ocean pollution

In an uplifting news article posted by the Monterey County Weekly, it was announced that as of February 3rd, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California has joined neighboring Monterey in banning plastic bags. The article, written by Kera Abraham, states that Carmel's ocean side location was an important factor in instituting a ban, following the increase in plastic found on the beaches there. Abraham published a comment from Carmel Mayor Jason Burnett, who felt strongly about the ban's importance.

BBC Science Editor Susan Watts writes about the filming of a BBC series on the French Frigate Shoals, during which the film crew encountered the problem of plastic pollution firsthand. According to the article on the BBC, the crews encountered Albatross which had died due to plastic ingestion, turtles nesting in plastic bottles, and floating garbage that was discarded by its owners and remained forever after at sea. Watts comments that it is not just these problems that emerge from plastic pollution, however. Impacts of plastic can range from the very visible to the microscopic.

Plastic pollution has plagued the world's oceans alongside overfishing and acidification, but recent research has found that the problem of pollution in the world's oceans is magnified due to the way plastics absorb other pollutants, causing them to become even more dangerous and toxic to marine life. According to an article from Inhabitat, plastics were found to absorb persistent organic pollutants (POPs) over a long period of time -- in some cases, plastics continued to absorb new chemicals after 44 months. Morgana Matus reports:

The findings of a new study by the Marine Conservation Society of Scotland has spelled trouble for the Scottish fishing industry, with findings that indicate that plastics have become the largest threat to the Scottish maritime industry. According to an article in the Herald Scotland, which was written by senior news reporter Brian Donnelly, plastic pollution is costing the industry around £17 million per year to process. Writes Donnelly:

An article on the Kansas City Star today shared the harrowing story of Haiti's plastic pollution problem, shedding light on a plastic epidemic that plagues Haiti's waterways. Jacqueline Morgan of the Miami Herald writes that Port-Au-Prince, Haiti is being suffocated by polystyrene packaging and plastic food containers. The Haitian government has announced a ban, effective October 1st, to ban the production, importation, and marketing of black plastic bags, which have become as ubiquitous as the other trash that plagues the city. Morgan writes:

A detailed article written by Charlie Cooper of the Independent today tells the story of a research vessel called the Tara, and her voyage to document life in the Antarctic Ocean. The scientific journey, which has returned with a vast amount of new, unprecedented research, has found examples of 1.5 million species in the Antarctic -- a figure far greater than was ever thought to exist before. The research went further than simply documenting living creatures, however.

A new concept drone created by industrial design Student Elie Ahovi of the French International School of Design has been created to help alleviate the plastic pollution in the world's oceans by skimming the water and collecting debris throughout the water column, according to an article on PSFK. According to Carib Guerra, this drone, called Veolia, would have the ability to remain underwater for multiple weeks at a time, scooping plastic into a large vortex within it, and emitting a sound that would keep animals from being collected in the same way. Writes Guerra:

By Mary Catherine O'Connor

Saving the world—or rather, trying to save the world—can be rather tedious and difficult and boring. It’s not so sexy or compelling to your average Joe or Jane. But when a charismatic, handsome, worldly (read: rich) individual puts his resources (and charisma and long flowing hair) to the task, people take notice. And if that person does something audacious, like build a boat out of plastic bottles and sail it from San Francisco to Sydney, well, it attracts attention.