Ship exhaust makes oceanic thunderstorms more intense
Thunderstorms directly above two of the world’s busiest shipping lanes are significantly more powerful than storms in areas of the ocean where ships don’t travel, according to new research.
Sea salt around the world is contaminated by plastic, studies show
New studies find microplastics in salt from the US, Europe and China, adding to evidence that plastic pollution is pervasive in the environment.
Plastic fibres found in tap water around the world, study reveals
Tests show billions of people globally are drinking water contaminated by plastic particles, with 83% of samples found to be polluted. The US had the highest contamination rate, at 94%, with plastic fibres found in tap water sampled.
Birling Gap beach: 150 treated after chemical ‘mist’, UK
About 150 people have been treated in hospital and hundreds more affected by an unknown gas which hit the East Sussex coast.
Kenya brings in world’s toughest plastic bag ban: Using plastic bags is illegal — and punishable by jail time
No matter where you go in Kenya — from the vast expanses of the Great Rift Valley to the white-sand beaches off the Indian Ocean — one thing is a constant: plastic bags. But beginning today, almost all plastic bags are illegal in Kenya.
New App enables divers to chart marine litter levels
A new smartphone app is enabling scuba divers across the world to easily record information on the marine litter they encounter under the sea.
Beirut’s beaches blighted by the rubbish crisis
Lebanon’s coastline is changing dramatically, with new planned landfill sites that will extend hundreds of metres into the Mediterranean that, amazingly, seem to bother few politicians. Many are persuaded that waste is inert though that is hardly the case with significant environmental damage that will leave an impact on future generations.
Current threats to our oceans revealed
A survey of tens of thousands of marine studies from the last decade reveals current threats to our marine environment. These include: the effects of climate change, marine plastic pollution, conservation, as well as social and economic impacts.
Plastic garbage patch bigger than Mexico found in Pacific
Yet another floating mass of microscopic plastic has been discovered in the ocean, and it is mind-blowingly vast.