We are killing seabirds: Think Plastics ~ By Julie Peller Ph.D.

Green Junction

A destructive property of plastic materials is their resistance to natural decomposition. Instead of decaying into mineral/elemental components, plastic materials release micro- or nanoplastics as they break into smaller pieces. Since society continues to accept these materials for all sorts of uses, the production of plastics will increase, and the waste will accumulate. Meanwhile, scientists are learning more daily about the harms of these materials. Yet, significant regulations to reduce plastics are only underway in certain places around the country and the world. Many states and localities are resistant to implementing policies to reduce plastic. (i.e., Indiana)

Videographer Chris Jordan began documenting the deadly effects of plastic waste on albatross birds around Midway Island in the Pacific Ocean in 2009. (https://www.albatrossthefilm.com/about-cj; “Jordan’s works confront the destructive power of humanity’s collective will.”) These seabirds rely on food in the ocean and have been mistaking plastic pieces for food and feeding them to their young. Since around half of all plastic materials have been manufactured in the past 20 years, it is not surprising that a recent study of seabirds on a remote Australian island found that they have ingested so much plastic that they crunch when touched.

The remote island is 360 miles off the coast of Australia, which establishes the far-reaching and effect of human pollution. The research team from Adrift Lab described the finding “of a dead bird with 778 individual pieces of plastic packed into its stomach, “like a brick.” “We’re finding items up to and including the size of bottle caps and tetra pack lids, cutlery, clothes pegs, the takeaway items that you get from restaurants. … That’s the sort of thing that we’re finding in the stomachs of these 80-day-old chicks.”

Humanity’s desires for convenience have been polluting the world rapidly and at unprecedented levels. Humans have the ability to change this, but instead, they have passed on harmful behaviors to younger generations.

Stay updated on the plastic issue, get involved in efforts to reduce plastic, look for alternative (and longer-lasting) materials, and donate some of your time to clean up the waste in your community. Also, consider joining our movement for a cleaner, healthier world at plasticreductionalliance.org.

Julie Peller, Ph.D., is an environmental chemist (Professor of Chemistry at Valparaiso University). She has been writing a weekly column called The Green Junction for the past seven years and is helping to move the call of Laudato Si to action forward. Her Research Interests are advanced oxidation for aqueous solutions, water quality analyses, emerging contaminants, air quality analyses, Lake Michigan shoreline challenges (Cladophora, water, and sediment contaminants), and student and citizen participation in environmental work.