Surprising Creatures Lurk in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – Scientific American
Scientists have long known that critters such as worms, crustaceans and mollusks could make their home on plastic debris. Animals have even crossed the Pacific Ocean on these makeshift rafts after a devastating tsunami struck Japan in 2011. But new research published on April 17 in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution adds two details that could be concerning for existing ecosystems. First, it finds that plastic is providing a home for coastal species to thrive in the open ocean thousands of miles from shore. Second, some of these species are reproducing despite the alien environment…
Here’s why a California beach town just banned balloons – the Grist
Celebrations in a beachside California city will soon have to take place without an iconic, single-use party favor: balloons.
The city council of Laguna Beach, about 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles, banned the sale and use of all types of balloons on Tuesday, citing their contribution to ocean litter as well as risks from potential fires when they hit power lines…
Regional Emmy® Award-Winning TRASH TALK – NOAA
Don’t you think it’s time we all have an honest trash talk? Ocean Today, in partnership with the NOAA Marine Debris Program, presents Regional Emmy® Award-winning TRASH TALK, a 15-minute special feature on marine debris for World Ocean Day. It is specially designed to be part of your World Ocean Day festivities and beyond…
KIDS VS. PLASTIC Plastic Pollution What’s the problem? – National Geographic
A sea turtle swims through the water and spots a white blob floating near the surface. “Yum!” it thinks. “A jellyfish!” Chasing after its dinner, the turtle swallows the item. But the floating blob isn’t a jelly—it’s a plastic bag that could make the sea turtle sick…
The Reality of Recycling Plastic
Industry makes 380 million tons of plastic every year and none of it is truly recyclable.
Greenpeace has just released a report in October calling out the plastic industry for greenwashing the status of plastic recycling by continuing to employ the familiar “chasing arrows” recycling symbol on their products, when the truth is that recycling plastic has been a near-complete failure…
Plastic in the Depths: how pollution took over our oceans – The Guardian
More than 8m tonnes pour into the seas every year…Plastic even contaminates ocean air, where particles are kicked up by spray and then blown about the planet by the wind. In many places on Earth, it is literally raining – and snowing – plastic.
Victory: Washington State Passes Comprehensive Policy to tackle Plastic Pollution
The Surfrider Foundation and our partners in the Plastics Free Washington Coalition/Washington Sin Plástico are celebrating as Governor Jay Inslee signs into law SB5022, a major piece of legislation that will help tackle the plastic pollution crisis.
Twenty firms produce 55% of world’s plastic waste, report reveals
Twenty companies are responsible for producing more than half of all the single-use plastic waste in the world, fueling the climate crisis and creating an environmental catastrophe, new research reveals.
Plastic gets to the oceans through over 1,000 rivers
The problem with plastic waste just got more complicated—and so did the effort to stanch its flow into the world’s oceans.