Artists & Products Plastic Oceans | Facts | Waste | Plastic Oceans The proliferation of plastic products in the last 70 years or so has been extraordinary; quite simply we cannot now live without them. This epidemic of plastic has resulted in an increased introduction from around 50 million tonnes in 1950 to 245 million tonnes in 2008 (Plastics Europe). Plastic is cheap and incredibly versatile with properties that make it ideal for many applications. However, these qualities have also resulted in it becoming an environmental issue. According to water filtration company Brita, Americans throw away 35 billion plastic water bottles every year.Packaging is the largest end use market segment accounting for just over 40|% of total plastic usage (Plastics Europe)Annually approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide.
The Recycling Reflex Fixes looks at solutions to social problems and why they work. What if there were something that could create 1.5 million new jobs, reduce carbon emissions equal to taking 50 million cars off the road, cut dependence on foreign oil, increase exports, save water, improve air quality and reduce toxic waste? What if it were low-cost and readily implemented? Wouldn’t everyone do it? At a time of wildfires, droughts and persistent unemployment, wouldn’t it be a centerpiece of the presidential campaign? A drive to make the act of recycling as automatic as stopping at a red light. Well, there is such a thing. The numbers in the first paragraph come from a report prepared by the Tellus Institute for the Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups entitled “More Jobs, Less Pollution” that estimates the impact of raising the country’s recycling rate to 75 percent. Moreover, recycling is great for a struggling economy because it is labor intensive. So why don’t people recycle more?
Ocean Pollution Causes Why be concerned with ocean pollution causes? Here’s why. Imagine yourself walking on the beach. Such a scenario does not only take place in our imagination. Ocean water pollution is one of the vital environmental issues the planet is facing at present. There is no single source of ocean pollution. Here are some major ocean pollution causes. Oil Industry Our demand for fossil fuels is adversely affecting the oceans. Remember the 2010 BP Oil spill, one of the greatest environmental catastrophe US has faced ever? In turn, when gasoline is burned, may it be by vehicles or power stations, toxic gases are released into the air. Garbage Dumping Garbage is one of the significant ocean pollution causes. Back in 1975, the National Academy of Sciences estimated that about 14 billion pounds of garbage was being dumped into the ocean every year. Plastic bags, balloons, glass bottles, shoes, packaging material, etc, through Man’s irresponsible disposage of waste, have found their way to the ocean.
Southern African leaders fail to prioritise water and sanitation | Global development The majority of southern Africans are living in an "unrelenting struggle against sanitation and water poverty," according to a new report that accuses governments in the region of failing to prioritise their plight. In From promise to reality, the international NGO WaterAid says southern African leaders have fallen behind on their promises to boost public spending on basic services, with the poorest and most vulnerable people hardest hit. "There is a lot of economic growth in the region... but this is bypassing much of the population," said John Garrett, senior policy analyst at WaterAid, contrasting the optimism over southern Africa's economic prospects with the region's lagging progress on clean water and sanitation targets. An estimated 174 million people in southern Africa - almost two thirds of the total population - lack access to basic latrines, while more than 100 million go without clean drinking water. WaterAid says no government in southern Africa has met the spending target.
Why Recycle? The Response » THE CLEAN OCEANS PROJECT Our Organization The Clean Oceans Project (TCOP) is a 501c3 non-profit created to develop efficient and effective methods of eliminating plastic from the ocean. Our Plan TCOP’s multi-phase approach involves research, education and direct action integrated into a cohesive long-term plan. Training shoreline surveyors creates local awareness and promotes ocean stewardship. To measure progress we monitor plastic debris deposition rates at isolated shore stations which is far more accurate than oceanic sampling. Disposal TCOP will utilize plastic-to-fuel conversion systems on board collection vessels to transform plastic into diesel fuel eliminating the need to dispose of the waste in a landfill and providing fuel for collection operations. Long Term Commitments TCOP is committed to a comprehensive global approach to plastic pollution. We are committed to research and technical innovation to facilitate an accurate awareness of plastics pollution. Support and Funding Our Message
Almost all world’s oceans damaged by human impact, study finds | Environment Just 13% of the world’s oceans remain untouched by the damaging impacts of humanity, the first systematic analysis has revealed. Outside the remotest areas of the Pacific and the poles, virtually no ocean is left harbouring naturally high levels of marine wildlife. Huge fishing fleets, global shipping and pollution running off the land are combining with climate change to degrade the oceans, the researchers found. Furthermore, just 5% of the remaining ocean wilderness is within existing marine protection areas. “We were astonished by just how little marine wilderness remains,” says Kendall Jones, at the University of Queensland, Australia, and the Wildlife Conservation Society, who led the new research. Jones said the last remnants of wilderness show how vibrant ocean life was before human activity came to dominate the planet. Much of the wilderness is in the high seas, beyond the protected areas that nations can create. As most are on the high seas, very few are protected.
Plastic Waste Causes Financial Damage of US$13 Billion to Marine Ecosystems Each Year as Concern Grows over Microplastics Nairobi, 23 June 2014 - Concern is growing over the threat that widespread plastic waste poses to marine life, with conservative estimates of the overall financial damage of plastics to marine ecosystems standing at US$13 billion each year, according to two reports released on the opening day of the first United Nations Environment Assembly.The eleventh edition of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Year Book looks at ten issues flagged as emerging by previous reports over the past decade, including plastic waste in the ocean. The UNEP Year Book 2014 gives an update on each issue and provides options for action. Other areas covered include the environmental impacts of excess nitrogen and marine aquaculture, air pollution's deadly toll, and the potential of citizen science. Valuing Plastic, a UNEP-supported report produced by the Plastic Disclosure Project (PDP) and Trucost, makes the business case for managing and disclosing plastic use in the consumer goods industry.
22d74a6887640bf192029afb1a992af8 l Local Recycling Home microplastics - rivers & lakes too click 2x When you think of microplastic pollution, plastic debris less than five millimetres in size, you likely envision the ocean — probably because ocean gyres gained notoriety for being a microplastic soup. But what about our lakes, rivers, forests and fields? They can be just as contaminated with microplastic debris as the oceans. Until recently, these environments were described as conduits — ways for plastics to get to the oceans. We now know that agricultural land, surface waters, freshwater lakes and river sediments are also contaminated. In the past five years, researchers have started to study the sources, fates and effects of microplastics in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems, but only a handful of studies have been done so far. Microplastics in our Great Lakes Here in North America, when we think of freshwater, we often think of the Laurentian Great Lakes. For the Indigenous peoples of Canada, the Great Lakes hold even more importance. Contaminated habitats, contaminated wildlife