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The effects of plastic on seabirds and other sea life - Quantum

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Subject: The effects of plastic on seabirds and other sea life - Quantum
From: Merrilyn Serong <>
Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2012 21:26:53 +1000
I also saw that program tonight. The quantity of extra plastic that enters the oceans daily is astounding... except in waters off South Australia, where people pay a deposit on drink bottles and can return them for the refund. If that system was introduced world wide, it might actually make a difference. However, the common drink bottle is only one part of the problem. One bird was found with many other plastic items in its stomach. One of them was the plastic arm of a doll. We need to somehow reduce our dependence on plastic items... perhaps when oil runs out. There are non-plastic alternatives, but I guess they are more expensive. If we do nothing, the pain and suffering of wildlife will only keep increasing.
Regards,
Merrilyn

On 6/09/2012 8:32 PM, Carl Clifford wrote:
Dear B-A,

An excellent but scary item on the effects of plastic ingestion by sea birds 
and other sea life on the ABC program, Quantum, tonight. I was aware of the 
problem with the ingestion of larger pieces of plastic on seabirds, but 
researchers have found an even worse problem. It seems that plastic particles 
adsorb pollutants such as mercury and it then enters the food chain, ending up 
in the top predators, with us at the top. It has put me off seafood.

The program is worth catching on iView.

Cheers,

Carl Clifford
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