Save the Ocean Life and Save Earth

Single-use plastics ban approved by European Parliament 24 October 2018           Ocean plastic is often eaten by sea animals, with fatal results.  GETTY IMAGES The European Parliament has voted for a complete ban on a range of single-use plastics across the union in a bid to stop pollution of the oceans. MEPs backed a ban on plastic cutlery and plates, cotton buds, straws, drink-stirrers and balloon sticks. The proposal also calls for a reduction in single-use plastic for food and drink containers like plastic cups. One MEP said, if no action was taken, "by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans". The European Commission proposed a ban in May, following a surge in public support attributed to documentaries such as David Attenborough's BBC Blue Planet series. The measure still has to clear some procedural hurdles, but is expected to go through. The EU hopes it will go into effect across the bloc by 2021. The UK will also have to incorporate ...

Plastic-eating bacteria discovered by student could help solve global pollution crisis Exclusive:  Microbes found near plastic refinery degrade material, turning it into food Tom Embury-Dennis   @tomemburyd   Saturday 30 June 2018 20:02 A student may have found a solution to one of the  world’s most urgent environmental  crises  – breeding bacteria capable of “eating” plastic and potentially breaking it down into harmless by-products. The microbes degrade polyethylene terephthalate ( PET ) – one of the world’s most common plastics, used in clothing, drinks bottles and food packaging. It takes centuries to break down, in the meantime doing untold damage to its surroundings. Morgan Vague, who is studying biology at Reed College in Oregon, said the process, if sped up, could play a “big part” of solutions to the planet’s plastic problem, which sees  millions of tonnes  dumped in landfill and oceans every year. Arou...

A chemical breakthrough could eat the plastic pollution crisis Environment By   BONNIE CHRISTIAN  -  Sunday 1 July 2018 A new chemical process can liquify plastic. The next challenge? Creating a machine that can recycle the sludge on an industrial scale NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images One single-use plastic bag takes at least 450 years to degrade. Give Miranda Wang three hours and she can reduce ten of them into liquid. Wang is the first to discover a chemical process that tackles the end-of-life of plastic. She first learned the scale of the problem in eighth grade with her friend, Jeanny Yao, when they visited a city waste recycling plant in Vancouver, Canada where they grew up. “That’s when we learnt that even plastics that are put into a curbside recycling bin end up being exported overseas in developing countries where they become ocean pollution,” she says. Since the 1950s, 8.3 billion tons of plastic has been produced. It's now found in toys, car parts, in don...

Ocean Pollution is Harming Marine Life and Our Health By: Alex Meachum Posted: Jun 22, 2018 07:02 PM CDT Updated: Jun 22, 2018 08:23 PM CDT Shreveport, La. - Scientists say there's so much trash in our oceans by 2050 they will be more trash than fish. It can harm marine life and our health. It's something people may not think about, but the plastics we use right here in Caddo Parish can still wind up in the ocean. Those chemicals are ingested by fish and us. Plastic does not break down fast and far outlives us. Huge heaps of plastic debris miles long has created islands of floating trash. You can spot what's called the "Great Garbage Patches" from outer space. There are five of them across the world. Our's is off the coast of California in the Pacific and it's twice the size of Texas. "It's so large it's going to effect the marine life. It's going to effect the food you eat and even the recreation you do," said Anne Lutz, hos...

Plastic pollution crisis: How waste ends up in our oceans By  Emanuela Campanella Multimedia Video Journalist   Global News June 17, 2018     6:00 am WATCH our plastic explainer special above, which aired on Global National. Over the last 10 years, we have produced more plastic than all of the 20th century. We look at exactly how our trash and  plastic  ends up in our oceans and the impact it’s having on our environment. Several countries are closing off their beaches to tourists. Thailand shut down  Maya Bay,  famously featured in Leonardo DiCaprio’s  The Beach.  The Philippines announced the temporary closure of  Boracay  – which has been called a “cesspool.” And disturbing videos and images of  plastic-filled Bal i have been emerging after authorities declared a “garbage emergency.” “It’s an atrocity. Here we are polluting our ocean, initially out of ignorance. This shows how poorly we are able to leave the ...

Could You Be Ingesting Plastic? opinion June 17, 2018 01:00 By Song Su-hyun The Korea Herald, agencies Seoul Chemical components designed to make human lives easy is killing ecosystem, but not many know how A war has begun worldwide on plastics. For decades, polymers have been used to make human lives easy and more hygienic, but with single-use plastic items being blamed for killing species in the ocean and threatening ecosystems, global initiatives have been launched since last year by the United Nations to curb their use. But South Korea, one of the biggest producers and consumers of plastics in the world, has taken a little interest in curbing plastic pollution. Leaders have been pointing out a lack of public awareness of the impact of plastics on ecosystems, and also on human lives. “‘Korea is the No 1 plastic consumer, but public awareness of recycling remains low,” said South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon in his speech marking the World Environment Day. “The amo...