Plastic In The Ocean Facts National Geographic

All the floating plastic in the great pacific garbage patch inspired national geographic emerging explorer david de rothschild and his team at adventure ecology to create a large catamaran made of plastic bottles.

Plastic in the ocean facts national geographic.

In the oceans microplastic pollution is often consumed by marine animals. 22 million tonnes of a gas called carbon dioxide co 2 is absorbed by the ocean each day because of rubbish. Fast facts about plastic pollution versatile pliable durable cheap to produce and ubiquitous. More than 5 trillion pieces of plastic are already floating in our oceans.

Trash is also carried to sea by major rivers which act as conveyor belts picking up more and more trash as they move. Most of the plastic trash in the oceans earth s last sink flows from land. Plastic in the ocean the facts and figures 700 different species of animals are believed to be severely threatened because of plastic pollution in the ocean. It is also both a life saving miracle product and the scourge of the earth.

Scientists think that 8 8 million tons of plastic winds up in the ocean every year that s as if you stacked up five plastic grocery bags full of trash on top of each other on every foot of. The team also discovered more permanent plastic features or islands some over 15 meters 50 feet in length. Approximately nine million tons of plastic waste end up in the ocean each year threatening our ecosystems wildlife and human health. Some of this environmental pollution is from littering but much is the result of storms water runoff and winds that carry plastic both intact objects and microplastics into our oceans.

By mobilizing global communities and investing in science exploration innovation and education the national geographic society is working to tackle the world s plastic waste crisis. Photograph by noel guevara national geographic your shot 02 worldwide 73 percent of beach litter is plastic. 22 million tonnes of a gas called carbon dioxide co 2 is absorbed by the ocean each day because of rubbish.