Environmental Civil War over Art
Plastic in Mediterranean Endangers Sea Life
For every action, there’s a reaction, Part II. And when plastics make their way into bodies of water, the result is as predictable as it is potentially catastrophic.
As Agence France Presse reported Friday, a research group’s study indicated that there were more than 250 billion microscopic pieces of plastic floating in the Mediterranean, endangering the sea’s ecosystem.
As the plastic mixes with plankton, it impacts the entire food chain. The plankton are eaten by smaller fish, which are then eaten by larger predators, and so on up the food chain as it ultimately endangers all larger marine life, like seals and turtles.
“The only solution is to stop micro-debris at the sources,” said Bruno Dumontent, part of Expedition MED (Mediterranean in Danger).
The study was conducted by Ifremer, the French Institute for Exploration of the Sea, and included marine biologists from France and Belgium. The team analyzed samples taken in July off the shores of France, Italy and Spain.
The Mediterranean in Danger group plans to petition the European Union for more stringent rules on the disposal of consumer goods as well as making them more biodegradable.