Bad news: last government report warns about the amount of plastic in the oceans: it is expected to triple in just ten years. It’s a risk we don’t see, since we know more about the surface of the Moon than the deep sea. The mass of plastic pollution in the sea could be 150million tonnes by 2025, while it was estimated around 50million tonnes in 2015.
The British newspaper “Daily Mail” published an investigation days ago, which revealed how microplastics are contaminating the food we eat and the air we breathe.
Microplastics were found in fish fillet from the shops, showing how worrying this problem is. It needs several actions from the UN and governments around the world.
Scientists add that sea is vital to Britain as 95 per cent of exportations and trades travels by water. Our oceans are also very important because they store carbon dioxide and heat, producing oxygen and food, the Foresight Future of the Sea Report says.
Plastic will also arrive on coasts in particular areas, where it will accumulate. Another warning comes from Ian Boyd, chief scientific adviser for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who said that scientists have only just begun to examine the toxic effects of plastic and he added: «Even in the absence of research, there is a precautionary principle to take here. We should minimise the amount of plastic, both macro-plastic and micro-plastic, going into the marine environment in order to make sure that if there are toxic effects, those are being dealt with».
Plastic pollution could also bring diseases and bacteria along the coasts. Scientists and companies are working on developing new biodegradable materials in order to solve this problem.
Professor Ed Hill, executive director of the National Oceanography Centre, says: «When people see what is in the ocean, and the Blue Planet series and so on have helped, their reaction is twofold – wonder at what is there and horror at what we’re potentially doing to it. We know less about the bottom of the sea than the Moon or Mars but nothing lives on the Moon or Mars… things live in our ocean and they’re vital to us.»
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