» Pollution



OSPAR seeks approval for Marine Litter Plan

In a Press Release dated 19th June 2014 OSPAR has announced: “ The OSPAROSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic made up of representatives of the Governments of the 15 signatory nations. Commission looks set to adopt an innovative Regional Action Plan for Prevention and Management of Marine Litter […]

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Go-ahead for a trial to grow a GM plant that produces omega-3 fish oils

The Guardian reports, 17th April 2014: “Scientists have been given permission to grow genetically modified plants that could help protect against heart disease. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has given the go-ahead for the field trial of a crop of GM camelina plants, the seeds of which are modified to produce […]

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Plan to drill for gas in coal seams under the North Sea

The Journal reports, 31st March 2014: “A billion-pound plan to reach untapped coal reserves under the North Sea will be under way by the end of the year, as the vast scale of the energy source beneath the North Sea is made clear. Scientific data of the true extent of the coal deposits on the […]

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New “ozone-eating” gases identified in Antarctica’s ozone hole

The Guardian reports, 9th March 2014: “Dozens of mysterious ozone-destroying chemicals may be undermining the recovery of the giant ozone hole over Antarctica, researchers have revealed. The chemicals, which are also extremely potent greenhouse gases, may be leaking from industrial plants or being used illegally, contravening the Montreal protocol which began banning the ozone destroyers […]

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Now a beach oil hazard!

The worst marine oil slick to have hit the east coast was brought about 1978 when in thick fog the Greek owned oil tanker ‘Eleni V’, ‘en route from Rotterdam to Grangemouth, was struck and sliced in two by the French bulk ore carrier ‘Roseline’ six miles off Winterton. Much of the spill of 117,280 […]

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How much oil is buried under Norfolk’s beaches?

From The EDP 5th March 2014: A £25,000 investigation is underway to assess the continuing impact and level of threat posed by an historic oil slick that blackened the beaches of Gorleston and Hopton more than 35 years ago. Experts are combing a 4km stretch of beach, focusing on trenches that were exposed by severe […]

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Large fish have disappeared from vast tracts of Australian coast

From The Guardian 21st February 2014: Vast tracts of Australia’s coastline have been denuded of large fish, with marine life under pressure from climate change, over-fishing, pollution and invasive species, a year-long study has found. The reef life survey, undertaken by volunteer divers along the entire Australian coastline, took in reefs up to 400 nautical […]

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Shell cancels plans to drill in the Alaskan Arctic this summer

The Guardian reports, 30th January 2014: “Shell has announced plans to slash its exploration and development spending from $46bn (£27.8bn) to $37bn this year and has ditched plans to drill in the Alaskan Arctic this summer. The cutbacks were unveiled by new chief executive, Ben van Beurden, who said they were part of a range […]

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“Greenland is now at the heart of 21st century geopolitics” says Greenland PM

The Guardian reports, 23rd January 2014: “Climate change, says Aleqa Hammond, Greenland’s Prime Minister, is placing Greenland at the heart of 21st century geopolitics. As the ice retreats, it is moving from being a non-player in global affairs to the centre of a new international resource rush. “Climate change and this resultant new industrialisation brings […]

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Plastic Pollution of the Oceans : A Problem of Immense and Increasing Gravity

We provide here a “Marinet Special” — a collection of articles and films which clearly portray the immense nature of the pollution problem which now confronts the oceans and ourselves due to waste plastics. The portrait is stark, solidly based in science, and deeply worrisome. The solution is possible, but it requires action of a […]

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“Earthworms of the sea” are being harmed by micro-plastic pollution

The Guardian reports, 2nd December 2013: “Tiny bits of plastic rubbish ingested by marine worms is significantly harming their health and will have wider impact on ocean ecosystems, scientists have found. Microplastic particles, measuring less than 5mm in size, have been accumulating in the oceans since the 1960s and are now the most abundant form […]

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Washing each synthetic garment can release “up to 1,900 plastic fibres” into the sea

BBC News, 27th January 2012, reports: “Microscopic plastic debris from washing clothes is accumulating in the marine environment and could be entering the food chain, a study has warned. Researchers traced the “microplastic” back to synthetic clothes, which released up to 1,900 tiny fibres per garment every time they were washed. Earlier research showed plastic […]

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The death of albatrosses from plastic pollution – does it foretell our fate too?

The Guardian, 3rd November 2009, reports: “Chris Jordan’s startling photographs capture the deceased albatross chicks that have washed up on an island the north of the Pacific, their stomachs overflowing with plastic litter. To see these photographs, click here. It’s a discovery to appal a modern-day Captain Cook. A vast plastic terra incognita, composed of […]

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“Plastic Bag”, a short film charting the life of a plastic bag from supermarket to the ocean

This short film by American director Ramin Bahrani traces the epic, existential journey of a plastic bag (voiced by Werner Herzog) searching for its lost maker, the woman who took it home from the store and eventually discarded it. Along the way, it encounters strange creatures, experiences love in the sky, grieves the loss of […]

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Film “Synthetic Sea” – how plastics have entered the marine food chain, and the consequences

This film “Synthetic Sea”  has been produced by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation and records c. 2010 the results of a research project to evaluate the presence and impact of non-biodegradable plastic (man-made plastics) on the oceans and the life that lives there. The implications of the facts portrayed by this film are worrisome, to […]

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Film : Garbage Island: An Ocean Full of Plastic

Captain Charles Moore (USA) and the Algalita Marine Research Foundation has made a 3 part film (each part c. 20 mins) which records a research trip to measure and record the nature and extent of plastic pollution in the ocean gyregyre A circular pattern of currents in an ocean of the Pacific Ocean. This film […]

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London and R. Thames placing huge plastic pollution load on the North Sea

The Guardian reports, 2nd January 2014: “An unseen stream of plastic rubbish flowing along the bed of the river Thames and out into the North Sea will have far-reaching effects on marine life, a new report indicates. Scientists from the Natural History Museum and Royal Holloway, University of London, collected rubbish over a three-month period […]

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Do 16 ships still create as much pollution as all the cars in the world?

From the archives of The Daily Mail (21st November 2009), we report: “Last week [November 2009] it was revealed that 54 oil tankers are anchored off the coast of Britain, refusing to unload their fuel until prices have risen. We’ve all noticed it. The filthy black smoke kicked out by funnels on cross-Channel ferries, cruise […]

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Australian government approves new port dredging near Great Barrier Reef

The Guardian reports, 10th December 2013: “The Australian environment minister, Greg Hunt, has approved controversial dredging off the Queensland coast that will help create one of the world’s largest coal ports, while imposing some of the “strictest conditions in Australian history” to safeguard the health of the Great Barrier Reef. Hunt said he would allow […]

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Fishing for plastic in the Southern Ocean

The Guardian reports, 10th December 2013: ” Erik van Sebille is looking for something very much out of the ordinary in the Southern Ocean: plastic. He has come to one of the most remote parts of the world — as far as it is possible to go from major concentrations of people — to look […]

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