SEARCH:
Sign in | Join | Help
search Mercola.com
 
FREE Subscription 
The World’s Most Popular Natural Health Newsletter
Our Oceans are Turning Into Plastic

A plastic “stew” that’s twice the size of Texas is swirling through the Pacific Ocean. Scientists have dubbed the mass of plastic bags, jugs, bottles, nets and other plastic junk the “Eastern Garbage Patch,” and its volume is growing at an alarming pace.

The plastic pollution is now inevitably entering the food chain, with the most obvious casualties seabirds and other marine animals who ingest the various junk bottle caps, cigarette lighters and more, or become entangled or strangled by plastic bands and bags. The plastic causes more than 1 million seabirds, 100,000 marine mammals, and even more fish to die in the North Pacific alone every year.

Disturbing as those statistics may sound, the following finding is even more chilling: When the researchers tested the ocean water, they found that it contained miniscule pieces of plastic, and, by weight, actually contained six times as much plastic as plankton.

Of course, it’s not just marine animals that are subject to this plastic burden. People, too, are ingesting plastics every day, and being exposed to a potentially deadly mix of plastic chemicals and additives, including:
  • Cancer-causing PFOAs
  • PBDEs, which cause reproductive problems
  • The reproductive toxins, phthalates
  • BPA, which disrupts the endocrine system by mimicking the female hormone estrogen
What is the result of mankind breathing, eating, drinking and absorbing all of this plastic? Obesity, declining fertility rates and other reproductive problems, cancer and more.

If you’re still looking for a reason to adopt a more natural, healthy lifestyle, this one is as good as any. Avoid these dangerous plastic chemicals in your life as much as possible by:
Best Life Magazine February 20, 2007


Dr. Mercola"s Comment:

I am a major fan of technology and all the benefits it provides, but it just sickens me to see how these chemicals are ruining the planet.

Plastic pollution is now inevitably entering the food chain, and it"s not just marine animals that are being affected. People, too, are ingesting minute levels of plastics every day, and being exposed to a potentially deadly mix of plastic chemicals and additives, including:

  • Cancer-causing PFOAs
  • PBDEs, which cause reproductive problems
  • The reproductive toxins, phthalates
  • BPA, which disrupts the endocrine system by mimicking the female hormone estrogen

One fact that should alarm you -- while the EPA has had everything in place to develop a screening program for endocrine disruptors since 1996, thanks to the Food Quality Protection Act, not one test has been conducted to date. In the meantime, the EPA keeps on approving chemicals at a clip of some 700 annually, relying heavily on the manufacturers that make them to be completely honest about their safety.

What is the result of mankind breathing, eating, drinking and absorbing all of this plastic?

Obesity, declining fertility rates and other reproductive problems, cancer and more. Particularly vulnerable are our children, who are exposed to plastics in the hospital, and through baby bottles and toys.

If you"re still looking for a reason to adopt a more natural, healthy lifestyle, this one is as good as any. Avoid these dangerous plastic chemicals in your life as much as possible by:

Giving up bottled water is one of the easiest things you can do to help protest the mess that we are in and that is only growing worse every day.

Related Articles:





 
 Do you find this article interesting?
Comment on This Article Community Comments (30)
 
 
Posted On May 29, 2007
Plastic polymers, typically petro chemical in origin, are not only harmful to the environment and one's own health, but they are indeed creating non biodegradable CHERNOBYL, or Three Mile Island, conditions, as cited in this article...

Like Nuclear Slow Breeder Reactor Waste, that does not break down and remains DEADLY  for thousands of years (if not available for Terrorist(s) access, to use for further harm in a dirty bomb) neither do these plastics go away.

If and when our civilization is dug up, perhaps one of the conclusions reached, by remaining evidence, will be we committed MASS suicide by the amount of toxins we produced across the board in our packaging, food, drug, beverage, genetic modification, poor energy choices, and cosmetic distribution chains.

Kool-Aid, In The Plastic Smiling Pitcher, Anyone?

 
Russ Bianchi
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 9/2006
Russ Bianchi  
Replied

Bryan - oz4caster
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 6/2006
Bryan - oz4caster  
 
Posted On May 29, 2007
I'll pass on the Kool-Aid, thanks.  Give it to the FDA please : )


cheftodd
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 4/2007
cheftodd  
 
Posted On May 29, 2007
I wounder what would happen if we were to get a truck loads of this plastic and dump it in the front lawn of our government officals,   big chem, and big pharma . and tell them to swim through this crap, and see how they feel about it.


Superstah
Novice User Novice User Joined On 6/2007
Superstah  
 
Posted On Jun 16, 2007
While it is obvious that we need to do away with using plastic whenever possible, this article exagerated the size of the Eastern Garbage patch.  A point can be made without giving incorrect information and causing hysteria.  Yes, plastic is a huge and serious problem, but I encourage you to research the validity of news articles and run the numbers yourselves.


saynotoquacks
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 4/2007
saynotoquacks  
 
Posted On Jun 17, 2007
Big Pharma and Big Chem are the real terrorists.

And even worse, now they're using global warming as an excuse to mine for uranium again and build more nuclear power plants.  Tell your representatives: say NO to Nuclear!

 
 
 
Posted On May 29, 2007

I find it quite disturbing that not only our land is getting eaten up by an overdose of houses, but now our oceans! If you come to SD, it is quite sad as well. There are days when it rains that they put up skull and bones signs signifying that the water is not swimmable and not safe to go into secondary to all the bacteria and sewage, yes sewage!! We also (just had 2 recently into lagoons that fun into the ocean) have frequent sewage pipes that breaks and TONS of sewage is dumped directly into the ocean. If we don't start caring for our ocean (which is the blood of the universe), they will just be one big toilet in the future.


 


 
Josh Rubin
Moderator User Moderator User, Joined On 6/2006
Josh Rubin  
Replied

Bridestein
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 12/2006
Bridestein  
 
Posted On May 29, 2007
Here in Nor-Cal we have PCBs and dioxins in the water, instead of sewage. (btw 90% of the shellfish produced in California comes from here) The Surfrider Foundation was able to lobby and win an extension of the local mill's discharge pipe another half of a mile out to sea. That's good for the surfers, I guess. The migrating whales might feel differently.


Reesacat
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 1/2007
Reesacat  
 
Posted On May 29, 2007
Tunnel time.....


Reesacat
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 1/2007
Reesacat  
 
Posted On May 29, 2007
GammaGirl, I have been keeping an eye out for him-he posted a few
days ago.  Cheftodd, give us a shout and let us know how you are!
The cooking videos aren't the same without you!


cheftodd
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 4/2007
cheftodd  
 
Posted On May 29, 2007
Katyb, PPARGammaGirl, Reesacat  thank you  .  I am doing great. my computer on the other hand is not. it is not wanting to comply. so I hit it with the last teflon pan that I have.it seems to be working good now. the myspace account,it's a kicker isn't it.  I HAVE MISSED ALL OF YOU AS WELL. it seems that I have missed a lot, no worries I will make up for lost time! ( leave me pictures in myspace.) I have added you as my friends


saynotoquacks
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 4/2007
saynotoquacks  
 
Posted On Jun 17, 2007
Hear! Hear!  And say no to nuclear power plants and uranium mines too!  Everyone and everything on this Earth is interconnected.

 
 
 
Posted On May 30, 2007
My new recipe to protect your stomach against the comsumption of chemicals...10 plastic milk jugs, 20 plastic soda bottles, 60 plastic grocer bags, any extra junk plastic's you can find laying around will work fine. 1 bag baby carrots (for flavor) 2 cups soy milk (for color) 1 lb monosodium glutamate (for taste) 3 cups high fructose corn syrip (for thinning everything down) 8 oz. sodium benzoate (for presertive) just a pinch of any nuclear reactor waste (to bond everyting together) maybe two pinched might be needed. Feel free to add more stuff like this to your own taste and needs. Don't forget the gallon of kool-aid needed to wash it all down and the 4 cups of sugar for sweetner. Splenda or aspertame may be used for alternates, or all together. Preheat a heavily coated teflon cooker and spray heavily it with aluminum and mercury to make it slick. Add ingredients one at a time and stir-real easy- over medium to high heat. Bring to boil for one minute so everything is sure to be melted good. Remove from stove and let set until film covers top. Drink immediately. All of it. It will re-harden and coat all of your insides on the way down. From mouth to tale. Don't worry, from now on when you eat all of the chemically laden poisioness foods it will go straight through you, thus leaving you clean and refreshed inside. Just think, now you can sit on the pot and get rid of your lunch at the same time. No more acid reflux, constipation, heartburn, upset stomach, bloating, nausia ect. Try it, you'll love it.

 
Rogway
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 6/2006
Rogway  
Replied

The New Christine
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 9/2006
The New Christine  
 
Posted On Jun 21, 2007
Brilliant, I tell you...Brilliant!

 
 
 
Posted On May 29, 2007
I have just recently begun to carry canvas bags every time I go to the grocery store.  Whole foods market takes 5 cents off of your register receipt for each bag that you bring from home.  I find it very gratifying to know that I am doing something to cut down on both paper and plastic bags and encourage all of you in the Vital Votes Community to do the same.  The more people seen carrying their groceries out to their cars in canvas bags or other suitable substitutes, the more likely the people observing this will follow suit.  If every one in America tried something like this, imagine what an impact it would have on the environment! 

 
PepperR23
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 6/2006
PepperR23  
Replied

pnorris_203
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 6/2006
pnorris_203  
 
Posted On Jun 16, 2007

Whole Foods practice is illogical.....instead of paying people 5 cents to do the right thing, they should penalize people for not bringing their own canvas bag by forcing them to buy one.....I personally refuse to allow them to give me the nickel credit......years ago when I was traveling in Mexico or other third world contries, I saw that when you went to the market, if you didn't bring a bag, you had to buy one.....no free bags: paper, plastic or otherwise....avoid plastic all you can and more importantly work to have all retailers discontinue the practice of "free bags" which as the article reveals, are not "free" at all.....our laziness has a great cost....


 
 
 
Posted On May 29, 2007
THe size of the Pacific Garbage Patch boggles the mind, yet there are 5 other ones also.  All about the same size.  Like the article stated, just because there are no immediate side effects does not mean that an article is benign.

Mary

 
mmc88121
Moderator User Moderator User, Joined On 11/2006
mmc88121  
 
 
 
 
© Copyright 2009 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved. If you want to use this article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Mercola is required.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your physician before using this product.