A Troubling Discovery in the Deepest Ocean Trenches

[ProudLib72]

For the past decade, Jamieson, a marine biologist at Newcastle University, has been sending vehicles to the bottom of marine trenches, which can be as deep as the Himalayas are tall. Once there, these landers have collected amphipods—scavenger relatives of crabs and shrimp that thrive in the abyss. Jamieson originally wanted to know how these animals differ from one distant trench to another. But a few years ago, almost on a whim, he decided to analyze their body for toxic, human-made pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, which have been banned for decades but which persist in nature for much longer.

The team found PCBs galore. Some amphipods were carrying levels 50 times higher than those seen in crabs from one of China’s most polluted rivers. When the news broke, Jamieson was inundated with calls from journalists and concerned citizens. And in every discussion, one question kept coming up: What about plastics?

Brooks eventually found plastic fibers and fragments in 72 percent of the amphipods that the team collected, from all six trenches that they had surveyed. In the least polluted of these sites, half of the amphipods had swallowed at least one piece of plastic. In the 6.8-mile-deep Mariana Trench, the lowest point in any ocean, all of the specimens had plastic in their gut.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/02/deepest-ocean-trenches-animals-eat-plastic/583657/

[CDerekGo]

1. Simply Disturbing

But, where do we start in cleaning this up? I'm recycling everything, my carbon footprint is minimal to say the least (I drive less than 30 miles a week, at most 6000 miles a year) A/C set on 80, heat on 68, double pane windows, extra insulation. But, we have a government riddled with Politicians spouting nonsense denying climate change. Frustrating to say the least.

[SoCalDem]

2. The next cataclysmic extinction may "help"

.. perhaps the ones who survive will thrive on plastics

Plastic is forever

[defacto7]

6. No it's not. Only 800 to 2000 years!

You'll never find any plastics in the remains of ancient Mesopotamia!

Oh, wait....

[littlemissmartypants]

17. Bush made sure to ruin Mesopotamia and its relics.

What parts Saddam Hussein didn’t poison out of existence.

[defacto7]

19. Tis true.

[littlemissmartypants]

29. I watched the televised bombs and cried my paleontology, archaeology,

ancient sociology loving eyes out that night. As far as I'm concerned, civilization died that day.

[defacto7]

33. I feel exacty the same.

I was devestated when I heard IS destroyed Timbuktu and later Palmyra.

Here's a 30min podcast that is poignant and powerful. I definitely lost it the first time I heard it.

TheAncientWorld Efqa

[littlemissmartypants]

40. Exactly.

Very cool share. Thanks so much!

[leftieNanner]

11. Good point

I'm with you on the recycling, but I'm starting to think that recycling isn't enough. I'm making an effort to recycle what I can, re-use what I can't recycle, and perhaps more importantly, not using things that will create more trash. It seems that packaging - particularly food packaging is one of the biggest problems.

[oldsoftie]

15. At least many areas are going away from plastic bags. Those and 1 use bottles are the WORST.

And yet people worldwide will keep buying billions of bottles of water even though they live in areas with clean drinking water.

[leftieNanner]

16. My city has banned plastic grocery bags completely

and the stores have to charge ten cents for paper ones. Most people bring their own reusable bags. I'm afraid that I do use the plastic bags in the produce department - but they definitely have an important use in my house. I have a 90 lb. German Shepherd dog and I always "pick up" when we go for a walk.

[BobTheSubgenius]

31. Our locality has banned single-use grocery bags, as well.

The first year we had curbside recycling pickup, the planners drastically underestimated enthusiasm and participation and had to jump through hoops to get it all picked up in a reasonable time frame.

The results have been encouraging. Our landfill, for which the region was looking at alternate locations had its use extended by 30-40 years, by early estimates, and that number has kept on growing. With continued improvements and innovation, its life could be indefinite.

The landfill also installed a methane collection system and the whole site is now self-powered. The paper recycling saved enough trees to populate a 100 acre park in its first year.

Now, curbside pickup also includes kitchen scraps of any kind, which are wheeled out to the curb in special "trolleys" and picked up by special trucks.

Metals are not allowed in household or commercial waste, and you can now either dump them for free at recyclers or go through a bit of hassle and get money. I scavenged a house I was demolishing and got $500 in copper and aluminum in half a day.

It's not "everything" but the journey of 1000 miles, and all that.

[oldsoftie]

36. Damn, thats an ambitious community!!

[tosh]

20. I wish we could put pressure on

Big corps to use a lot more biodegradable packaging.

There are good choices for milk and eggs. I can’t think of much else else. The plastic is going to consume this planet.

What’s worse, the vast majority of humans don’t even care!

[cstanleytech]

27. Well we can't exactly clean it up we can however reduce what we are currently producing.

The pollution that's down there though is just going to have to clean itself up on its own which it will but it will probably take hundreds if not thousands of years but it will eventually happen.

[malaise]

3. Frightening

Rec

[ProudLib72]

5. Remember that "kid" who invented the sweeper system to get rid of the plastics in our oceans?

I remember how there were plenty of "experts" at the time who said it was too early to just jump in and start using unproven ideas; we needed to take more time to study the situation. Well, I'd say, after reading this article, that we are about twenty years too late, maybe more!

[oldsoftie]

10. but the focus needs to be on the source first. 90% of ocean plastic comes from 10 rivers.

All of them are in Africa & Asia.
Capturing the plastic BEFORE it ever gets to the ocean is where the main effort needs to happen. Certainly the ocean cleanup needs to happen too, but its like mopping a floor while a pipe leaks. You gotta fix the pipe.

[littlemissmartypants]

12. The tube sweeper broke and was being towed in for repairs

a few weeks ago.

[ProudLib72]

37. I don't see that as a reason to throw in the towel on the project

I thought they were out for a testing period before the full blown sweep. Working out the kinks. I also remember some statistic about how long it would take for the sweeper to clean up the entire plastic patch, and it was something like 20 years. It was depressing.

[littlemissmartypants]

39. I think it's just in for repairs.

At least, I hope so. I think they should have several out there working full time. It's understandable that they would break down so there should be back up systems, imo.

[ProudLib72]

41. Whew! I took your last post to mean we should just give up on the sweeper

Glad to know that's not at all what you meant!

[BSdetect]

4. Its "Silent Spring" of the deep.

[Evolve Dammit]

25. Sadly, you are so right. I don't know if there is enough international will

to first, STOP dumping your waste in the ocean, and then work on remediating the damage. Some countries have no rules and with the advent of cheap plastic products, it is, and has been a global problem. To see our country pull out of Paris, reduce EPA to a toothless agency and condone fossil fuel and the oil/petro industry in spite of scientifically validated knowledge of the harm these fuels/ products do, is one of many challenges that we face, no matter who is "in power." Rachel Carson would be mad as hell.

[diva77]

7. K&R for exposure

[Pantagruel]

8. We're doomed,

way past conservation band aids. The key is draconian, global population control followed by a clean up for 100 years.
Since the 60's we've gone from 3.5 Bill people to & 7 BILLION-simply unsustainable, the earth creaking from the strains we're applying to it.

[oldsoftie]

13. So we go to the China "one child" rule?

[airplaneman]

18. Actually two children works for worldwide population reductions and surprisingly fast n/t.

[crazycatlady]

32. In the US, most of our population growth lately is coming from immigration

Millennials are too deep in debt to consider children, and those who do have 2 or fewer kids. Also the more educated you are, the later in life you will have children (generally speaking).

Japan is also rapidly losing population due to aging (I read somewhere that in Japan, adult diapers outsell baby diapers). Most of the population growth are in Africa and Asia.

A simple fix to this would be to empower women.

[oldsoftie]

35. Yes, lots of folks on the right dont like the fact that our economic growth is tied to immigration.

Without it, we'd be as slow as many other countries.

[airplaneman]

43. I am a crazy cat man

Last edited Sun Mar 3, 2019, 12:38 AM - Edit history (1)

And me and my nine cats love it. Your right on - so nice to hear from some one that gets it.
-Airplane

[crazycatlady]

44. see this cat lady has no current cats

I'd love to see pics of your feline family.

I don't have kids either. I'd have to give up my career if I had a family and I'm flat out not willing to do that. My sister's a SAHM who's pregnant with her 3rd child. Every time I see her, she seems desperate for adult interaction.

[littlemissmartypants]

9. These substances are surgically inserted in to humans every day

in the form of unregulated medical devices. The problem is bigger than we can fathom. And, yes that's a really bad pun.

[Volaris]

23. What unregulated medical devices?

Pretty sure anything decide a physician would approve of, has been tested for human compatibility ...

[littlemissmartypants]

28. You are not correct.

Essure is my best example. Medical devices including hips and knees are not regulated. I have more than five years of research on Essure. It has been a long struggle but as of this year it will be pulled from the market after 10's of thousands of complaints of harm, including still births and deaths. Lawsuits are pending.

https://essureproblems.webs.com/

There is no law protecting you from a toxic implant. None.

Esisters are working on that project for you, too.

http://www.medicaldeviceproblems.com/

You're welcome.

[certainot]

14. fucking republicans

[KT2000]

21. to understand

to understand the wide ranging implications of this - for animals and people, I recommend the book Sicker Fatter Poorer by Leonardo Trasande MD trump administration is not going to move on this but we NEED to.

[Uncle Joe]

22. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread ProudLib.

[SunSeeker]

24. Horrifying.

[democratisphere]

26. Humans need to stop using the seas and oceans as a garbage

dump and cesspools. If we completely destroy these water environments our extinction will immediately follow. I personally do not believe humans are capable of saving this planet and ourselves.

[bearssoapbox]

30. I've been reading about plastic pollution for years

But this is disturbing, although not surprising.
I'm currently in a nursing home, just passed a one year anniversary,(talk about depressing) but this place uses styrofoam cups only once and other types of plastic containers once also.

I've brought in my own reusable cups and anything else I can reuse like salt& pepper shakers, condiment holders etc. Which also means that I buy what goes on them.

I didn't realize how much plastic a place like this throws away and then multiply it by other nursing homes and hospitals within less than 50 miles of me.

I did a rough count with the phone book and STOPPED AT 50!!!

JEEEBUS...we are doomed.

[MLAA]

34. Yes, I think we are

But as the ship goes down you will have done everything you can 🙂

[Blue_true]

42. Compostable and biodegradable cold and hot drink cups are available.

The issue is that they run $0.10-$0.80 per cup, depending on purchase volume. Styrofoam cups run $0.02-$0.04 per cup.

Here is where politics come in. Governments could mandate use of the Biodegradeble or compostable cups and set up a clearing house to save nursing homes money on the purchases, bringing the price closer to the styrofoam price. The problem is the petroleum industry will go nuts and they are better organized and better funded than the green products industry, so petro wins each time and there is unlikely to be any government action to change that.

On the bright side, green products like cups, tableware and plates get better and cheaper to make each year, soon they will be price competitive with plastic and styrofoam without any government intervention.

[Demovictory9]

38. Sad!!