Life on Richthofen: Why the plastics problem goes deeper than we thought >>

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Why the plastics problem goes deeper than we thought >>

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HELP US STOP PLASTIC FROM SUFFOCATING OUR SEAS. DONATE NOW. Hi, Kathleen. We're traveling to see just how far down in the ocean we can find evidence of man-made debris. Come aboard to see how deep the problem of plastic pollution goes — and just how urgently our Earth needs a Global Plastics Treaty passed. We're currently in the Sunlight zone, where there's plenty of disintegrating plastic for a hungry manta ray to confuse with its food. Below 200 meters deep, sunlight starts to fade. Plastic is still present, however — an anemone has made itself a mobile home on a discarded food container.

We've now entered the bathypelagic zone, starting about a mile under the surface. Not even sunlight can be seen from this point — but if we turn on a flashlight, you'll find that some plastic bags have managed to settle in as deep as 12,360 feet. In the Abyssal zone nearly three miles deep, few creatures can tolerate the pressure of the waters above. Those who can, like deep-sea lobsters, navigate mazes of fishing lines, shopping bags, and other unidentified debris that have journeyed down into their lonely plane. The animals here to meet in the dark Hadalpelagic zone are few — only plankton and a handful of ghastly fish can endure the crushing eight tons of pressure per square inch.

But at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, nearly seven miles from where we began, the remnants of a plastic bag greet us at the ocean's floor — the deepest that our trash has ever been found. Kathleen, these layers of plastic pollution are suffocating our oceans — but all hope is not lost. Right now, advocates in the Greenpeace network and across the globe are pushing for a Global Plastics Treaty that will ensure critical protections for our most vulnerable ecosystems — including our oceans. So – now that you've seen just how much plastic has amassed in every inch of our oceans, will you please donate $10 to support the effort to prevent plastic build-up in our oceans, and all Greenpeace USA's other important work? Donate now! Thanks for joining the expedition. Signed, Greenpeace USA.

Big Oil is suing Greenpeace USA. We need your help to fight back and keep this movement alive — for people, and for our planet.

DONATE NOW

Greenpeace USA
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Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Why the plastics problem goes deeper than we thought >>

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