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Plastic waste contaminates worlds' oceans!

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  • 14-11-2009 9:45pm
    #1
    Judgement Day
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,549 ✭✭✭✭


    Did anyone else see the programme on TG4 a couple of nights ago about the contamination of the worlds' ocean by plastic waste? It was truly shocking and although as somebody who used to do a lot of beach walking I would have noticed a lot of plastic detritus washed up I had never considered that it was merely the tip of the iceberg. The film showed how even at depths of 1,000 metres the seabed was covered with plastic and some of it so deep that the sunlight was not able to reach it and help its eventual breakdown. Fish, birds etc that were examined all had substantial quantities of plastic lodged in their stomachs and even things like jellyfish were being affected by being caught up in plastic rubbish. The scale of this pollution is so massive that it really is difficult to see any solution.
    There's more about it here: http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Ocean/Moore-Trashed-PacificNov03.htm

    sorry I can't post details of the programme - the name was in Irish and I can't remember it or find it online. :)


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    #2
    Grudaire
    Registered Users Posts: 3,620 ✭✭✭Grudaire


    The show is up online on http://tg4.tv/, just go to the 'in Éireann' tab, and it's the Fíorscéal from 12/11/09 (top of the list at the moment..)


    The first key thing is to stop any further pollution of this sort, then they should push to try and collect it and recycle it if possible (although that's probably far harder than it sounds!)


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    #3
    Judgement Day
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,549 ✭✭✭✭Judgement Day


    Thanks for the link as I missed the start of the programme - pity it wasn't in English and on RTE 1 where it might have been seen by a wider audience.


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    #4
    Grudaire
    Registered Users Posts: 3,620 ✭✭✭Grudaire


    Judgement Day wrote: »
    Thanks for the link as I missed the start of the programme - pity it wasn't in English and on RTE 1 where it might have been seen by a wider audience.

    ... pity more people don't speak Irish :D;)

    Honestly though, is there anything that we can do?


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    #5
    Judgement Day
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,549 ✭✭✭✭Judgement Day


    Hell I don't know there are just so many environmental issues out there the scale of the problem is almost overwhelming. The production of a lot of this plastic needs to be cut off at source i.e. the banning of plastic drink bottles, making all plastic items recyclable and putting a deposit on ALL plastic containers redeemable when the item is returned. A nationwide programme of removing plastic from beaches regularly - some country, and it might as well be Ireland, should take a lead but I wouldn't hold my breath as Gormless is too busy trying to keep his party from imploding....


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