photo by kqedquest (Flickr CC)

A recent study attempting to measure the amount of plastic debris in the Atlantic has shed more light on the scale of this type marine pollution and its effects on ocean ecosystems.

The findings, which analyze data collected from 22 years of oceanic surveys, list several impacts of plastic on marine life, including animals becoming entangled in plastic debris, animals eating plastic and debris facilitating the redistribution of certain species outside their normal habitat.

From an article in Wired:

The data were gathered by thousands of undergraduates aboard the Sea Education Association (SEA) sailing semester, who hand-picked, counted and measured more than 64,000 pieces of plastic from 6,000 net tows between 1986 to 2008.

Though regulations have reduced the amount of plastic dumped at sea, the amount of plastic garbage originating on land and then finding its way into the Earth’s oceans has increased. They researchers’ findings are not surprising in light of the increasing throwaway, consumption-based nature of the world economy.

They said the global production of plastic materials had increased five-fold between 1976 and 2008, and the amount thrown away in the US has risen four-fold during the past two decades.

–BBC News

The garbage patch in the Atlantic is comparable to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the area of refuse twice the size of Texas formed by the currents of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.

For more details on the story see the following BBC News report:

Study measures Atlantic plastic accumulation

Additional resources:

Independent – Now Atlantic is found to have huge ‘garbage patch’

Independent – Supermarkets lose heart in green war on plastic carrier bags

image credit: European Space Agency

Space is not the sterile expanse of nothingness we might picture it to be. In fact, the space around Earth, much like the Earth itself, is littered with our junk.

NASA estimates that there are some 18,000 pieces of space trash, each 10cm wide or larger, orbiting the Earth. Honestly, to me that doesn’t sound like that much, but there are a lot more smaller bits of space debris and the amount is ever-increasing. Ad that to the face that its all orbiting at a speed of 18,000 mph (coincidence??) or 21,000 km per hr, which poses a significant danger to military satellites and astronauts who may happen to be out on their morning space walk.

And so the US military wants to clean up all this space debris with a giant net.

From an article in the Observer:

Plans for something called the Electrodynamic Debris Eliminator (Edde) have just been revealed by a company called Star Inc, with funding from the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency. This is a 100kg spacecraft with 200 nets attached, which can scoop up dead satellites or other stray junk. The craft can then guide the junk into a safe orbit around the Earth or else direct it to glide safely into the middle of the ocean.

As the space around our planet gets more crowded, collisions are more likely – and colliding spaceships and satellites means more and more space debris. According to the European Space Agency (ESA) these collisions have doubled over the past 10 years.

For more on this story, check out the following article in the Economist:

Junk science: Scientists are increasingly worried about the amount of debris orbiting the Earth

Additional resources:

European Space Agency – Space debris: evolution in pictures

Image Source: Screen capture from video.

After a long week of worry, hope, fear, and stressful conditions, the search for the 4 missing miners finally came to an end. None of them survived. Governor Joe Manchin stated:

“We did not receive the miracle that we prayed for.” … “The rescue workers told us they’re sure no one suffered.” … “So, this journey has ended and now the healing will start.”

All 4 bodies were shattered by an explosion that happened in West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch mine earlier this week, raising the death toll to 29 and making it the worst US coal mine disaster since 1970. Many had hoped the miners would have found refuge in one of the mine’s emergency chambers, which all contain food, water, and enough air to keep them alive for up to 4 days. Unfortunately, according to the search and rescue team, none of the chambers were deployed.

The explosion left behind quite the mess of debris for rescue teams to struggle through, plus large amounts of smoke and poisonous gases to contend with. Rescue efforts had to be stopped several times throughout the week because the amount of poisonous gas in the mine was deemed unsafe for search teams. The gas was cleared out through several holes drilled deep into the mine.

However, nothing could have prepared rescue workers for the shocking realization that hit them late last night. The conditions of the mine were so terrible that it took search teams several days to realize they walked past the bodies of the 4 missing miners on the very first day of the search, without even seeing they were there. MSHA coal administrator, Kevin Stricklin, said:

“There was so much smoke and the conditions were so dire with dust in the air that they apparently bypassed the bodies that were on the ground.”

Now that the search and rescue mission is over, another one will begin. All of the 22 remaining bodies have yet to be removed from the mine. Officials say this will take some time, since there are miles of debris to get through during the process. Thorough investigations of Massey Energy, the company that owns the mine, can also be expected to happen.

Massey has a long history of safety violations, though CEO Don Blankenship disputes the whole thing, acting as if he is not in the wrong; even though there have been a number of complaints from mine workers that coal profits are put ahead of their safety. Last year, federal regulators issued evacuation orders for either all or parts of the mine over 60 times! In 2007, it could have been considered a pattern violator by MSHA, but Massey avoided that listing by reducing only the most serious violations.

Once all of the bodies are removed from the mine, MSHA and West Virginia regulators will conduct a joint investigation that could take up to a year. Stricklin explained:

“No stone will be left unturned and we’ll find out the cause of this explosion. Quite frankly, the only good this that can come out of this is to educate everyone, put regulations in place to make sure that this never happens again.”

Many believe the explosion was caused by large amounts of methane gas throughout the mine. Massey Energy has been cited and fined numerous times for methane and other poisonous gases in the mine not being properly ventilated, as well as for allowing combustible dust to build up.

On top of the investigations that will be conducted by MSHA, West Virginia regulators and even a probe by Massey itself, Congress is also planning to hold their own hearings on the matter and President Barack Obama is expecting some answers to this whole disaster by next week. Lawmakers will also be carefully studying Massey’s practices.

You can check out a video on YouTube here about the search coming to an end.

By Heidi Marshall