Plastic in the Ocean

Out of all the issues, one I try not to think about too much is plastic pollution. I'm not sure why it doesn't grab me as much as the many others, even though I know it should.

A recent article from the Washington Post informed me of the work of Marcus Eriksen, who a quick search tells me I should have already known about.

It starts with the headline: "There are 21,000 pieces of plastic in the ocean for each person on Earth."

And then it goes on from there:

• Eriksen and the other researchers call it plastic smog (which, I have to say, is a succinct bit of story-telling).
  
• The plastic in the ocean weighs about 2.4 million metric tons.
• The amount is doubling about every six years, and has gone up steeply since 2005:
  

  

This is the only good news in the article:

The study may deliver a jolt of energy to U.N. talks to reduce global plastics pollution that started last year.... Global negotiators hope to complete the plastics treaty by 2024. It would regulate all aspects of the life cycle of plastic, including the kinds of chemicals that go into it and whether it’s easily recyclable.

Which will be very good news if it happens, and that regulation becomes reality.