BEAST! Debate Challenge Cheat Sheets Note for teacher: This sheet can be either given to the group for them to use the information in their debate OR kept from the group, and used by you to stimulate debate.
Argument Topic 1 “The Ocean is a good place to dump our litter – it has to go somewhere!” SOME ARGUMENTS FOR (agree that the ocean is a good place to dump):  Many countries are overpopulated (too many people!) and have nowhere on land to put their garbage. In addition, the world’s population is going to reach 10 billion by the end of this century (year 2100).  When we dump our waste on the land, it will end up in the oceans anyway! Liquid waste will enter the groundwater and rivers and streams and be transported to the ocean. Solid waste will break down and move in the same way.  The ocean is huge compared to our land mass (about twice as big) and much deeper than we could ever dig on land.  Waves are very good at helping to break large pieces of litter into smaller pieces, thus helping with biodegradation (fruit rotting is an example of biodegradation. Most things biodegrade, just some things take a very long time to do so).  If the litter is dumped away from the coastline then no one can see it.  The ocean dilutes toxic stuff – 80% of the ocean is more than 3,000 m (3 km!) deep. It’s like putting a drop of Ribena into a glass of water. When dumped on land the toxic materials seep in to the ground and are diluted by the soil that we grow our food on, and the water that we drink.  There’s a lot more ocean that there is litter, so chances are that the creatures in the ocean won’t get near it anyway. MORE INFORMATION: Deep sea biodiversity and the impacts of Ocean Dumping: http://www.nurp.noaa.gov/Spotlight/OceanDumping.htm EU Marine Litter Project, excellent information and educational resources: http://www.marlisco.eu A few videos, and information about the problems with waste in general and with ocean dumping: http://marinebio.org/oceans/ocean‐dumping.asp VIDEO: Sources & Impacts of Marine Litter (supporting the argument AGAINST marine litter!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=017bBeXhYz4 BEAST! Debate Exercise Cheat Sheets Note for teacher: This sheet can be either given to the group for them to use the information in their debate OR kept from the group, and used by you to stimulate debate.
Argument Topic 1 “The Ocean is a good place to dump our litter – it has to go somewhere!” SOME ARGUMENTS AGAINST (do not agree that the ocean is a good place to dump):  We should be focusing on REDUCING and REUSING rather than dumping. Dumping our waste away into a place where we can’t see it, doesn’t help us to care about trying to make less waste in the first place! The waste it’s still there!  When litter is dumped on‐land at least we can spend some time using safe processes to break it down, or recycle it.  Ocean currents can move litter and its harmful products around the world.  Plastic can take up to 500 years to biodegrade (break down), so we are just building up loads of plastic in the sea.  It looks ugly when it washes up on beaches, it spoils the beauty, and can be dangerous if we swim in an area polluted by litter.  Marine Litter pollutes the water in many ways. Harmful toxins that are dumped directly into the water (like chemicals), or that come out of plastics and other man‐made materials, BIOACCUMULATE in the food chain, eventually ending up on our plates! So it is also bad for human health.  Marine Litter is bad for the creatures living in the seas and oceans:  Some fish, marine mammals, and seabirds mistake floating plastic for food.  Sea life can get caught in marine litter, and die.  Metals and other toxic materials can change the biodiversity of an area, as some creatures will be more sensitive to them than others (e.g. will more easily fall ill). MORE INFORMATION: Deep sea biodiversity and the impacts of Ocean Dumping: http://www.nurp.noaa.gov/Spotlight/OceanDumping.htm EU Marine Litter Project, excellent information and educational resources: http://www.marlisco.eu A few videos, and information about the problems with waste in general and with ocean dumping: http://marinebio.org/oceans/ocean‐dumping.asp VIDEO: Sources & Impacts of Marine Litter (supporting the argument AGAINST marine litter!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=017bBeXhYz4