University of Queensland research highlighting the devastating impact of marine rubbish on wildlife has taken out the 2015 Healthy Waterways Research Award at the weekend. The study, by researchers at UQ’s North Stradbroke Island Moreton Bay Research Station, sought to… Read More ›
The chemicals that Padula looks for in sea birds are called phthalates. They are a family of chemicals used to make plastic more flexible, and they can leach into the muscle and liver tissues of birds.
Padula found those chemicals in all of the birds she collected in the west Aleutians. But only some birds had visible pieces of plastic in their stomach.
Plastic waste causes $13 billion in damage to marine ecosystems each year, according to the UN Environment Program. California and cities including Chicago, Seattle and Portland have banned single-use plastic bags.
“The implications are obvious and severe,” said Jim Elliott, director of the Center for Birds of Prey, about the discovery of the repellents and retardants in all 27 birds sampled among eagles, hawks and owls. “Who’s next on the (food chain) ladder? It’s us.”
ASTORIA, Ore. — Marine debris researcher Mark Ward is leading a charge to clean up a tidal inlet near the mouth of the Columbia River. The inlet is littered with millions of tiny pieces of plastic called micro-plastics. Ward has… Read More ›
WASHINGTON: Debris in the ocean, such as plastic and glass, has been having a life-threatening global impact on marine life. Nearly 700 species of marine animal have been recorded as having encountered man-made debris according to the most comprehensive impact… Read More ›
Some eight million metric tons of plastic waste makes its way into the world’s oceans each year, and the amount of the debris is likely to increase greatly over the next decade unless nations take strong measures to dispose of… Read More ›
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Balloons are killing animals on land and in water, according to researchers at the Virginia Aquarium. And now a lawmaker from Virginia Beach is hoping to ban the release of helium balloons into the air…. Read More ›
The fibers “get enmeshed in their G-I [gastrointestinal] tracts,” where they can pose physical and physiological hazards, explained Laura Kammin, pollution prevention specialist with the Ilinois-Indiana Sea Grant who worked with Mason on the study that documented fibers in Lake Michigan waters.
Reading about ocean plastic makes one marvel at what man has wrought. According to National Geographic, trash from North America makes a mighty six-year voyage to reach “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” where it hooks up with trash from Asia. Ocean currents form these areas of spinning debris that researchers are only now starting to measure.
Neptune 911! 