiful water will be filled with 600 million metric tons by 2040.



Here are some SAD facts that we must face:

 

Right now, there is more plastic in our oceans than there are fish! 


Experts tell us that humans around the world dump about 12 million metric tons of plastic in the oceans every year. That’s about 26 billion pounds or 100,000 blue whales. By the year 2050, there will be more pounds of plastic in the ocean than there are fish!


All of this plastic trash has formed 5 giant garbage patches in the sea. 


The largest one is in the Pacific. It covers an area twice the size of Texas, and it’s made of about 1.8 trillion pieces of trash. (That’s 1,800,000,000,000 pieces of garbage!)


The sun’s rays and the motion of the waves breaks most plastic into tiny pieces called microplastics. 


Fish unintentionally consume these small fibers of plastic, which means that when we eat the fish, we consume them, too. Not only this, but when the plastic is broken down into small pieces, the process releases chemicals that contaminate the water even more.


It’s not only fish who suffer 


… from ocean plastic pollution or even the people who eat those fish. Beached whales have been found with stomachs full of plastic trash—as have dead seabirds, turtles, and many other creatures.

A hypoxic zone in an ocean is an area with so little oxygen that any animal life living there suffocates and dies. 

Habitats that would normally teem with life become desserts in the water. By 2008, there were more than 400 hypoxic zones in the world’s oceans. In 2017, oceanographers found a dead zone about the size of the state of New Jersey in the largest hypoxic zone ever measured at that time, but this is now the second largest dead zone.

In 2018, the largest hypoxic zone, or "dead zone", ever recorded became one in the Arabian Sea. 

It covers 63,000 square miles in the Gulf of Oman, which is about the size of Florida. This zone is 7 times larger than the Gulf of Mexico's dead zone.

Hypoxia has increased by 10 times globally in the last 50 years and about 30 times in the US since 1960.

More than 300 coastal ecosystems are experiencing hypoxia. 


“It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”

— Quote Source

Recycle Properly

Recycling means keeping plastic out of the ocean and reducing new plastic in use. We should all recycle every piece of plastic that you use. Only 9% of the plastic used worldwide is recycled. Check with your local recycling center about the types of plastic they accept. If you need help finding a place to recycle plastic waste near you, check Earth911’s recycling directory online.  

Reduce Your Use of Single-Use Plastics

Single-use plastics are plastics made to be used one time and then thrown away. They are the largest part of plastic pollution in the oceans. Try to use less single-use plastics. Some of these would be plastic bags, straws, utensils, take-out containers, water bottles, cups, and dry-cleaning bags. There are many others. The best way to do this is to refuse to use any plastic you do not have to have. Carry reusable versions of these products. Help businesses know that it’s important to you for them to offer other types of containers. 

Avoid Products Containing Microbeads

Tiny plastic particles called microbeads are a HUGE problem in ocean plastic pollution. These microbeads are found in some face scrubs, toothpastes, and body washes, and they enter our waterways through our sewer systems. They affect hundreds of marine species. Look for the words “polyethylene” and “polypropylene” on the ingredient labels of your family’s products. 


Tell your friends and family how they can help.

Also:

→ Look through your clothes and toys and choose some that you don’t need or don’t want any more. Ask mom or dad to help you find the best place to donate them so that children who are disadvantaged can receive them. Give whatever you can afford to give.

→ Be kind to every kid you meet whether they are your friend or not. You never know what someone else’s life is like at home, and your smile might be the best thing they see all day long.

→ Complete this project and raise $40 to give an Oceanbag backpack to a child who is not able to get one. You’ll also save 30 plastic bottles from entering the ocean and plant a tree! YAY! Great job!



Vocabulary

  • A large solid area of land. Earth has seven continents.


  • A huge body of salt water.

  • A smaller body of salt water, completely or partly surrounded by land.

  • A child who is being raised by parents they are not related to.

  • A kind of material that is made by people in many colors. It can be formed into almost any shape. It is strong, lightweight and long-lasting.

  • A tiny thread, bead or piece of plastic.

  • A dangerous condition that occurs when the body's tissues don't have enough oxygen.

  • An area where animals, plants, bugs and anything living interacts with each other and the non-living like water, dirt, rocks and the sun.

Want to know more? Check out these great documentaries! A Plastic Ocean, Garbage Island: An Ocean Full of Plastic, Bag It, Addicted to Plastic, Plasticized, or Garbage Island.

SO! What Can You do?

Activities

Activities

What have we learned in this unit?

Children all over the world and the planet itself have important needs that we can all help meet.  The children need families, food, shelter, and the items necessary to live and learn. The planet needs us to restore the damage that has already been done, clean the areas that are polluted the best that we can, and try not to pollute more. There are certain things that we can do to make sure this happens, even if we are young.