More than half of the world’s sea turtles have eaten plastic – ‘It is only a matter of time before we see the same problems in other species, and even in the fish we eat’

16 September 2015 (Plastic Pollution Coalition) – A new international study published on 14 September 2015, led by a University of Queensland researcher, has suggested that more than half the world’s sea turtles have ingested plastic or other human rubbish. The study, led by Dr. Qamar Schuyler from UQ’s School of Biological Sciences, found the […]

Open letter to Starbucks: Your ‘green’ straws make mermaids cry

By Lisa Kaas Boyle3 September 2015 (Huffington Post) – Dear Starbucks, I am a real mermaid, not just a graphic on a plastic cup. As an ocean protection activist, environmental attorney and surf lover, I spend a lot of time at the beach and in the ocean. I want you to know that your “Green” […]

Study finds 90 per cent of all seabirds alive today have eaten plastic of some kind

1 September 2015 (CSIRO) – Researchers from CSIRO and Imperial College London have assessed how widespread the threat of plastic is for the world’s seabirds, including albatrosses, shearwaters and penguins, and found the majority of seabird species have plastic in their gut. The study, led by Dr Chris Wilcox with co-authors Dr Denise Hardesty and […]

Video: Plankton eating plastic caught on camera for the first time

By Richard Gray7 July 2015 (Daily Mail) – It has been found inside the digestive tracts of turtles, sea birds and whales, but it appears plastic litter in our oceans is also clogging up the insides of the tiny plankton that many larger sea creatures feed on. For the first time copepods – tiny creatures […]

Toxic plastic found in the world’s favorite fish

By John R. Platt 7 May 2015  (Takepart) – For the first time, plastic particles have been found in the stomachs of tuna and other fish that are a staple of the human diet. More than 18 percent of sampled bluefin, albacore, and swordfish caught in the Mediterranean Sea and tested in 2012 and 2013 […]

Surprise finding heightens concern over tiny bits of plastic polluting our oceans

By Lynne Peeples23 March 2015 (Huffington Post) – Scientists are looking for — and finding — little bits of plastic in a lot of places lately: ice cores, deep sea sediments, coral reefs, crab gills, the digestive system of mussels, even German beer. Now, new research suggests they need not actually be searching for the […]

Corals face ‘slow starvation’ from ingesting plastics pollution, experts find

By Oliver Milman24 February 2015 (The Guardian) – Corals such as those found on the Great Barrier Reef are at risk from the estimated 5 trillion pieces of plastic in the world’s oceans because researchers have discovered they digest tiny fragments of plastic at a significant rate. A study led by the ARC centre of […]

How a DVD case killed an endangered whale –‘It was a very long and painful decline’

By Isabelle Groc 7 January 2015 (National Geographic) – In August of 2014, biologists from the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center Stranding Response Team were notified of an unusual sighting in the Elizabeth River, a busy, industrial tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. A 45-foot-long young female sei whale was spotted swimming up the river, […]

Full scale of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans revealed for first time – More than five trillion pieces weighing 269,000 tons are floating in our oceans

By Oliver Milman10 December 2014 (The Guardian) – More than five trillion pieces of plastic, collectively weighing nearly 269,000 tonnes, are floating in the world’s oceans, causing damage throughout the food chain, new research has found. Data collected by scientists from the US, France, Chile, Australia and New Zealand suggests a minimum of 5.25tn plastic […]

TOXIC: Garbage Island, Part 1 – Oh, this is great, humans have finally ruined the ocean

By Thomas MortonPhotos by Jake Burghart (VICE) – I’m not one of those guys who corners folks at parties to rant at them about biodiesel or calls people “fucking idiots” for being skeptical about global warming. But I should also point out that I’m not one of those Andrew Dice Clay “Fuck the whales” types […]

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