Graham Readfearne: More than 14m tonnes of plastic believed to be at the bottom of the ocean

By Dilip -

At least 14m tonnes of plastic pieces less than 5mm wide are likely sitting at the bottom of the world’s oceans, according to an estimate based on new research. Analysis of ocean sediments from as deep as 3km suggests there could be more than 30 times as much plastic at the bottom of the world’s ocean than there is floating at the surface. Australia’s government science agency, CSIRO, gathered and analysed cores of the ocean floor taken at six remote sites about 300km off the country’s southern coast in the Great Australian Bight. 

Researchers looked at 51 samples and found that after excluding the weight of the water, each gram of sediment contained an average of 1.26 microplastic pieces. Microplastics are 5mm or less in diameter and are mostly the result of larger plastic items breaking apart into ever smaller pieces...

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/06/more-than-14m-tonnes-of-plastic-believed-to-be-at-the-bottom-of-the-ocean

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REBECCA SMITHERS - We Are Flushing Away Our Forests: Researchers warn that toilet paper is becoming unsustainable

David Cox - The planet's prodigious poo problem

 

Owen Jones: Why don’t we treat the climate crisis with the same urgency as coronavirus?

Abolish War - Russell-Einstein Manifesto of 1955

Chomsky: Internationalism or Extinction

John Sentamu - It’s time to act against the oil companies causing death and destruction

Capitalism and war: The money behind Sudan's most powerful militia

Keeping up with China: US Navy orders $22 billion worth of submarines // World military expenditure grows to $1.8 trillion in 2018

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Call to Earth and the extraordinary people working for a more sustainable future

Anna Fletcher: Indian student creates a brick made from recycled plastic

Scientists Accidentally Create A Plastic-Eating Enzyme

Could the Free World start cleaning up its act - from the bottom up?

Wiped out: America's love of luxury toilet paper is destroying Canadian forests


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