THE FOUNDER November 2021
Our Pollution Problem Has Reached Great Depths JOEL DAVIES | CONTENT WRITER
In comparison, the oil spills that are destroying our oceans are almost comically visible, despite the efforts that are made to deflect attention away from them. Massive oil spills are environmentally catastrophic, poisoning wildlife and damaging coastal communities worldwide. Images of jet-black seagulls are often swept aside by ‘greenwashed’ fossil fuel publicity campaigns which leave viewers with an ecofriendly view of oil companies. Spills are often seen as catastrophes that couldn’t be prepared for, but currently in the Red Sea, the abandoned FSO Safer tanker is threatening to create an oil spill of catastrophic proportions, threatening Yemen’s access to fish stocks, and hardly any action has been agreed upon.
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t has become an image synonymous with environmental catastrophe – miles of open ocean, suffocated by a selection of plastic bottles and single-use bags, the centre stage taken by a sea turtle caught in a six-pack ring. This is the popular conception of the challenge Earth’s marine life is facing. As Covid-19 tests and disposable masks have been added to the image, public attention has turned to finding a solution to this crisis. However, the simplicity of this depiction must be challenged. The threat to marine life is much more complex, and we must understand it to ensure well-meaning action can be deployed effectively. The most easily overlooked menace to ocean life appears as a deceptively small issue – microplastics. These are miniscule pieces of plastic, either manufactured (such as the recently banned ‘microbeads’) or created as the result of breakdown of larger plastics. These invisible chunks end up in our seafood, our water supply, the dust around us. A recent study from the New York University School of Medicine found that these plastics have been found in the bodies of young children and babies, and they have even been found at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, raising concerns that plastic pollution permeates far beyond what we can observe floating on the surface.
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Fish stocks are important, as they provide the economic lifeline and main source of food for billions of people around the world. However, the consumption of these fish stocks is becoming an existential threat to ocean life too. Overfishing is a gigantic issue, leading to declines in fish populations, and destructive practices such as sea floor trawlers exterminate the seabed of all life. Fishing waste (especially discarded fishing nets and hooks) likely makes up around half of all ocean plastic, and this type of waste is one of the deadliest for endangered species. Source: Tabitha Turner
News....................................................................................2 Features................................................................................4 Opinion And Debate............................................................7 Lifestyle.............................................................................11 Arts: Arts and Culture........................................................13 Arts: Literary Review.........................................................15 Arts: Film...........................................................................18 Arts: Music.........................................................................21 Sports..................................................................................24
Continued on p.7 Malibu and coke P.5
The Reign of King Charles P.10
How Broadcasting Rights Are Killing Rugby in England P.29
