Reflection

In creating this piece, I sought to strike a contrast between the effects of pollution and some of the solutions to these problems. Specifically, I depicted sewage runoff, oil spills, and trash dumping, major sources of pollution plaguing our oceans today. On the other side of the drawing, some of the solutions to the aforementioned problems are presented. I drew people collecting trash from a beach and the ocean. At the bottom is a vibrant coral reef. An average person may not be able to make significant contributions to the mitigation of ocean pollution, but instilling an anti-littering ethos will undoubtedly benefit the environment, both on land and in our oceans. After all, much of the pollution in the ocean begins on land. The drawing is centered around a globe. The globe is split in two, in order to represent the disparity in the outcomes of pollution and anti-pollution efforts. On the left side of the globe, the detrimental consequences of pollution are shown, including a lack of vegetated land and discoloration in the color of the ocean water. On the right side, an idealistic earth is shown, with a bright green foliage cover and deep blue oceans. The ocean is a vast frontier covering seventy percent of our planet's surface, yet it will soon be irreparably contaminated if we fail to act more sustainably.