An ocean full of plastic... is it true?

This week, we were asked to look for an article related to an environmental science topic that was particularly interesting to us. In addition to giving a brief summary and our reaction to the article, we were asked to look at where the article came from, the source. Can you trust what you’re reading? Is the source reliable? Is the information backed by data or are logical fallacies at play? Like most people nowadays, I read my news online, and it’s not always easy to tell which sources of information are reliable, and which sources are not.

Let’s take a look at the article:

Where Has All The (Sea Trash) plastic gone?

Plastics are a huge problem in our marine environments. While the large pieces can end up clogging the GI tract of organisms, microplastics pose other threats despite their minute size. They are chemical magnets, attracting toxic chemicals like phthalates, that are easily consumed by small prey and eventually work their way up the food chain, posing potential threats to humans. This article focuses on recent study that uncovered the “disappearing sea trash” mystery. The floating trash that researcher expected to find but didn’t, has been found, broken down into tiny pieces called microplastics, in remote deep sea habitats. The study showed that every square kilometer contains 4 billion microplastic fibers, illustrating plastic pollution’s ubiquity. The presence of this plastic poses major threats, but how it works its way into food webs and affect humans is unknown at this point, so further studies are needed to answer these questions.

After reading the article, my reaction was a mixture of multiple emotions. Recently, I completed a research project concerned with microplastic consumption in fish, so this article, along with any other that is related to plastics in our natural habitats, naturally sparked an interest. Having that first-hand experience, I know there is a lot of plastic present in our marine ecosystem, yet I’m still shocked by the sheer numbers, “4 billion pieces per km²”. That is a lot of plastic! It’s disheartening to see the enormous amounts of microplastics that are contaminating our oceans. While this article talks about the accumulation of plastic in the deep sea, microplastics are found at every depth of the ocean, so it affects many ecosystems as well. Protecting marine ecosystems is a passion of mine, and I’m pleased to see that attention to this matter is being brought forth, and hopefully steps will be taken to protect our natural habitats and wildlife by stopping plastic before it can enter the water shed. All of this really makes you think. Is that facial scrub worth it?

Let’s look back at the source of this article, which was published by National Geographic News. Established in 1888, Their mission is clear. National Geographic is a worldwide nonprofit organization with a strong belief in the power of science, exploration, and storytelling to change and protect the planet. National Geographic funds scientists to conduct research and share their findings with the world. One thing that impressed me is that everything the author "claimed" was supported with scientific data from previous studies. It shows that the author of article did his research and educated the public with truthful information and not something that he thought we wanted to hear, sticking with National Geographic’s belief in science. Although I was unable to find all of the evidence that I wanted to determine this a reliable, based on the information I did find, I’m confident that National Geographic News is a reliable source, and the information is science based.

Here’s a short but interesting info-video about plastic in marine environments, and what you can do to help.