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Turning the Tide on Plastics in the Mediterranean

by Courtney Mattison

At first glance, the cove of Cala Figuera in Mallorca’s Bay of Palma looks like a Mediterranean paradise, with sun-kissed boulders tumbling into glittering turquoise water. Take a closer look at its beach, however, and you will discover that instead of sand, it is comprised of heaps of plastic. Snarls of Posidonia seagrass tangle with plastic straws, fishing line, drink cups and syringes. Thousands of tiny plastic sticks from cotton swabs and lollipops are strewn like confetti across the beach. Dig into the top layer of sun-bleached plastic rubble and you will discover a rainbow of bottle caps, toys, tile spacers, cigarette butts and microplastics at least a meter thick.
“We’ve actually come on a good day and the sea is relatively clean,” said Brad Robertson, Founder and President of Asociación Ondine, a nonprofit ocean conservation organization based in Mallorca, Spain.…

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The devil in the deep blue sea

With the ocean covering approximately 71% of the world’s surface, it is extremely hard not to notice what pollution is doing to our blue planet. The sea is the lifeblood of our planet and provides over 70% of the oxygen that we breathe and over 96% of the planet’s water supply; Without the ocean we would not exist today.
Pollution is bringing our ocean to the point of disaster and we must act fast to ensure that it remains healthy for the good of our generation and generations to come.
There are many ways in which you can make a difference to the pollution of the ocean such as:

Reduce your energy consumption and be aware of your carbon footprint. You can do this by leaving your car at home and either walking to work or riding a bike.…

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Plastic Soup Nursery for Hawaiian Monk Seals

By Daniel Fox, Wild Image Project
I am here, not far from the Kamilo Beach located on the South Point of the Big Island of Hawaii with Justin from NOAA & the Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program to monitor a female Monk seal and her pup. Compared to other seals and sea lions, Monk Seals greatly differ in the way they raise their young. Instead of gathering in great numbers and benefiting from the protection of the group, female Monks give birth alone, nurturing the pup for about 5 or 6 weeks before weaning it for good, leaving behind a fat young seal and hoping for the best. The duo here has been together for close to 6 weeks now. The female is starting to look skinny while the little one is adding pounds.…

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