Off the coast of southeastern China, one particular fish species is booming: the oddly named Bombay duck, a long, slim fish with a distinctive, gaping jaw and a texture like jelly. When research ships trawl the seafloor off that coast, they now catch upwards of 440 pounds of the gelatinous fish per hour — a […]
Tag: microplastics
Scientists confirm plastic is a new threat to the Andean condor in Peru
While investigating the feeding interactions of the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) in Peru, researcher Victor Gamarra-Toledo found something that concerned him — plastics featuring in the scavenger bird’s diet. And this was not an isolated finding. In almost all samples analyzed, pieces of plastic made up part of the food the condors had eaten.. “We […]
Plastic pellet pollution can end through coordinated efforts, report shows
The building blocks of almost all plastic items on the planet are little lentil-sized petrochemical-derived pellets, called nurdles, that are melted together and shaped to create larger plastic products. These nurdles are the raw material for making water bottles, automobile parts, food containers and countless other products we use in daily life. These pellets pose […]
Another Dead Whale Washed Ashore Found to Have 33 Pounds of Plastic in Stomach
A dead whale washed up on the shores of Greece and was found to have 33 pounds of plastic in their stomach. The cuvier’s beaked whale washed up on Kremasti beach in Rhodes at the end of April. The magnificent 16-food creature likely died a traumatizing and painful death due to the mounds of plastic […]
Nurdles: the worst toxic waste you’ve probably never heard of
When the X-Press Pearl container ship caught fire and sank in the Indian Ocean in May, Sri Lanka was terrified that the vessel’s 350 tonnes of heavy fuel oil would spill into the ocean, causing an environmental disaster for the country’s pristine coral reefs and fishing industry. Classified by the UN as Sri Lanka’s “worst […]
Petition: Camels Are Dying Due to Plastic Pollution
A recent study out of the Journal of Arid Environments is stating that 1% of camels in the United Arab Emirates are dying due to ingesting plastic pollution. As has also been found with marine life and seabirds, the ingested plastic builds up in the digestive system of camels, leading to a range of health […]
Petition: Plastic Pollution Critical Threat to Florida Sea Turtles
Two scientists, David Duffy and Catherine Eastman, at the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience and Sea Turtle Hospital at the University of Florida, wrote an article on EcoWatch about the ubiquity of plastic in the oceans and the harm it brings to sea turtles. Source: Oceana/Youtube Turtles face a variety of threats, including conservation […]
Squirrels in London are Using Plastic Waste to Build Nests
London squirrelsare now using plastic to build their nests, according to South West News Service (SWNS) reports. Henry Jacobs caught images of squirrels riffing through plastic scraps as part of building their nests. Jacobs said in an interview, “When I first saw it, I didn’t know what I was looking at I knew it was […]