Not long ago was plastic almost completely absent in the day to day lives of the average American. Now, it has essentially reached ubiquity. Not surprisingly, its proliferation was initially a reflection of the fertility of American economics during the mid twentieth century. A material referred to as Bakelite, first synthesized by a Belgian chemist […]
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Tag: marine debris
Biomagnification and Persistence of Chem...
As the abundance of marine debris in the form of plastics and other trash increases, we have also seen a great increase in community efforts to minimize this trash. It is easy to visualize the damage done in the piles of trash on the beach, mylar balloons floating at sea, and the famous pictures of […]
Marine Debris: A Major Threat to the Wor...
One of the major issues facing the world’s oceans and marine species living within them is the presence of marine debris. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), marine debris is defined “as any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned […]
Plastic Straw Epidemic
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Almost everyone in America is aware that plastic is contaminating our oceans and marine life. However, we are faced with detrimental effects if this issue is not resolved. Even though so many people have been made aware not many people are acting to change the outcome. Plastic straws have recently been brought into the spotlight […]
Australia at the Forefront of Marine Deb...
The sea is a mysterious place. Mostly undiscovered, uncharted and unknown territory lies beneath the oceans that we see at the beach each day. Approximately 70 percent of the earth is covered by water. Only 20 percent of that water has been explored. The ocean may seem like a foreign and exotic place, but when […]
Plastic Debris
Plastic is something we use mindlessly everyday for cooking, storage, travel, amongst many others. As a material it is lightweight, durable, strong, and cheap to manufacture. It’s no wonder our world is so blind for the horrors that plastic causes outside of our small bubble of a world. The same reasons we love using plastics […]
Biomimicry Thinking; Learning from Natur...
It is argued that the human species is the most intelligent species to roam the planet. We communicate in depth, we have extraordinary cognitive abilities, and we build and expand like no other species – but, we build our complicated designs and stable habitats in an ever changing environment. There is indeed something that we […]
How Garbage is Harming Adult Ospreys and...
How Garbage is Harming Adult Ospreys and Their Chicks Ospreys are one of New Jersey’s largest species of raptors. They have a wingspan of about 59.1 inches to about 70.9 inches, and can weigh from 49.4 ounces to 70.5 ounces (Osprey Life History, n.d.). They are usually easy to spot when flying due to their […]
A World of Plastic
Marine debris is any man-made solid material that has been directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed or abandoned into the marine environment (NOAA, What is marine debris?). 60% to 80% of all marine debris is composed of plastic (Derraik 2002). Plastics are lightweight, durable, and cheap synthetic organic polymers. This has allowed them to […]
Help Our New Jersey Sea Turtle Populatio...
Onboard the American Star, we may encounter a Loggerhead Sea turtle (Caretta caretta) swimming in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean or the Delaware Bay along the coast of Cape May. These reddish-brown marine reptiles are the most common sea turtle to spot along the coastal waters of New Jersey. Although the Loggerhead sea turtle […]