Wildlife

Plastic Pollution

The majority of the world seabird species have plastic in their gut and 99 per cent will have gobbled down plastic by 2050, according to a new study.

Researchers assessed how widespread the threat of plastic is for the world’s seabirds, including albatrosses, shearwaters and penguins, and found the majority of seabird species have plastic in their gut.

Based on analysis of published studies since the early 1960s, the researchers found that plastic is increasingly common in seabird’s stomachs.

In 1960, plastic was found in the stomach of less than 5 per cent of individual seabirds, rising to 80 per cent by 2010.

Oceans

The North Atlantic is currently bursting with color as blooms of microscopic plants erupt on the surface of the chilly sea. These expanses of plankton, which provide the basis for the area's food chain and help to take in enormous quantities of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, wouldn't be possible without swirling whirlpools of water created by wind and ocean currents which actually prompt the growth of these colorful plankton blooms on the surface and keep them afloat.