Plastic pollution is present all over the world, a pollution caused by humans. It is present in the food we eat and the water we drink and, therefore, also within us. But not only in us, but also in our ecosystem, even in the least expected places. This has been confirmed by a group of scientists who have discovered microplastics in highest peaks of everest and in some of the deepest parts of the ocean.
These microplastics are small particles that come from the decomposition of plastics produced over time. Scientists warn that these pollutants are reaching about levels that could cause great harm in humans, but also in ecosystems where many animals in danger of extinction live and whose existence would be at risk.
In fact, according to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in the next twenty years more than 500 species could disappear as a result of climate change caused by human action. Along the same lines is another report published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which ensures that Without this anthropogenic climate change, many species would take thousands of years to become extinct..
Act against the “new entities”
However, the sixth mass extinction is beginning and could mean the disappearance of thousands of them. One cause of this extinction is chemicals from agriculture and industry seeping into water systems, whose damage to human and ecological health is catastrophic. According to a study of Environmental Science & Technology the levels of plastic and other chemicals, called “new entities”, are above those supported by the planet.
Therefore, “urgent action is needed to reduce the harm associated with exceeding the limit by reduction of production and release of new entities, noting that even so, the persistence of many new entities and/or their associated effects will continue to pose a threat.”
Up to 90% of coral reefs could die
Due to this pollution, 2021 has become the sixth warmest year on record by the POT, which explains that “the past eight years are the warmest years since modern recording began in 1880“. Temperatures have increased 1.1ºC on average compared to the baseline set by NASA, and if they reach the threshold of 1.5ºC they could cause the death of between 70% and 90% of coral reefs, due to a process called “bleaching” that occurs when the temperature of the sea increases.
This process is difficult to stop, since it is difficult to reduce the temperature of the sea when it begins to rise. The more the atmosphere is polluted, the more heat is trapped, causing temperatures to rise, although it is not known at what speed, since scientists do not manage the large number of feedback loops that contribute to that increase.
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