Horror of plastics pollution: when the oceans die, we die
GERMAN marine microbiologist Julia Schnetzer shook her head as she pointed out items in a colourful wall display of plastic rubbish on the National Mall in Washington.
“We’ve got fishing nets, bottles, a construction helmet, a boogie board. I’ve even seen a mannequin head 600m below,” she said.
The display of ocean refuse is part of a pop-up exhibit that Schnetzer and other scientists created.
Their “Ocean Plastics Lab” consists of four shipping containers filled with interactive science exhibits. The idea is to raise awareness about plastics pollution in the sea, help people understand its impact and encourage them to address the problem. It is on an international tour.
According to the project’s website, the amount of rubbish humans dump into the ocean is about 850 shipping containers full of plastic trash daily. This dumping is disastrous to ocean life. It can also harm those who don’t live in the ocean, by contaminating Earth’s water with particles that we can’t see, such as plastic microbeads and clothing fibres.
“We actually don’t know if plastic ever disappears,” Schnetzer said. “The worst is the fishing line that takes 600 years to break down.”
Plastic bags, she says, take about 20 years. But they pose other problems, such as possibly killing turtles and whales which eat them. Bags also wrap around and suffocate coral.
Each of the four containers has a theme. The first provides an introduction to the problem. The second shows examples of marine pollution. The third discusses its impact, and the last offers solutions.
Visitors to the interactive exhibit can examine a sand sample through a microscope, use a barcode scanner to see how many years a plastic item will take to decompose, and track garbage patches that move around oceans. Visitors can also learn about ways to help solve the problem by using an app that tracks debris, and by picking up trash.
“One of the messages of the lab is that everything counts,” said Monica Allen, a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a sponsor of the project. She says even drinking out of a cup instead of using a plastic straw can make a real difference.
“The ocean is our life source,” Schnetzer said, pointing out that more than 50% of the oxygen we breathe is produced by tiny ocean plants called phytoplankton.
“When the ocean dies, we die. We need to take care of it.” – The Washington Post
World Oceans Day is today.