Researchers calculate that as many as 9 out of 10 seabirds have plastic garbage in their intestines. So sad.
From Science:
The global production of plastic has doubled every 11 years or so since the 1950s. Only a small percentage ends up in the ocean, but that still adds up to about 300,000 tons per year at current production rates. Once floating at sea, the debris breaks up into ever smaller bits, says Chris Wilcox, a marine ecologist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in Hobart, Australia. More than 80 seabird species consume the often brightly colored bits, and as time goes on, more birds are eating more plastic. Wilcox and his colleagues estimate that in 2014, about 90% of individuals within these 80 species were consuming plastic…
“We don’t fully understand all of the physical effects of ingesting plastic, but it’s hard to imagine that the effects are going to be positive,” says Plymouth University marine biologist Richard Thompson.
“Nearly every seabird may be eating plastic by 2050” (Science)