What really happens to the plastic you throw away - Emma Bryce

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6xlNyWPpB8

Plus Plastic - Multimedia Bottled water manufacturers emphasized their products met all government requirements. Gerolsteiner, a German bottler, said its tests "have come up with a significantly lower quantity of microparticles per liter," than found in Orb's study. Nestle tested six bottles from three locations after an inquiry from Orb Media. Those tests, said Nestle Head of Quality Frederic de Bruyne, showed between zero and five plastic particles per liter. None of the other bottlers agreed to make public results of their tests for plastic contamination. "We stand by the safety of our bottled water products," the American Beverage Association said in a statement. Carbios's Plastic-Eating Enzyme May Help Alleviate The World's Pollution Problem Kids News Article The negative health impacts of plastic on both wildlife and humans have been well-documented. However, the versatile material, which is used for everything from grocery bags to drink bottles to food packaging, is hard to avoid. Experts estimate that of the 359 million tons of plastics produced annually worldwide, about 150–200 million tons end up in landfills or the environment. To make matters worse, the material derived from the small percentage of plastic that is recycled is of lower quality and can only be used a few times for items like clothing or carpets before it has to be discarded.

Designers Create Vegan Cashmere Made From Tofu KD New York a dance wear apparel company has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund their new vegan cashmere made from the leftover soybean fiber created during tofu production. Vegan cashmere is sustainable since it’s made from a normally disposed of by product, flexible, has anti bacterial properties, is machine washable, has “superior drape and breathability”, biodegradable and most importantly cruelty free. The new vegan cashmere collection will feature 13 pieces including hoodies, camisoles, shawls, leg warmers, and leggings. David Lee co founder said in a post: “We launched this campaign on Kickstarter so we can remain independent, and reach a community that believes in true sustainability and innovation, we passed our target with about 6 hours to go. It was a wonderful and exhilarating day, and we have you to thank for it.”

Alison Teal's Powerful Message on Plastics Alison Teal, TV star and eco-adventurer filmmaker, recently traveled to Indonesia to work with the conservation group Orca365 and was stunned to see how the global plastic epidemic is impacting some of the world’s most naturally beautiful locales. “Growing up and working in places like Bali, the Maldives, Mexico, and Hawaii, I’ve watched plastic pollution plague these pristine places,” she told The Inertia. The short clip above is just a fraction of what Teal observed on her trip but it also proffers a few strategies that anyone and everyone can incorporate into their daily lives to wean off of single-use plastics. Advertisement

Coral reefs are in crisis – but scientists are finding effective ways to restore them These are bleak times for coral reefs. Warming ocean waters, disease outbreaks, pollution, sedimentation, careless scuba divers, destructive fishing practices, and a host of other global and local stressors are decimating coral populations at unprecedented rates. If there is any silver lining to these events, it may be that many of the disturbances killing corals are acute: They occur just for a short period of time and then disappear, potentially allowing corals to recover before the next disturbance. But as stressors become more and more frequent, humans may have to help foster corals’ recovery. Many organizations are working to combat coral loss by restoring corals to damaged reefs.

Microplastics: Billions of tiny pieces of plastic are covering the seabed - CBBC Newsround Getty Images Billions of tiny bits of plastic are sinking to the bottom of the ocean and covering the world's seabeds. Researchers found up to 1.9 million pieces of microplastic in an area covering just one square metre of seabed in the Tyrrhenian Sea. That is the highest level of microplastics ever discovered. Wallace & Gromit's creators make new animation to try to save the seas By Layal Liverpool Turtle Journey tells the tragic story of a turtle family travelling home through an ocean under growing pressure from climate change, plastic pollution, oil drilling and overfishing. The short animation, which you can watch below, was produced by Aardman – the creators of Wallace & Gromit – and campaigners Greenpeace to highlight the plight of the world’s oceans. Climate change is already affecting the habitats of sea turtles. Changing ocean currents are damaging the coral reefs some turtles rely on to survive, while rising seas threaten to destroy their beach habitats.

We calculated how much money trees save for your city Megacities are on the rise. There are currently 47 such areas around the globe, each housing more than 10 million residents. More than half the global population now lives in urban areas, comprising about 3 percent of the Earth. The ecological footprint of this growth is vast and there’s far more that can be done to improve life for urban residents around the world. Plastic: Pollution to reach 1.3 billion tonnes by 2040 - CBBC Newsround Getty Images The amount of plastic pollution on Earth could reach 1.3 billion tonnes by 2040. "It's difficult to picture an amount that large, but if you could imagine laying out all that plastic across a flat surface, it would cover the area of the UK 1.5 times," explained Dr Costas Velis, from the University of Leeds. He said the amount was "staggering" but that we have "the technology and the opportunity to stem the tide".

Cork's climate-rapping schoolkids go global as they feature on huge American site - Pupils at a small primary school near Bantry have gone global with their brilliant rap video on tackling climate change. The kids at Cappabue N.S. - a mixed, two-teacher school in the Shehy Mountains north of Bantry - made the video with the help of Cork producer Garry McCarthy of award-winning Cork City based music collective GMC Beats. The video, which was first featured on CorkBeo, has gotten such a reaction since appearing online that it is now getting attention in America. NowThis, a huge news site in New York with 14 million Facebook likes and 2.5 million Twitter followers, featured the videos on their social media channels.

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