Over One Million Marine Animals Die as a Result of the More than 8 Million Tons of Plastic Every Year.
Single-use plastic items are contributing to the destruction of our environment and endangering marine animals and wildlife. According to National Geographic, over one million marine animals die as a result of the more than 8 million tons of plastic that escapes into our environment and oceans every year. The majority of plastic pollution comes from items that are not able to be recycled and become trash, left to pollute our planet.
As pollution continues to escape into our environment and oceans every year humans, animals and plants are being harmed as a result of frivolous human habits. Single-use plastic products like straws are used for a matter of minutes and left to destroy our planet for over 200 years. It is time for us all to become mindful of the daily choices we make, what we put into the refuse stream, and how we interact and impact the environment. By working together, educating, and enrolling others in this essential change, success is possible due to the numerous environmentally safe alternatives available to consumers.
To read top environmental news from Asia-Pacific, please visithttps://earth5r.org
https://wakyma.com/blog/fotos-peligro-del-plastico-en-el-mar/
https://seashepherd.org/2013/08/08/as-the-oceans-choke-on-plastic-so-do-the-whales/
http://Weekly Story: Plastic in the Ocean Dangerously Threats Marine Wildlife
Why do ocean animals eat plastic?
Whales with stomachs full of plastic have turned up around the world. Here’s what we know.
Why would an apex ocean predator eat gloves? Or rope? Or plastic cups? How does a whale end up with more than 200 pounds of waste in its stomach?
Last week, a ten-year-old whale was found dead on a beach in Scotland. A necropsy revealed 220 pounds of plastic and other trash congealed in clumps in his digestive system. The tragedy grabbed headlines—the sheer quantity of debris eclipsed that found in a growing number of similar cases: large whales discovered dead on beaches around the world with stomachs full of garbage.
It’s unclear if these sightings are becoming more common, or if we’re simply more attuned to them now that the public is aware of the plastic crisis, but plastic production is increasingly exponentially—In 1950, we produced 2.3 million tons of it. In 2015, we produced 448 million tons. Production is expected to double by 2050.
There is so much we still don’t know about what eating plastic and other refuse does to marine animals, or why they eat it, or how it makes them feel. While the necropsies reveal a shocking bounty of inedible material, ingesting plastic isn’t generally a fast killer. More often, the toll comes in a slow creep, harming some species more than others, in ways both stealthy and subtle. Here’s what we do know.
Full article : https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/whales-eating-plastic-pollution
Plastic is devastating to nature. Natural ecosystems operate on a cycle of renewal: plants and animals grow, die, and become food for the next generation. These ecosystems have no place for substances that do not degrade. Our wonder material has now escaped the urban environment and is reaching every corner of the natural world, from the deepest point of the Mariana trench to the top of Mount Everest.
What impact is plastic having on the ocean?
The ocean is perhaps the most vulnerable environment to plastic waste. Once plastic enters the sea, it has no boundaries – waves and storms can carry plastics to even the furthest reaches of the ocean, where they accumulate into large gyres on the high seas or become embedded in shorelines and delicate coastal ecosystems; they’ve even been found on uninhabited islands.
After some months or years at sea, plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, battered by waves and storms, eventually to sizes smaller than a grain of sand. This makes retrieving plastics from the ocean extremely difficult – almost impossible. SUGGESTED READING !
https://www.fauna-flora.org/explained/how-does-plastic-pollution-affect-marine-life/
https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-brief/marine-plastic-pollution PDF.
https://worldanimalfoundation.org/advocate/ocean-pollution-facts/
Turning this tide starts at an individual level:
- Recycle everything you can.
- Use your own cutlery, food containers and KeepCups when getting takeaway, rather than using disposable alternatives.
- Participate in beach or community clean-ups.
- Tell the waiter to ‘hold the straw’ when purchasing drinks.
Most importantly, : #ReduceYourUse today https://wwf.org.au/blogs/plastic-in-our-oceans-is-killing-marine-mammals/
https://nwf.org/Home/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2019/June-July/Conservation/Ocean-Plastic
https://theecologist.org/2020/apr/24/satellites-can-identify-ocean-plastic-pollution
The study led by scientists at Plymouth Marine Laboratory used high-resolution data of coastal waters from the satellites, which “see” across the visible light spectrum and into infrared light waves.
Debris :
The data was put through an algorithm tuned to highlighting objects floating on the surface of the ocean, which reflect near-infrared light while water absorbs it, to create a “floating debris index”.
They then used information on how the satellites “see” collections of plastics deployed in the sea by the University of the Aegean for their new study into plastic litter, to establish an optical “signature” of floating plastic.
https://usa.oceana.org/reports/choked-strangled-drowned-plastics-crisis-unfolding-our-oceans/ 2020 !!!!!!!!!!!!!
https://australian.museum/blog/museullaneous/plastic-in-our-oceans-is-killing-marine-mammals/ 2018 !!!!!!!!!!!!
https://earth.org/data_visualization/how-many-marine-animals-does-ocean-plastic-kill/
11 acts of activism to “save” the oceans
We all know that are oceans are in danger but it seems so overwhelming – what can be do about it? Climate change, overfishing and plastics are all huge problems but every single one of us can help the oceans to survive these threats. If you watched Seaspiracy on Netflix and felt moved by it then these are some easy things you can do to save the oceans!
1. Reduce your synthetic chemical use
2.Ditch single-use plastics (and masks)
3.Wash clothes in a microwaste bag
4. Eat less and more sustainable seafood
https://www.edf.org/oceans/overfishing-most-serious-threat-our-oceans
5. Use reusable period products and nappies
6. Try a 2 minute beach clean
https://www.beachclean.net
7. Say no to polystyrene
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/great-pacific-garbage-patch/
8. Buy things made from reclaimed plastic
https://landofsize.com/7-reasons-why-polystyrene-should-be-banned-in-every-country/
https://suono.home.blog/2023/09/05/the-great-pacific-garbage-patch-an-unseen-environmental-disaster-with-video/
9. Write to your local MP
10. Dive Against Debris
https://www.projectaware.org/diveagainstdebris
11. Sign petitions
RELATED
https://suono.home.blog/2023/08/09/pasifika-part-ii-deep-sea-mining/
UNIVERSE 