The suggestion that we are essentially in a 'new' Geological era, dominated by humans and their waste has been given enormous support by a study looking at washed up plastics on Henderson island in the Pitcairns of the South Pacific (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/15/38-million-pieces-of-plastic-waste-found-on-uninhabited-south-pacific-island). It has been estimated that this tiny, uninhabited atoll has circa 38 million pieces of plastic on its shores and buried in its sands (remarkably, making it one of the most polluted places on the planet). This means that almost 18 tonnes of this human-generated waste has arrived by wave action, endangering habitats and species. As it takes hundreds of years for the plastics to biodegrade, only waste removal exercises will reduce it (and this is pointless if more material simply washes up to replace it). Those humans are messy animals!
This blog may help people explore some of the 'hidden' issues involved in certain media treatments of environmental and scientific issues. Using personal digital images, it's also intended to emphasise seasonal (and other) changes in natural history of the Swansea (South Wales) area. The material should help participants in field-based modules and people generally interested in the natural world. The views are wholly those of the author.
Tuesday 16 May 2017
Plastic Shores!
The suggestion that we are essentially in a 'new' Geological era, dominated by humans and their waste has been given enormous support by a study looking at washed up plastics on Henderson island in the Pitcairns of the South Pacific (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/15/38-million-pieces-of-plastic-waste-found-on-uninhabited-south-pacific-island). It has been estimated that this tiny, uninhabited atoll has circa 38 million pieces of plastic on its shores and buried in its sands (remarkably, making it one of the most polluted places on the planet). This means that almost 18 tonnes of this human-generated waste has arrived by wave action, endangering habitats and species. As it takes hundreds of years for the plastics to biodegrade, only waste removal exercises will reduce it (and this is pointless if more material simply washes up to replace it). Those humans are messy animals!
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