Choked: Unpacking our plastic addiction

2023-07-11

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We all know that plastic isn't great for our planet. But how much do scientists really know about how it's affecting nature - including our own species? Tori and Khalil try to get their noodles around 'nurdles', the tiny plastic pellets that are used to manufacture all manner of everyday objects, discovering that millions are ending up in our oceans, with unknown long-term consequences. Plus, join Natural History Museum researcher Alex Bond on Lord Howe Island, a remote paradise in the Tasman sea and mecca for...

We all know that plastic isn't great for our planet. But how much do scientists really know about how it's affecting nature - including our own species?

Tori and Khalil try to get their noodles around 'nurdles', the tiny plastic pellets that are used to manufacture all manner of everyday objects, discovering that millions are ending up in our oceans, with unknown long-term consequences. Plus, join Natural History Museum researcher Alex Bond on Lord Howe Island, a remote paradise in the Tasman sea and mecca for nesting seabirds, where chicks are falling prey to an ominous new disease: plasticosis.

You'll find out:

-What caused Sri Lanka's worst maritime disaster? -How much do we know about how microplastics affect human health? -Can we get to a global agreement on ending plastic pollution?

Contributors:

Muditha Katuwawala - Founder of The Pearl Protectors Dr Alex Bond - Principal curator in charge of birds at the Natural History Museum Dr Fay Couceiro - Head of the microplastics research group at the University of Portsmouth Heather Mcfarlane - Senior project manager at Fidra Join the conversation on social media using #OurBrokenPlanet and tag us:

Instagram: @natural_history_museum Twitter: @NHM_London TikTok: @its_NHM

Learn more about how you can take action for nature and find additional resources at www.nhm.ac.uk/podcast

Resources for this episode:

The chicks choking on a toxic diet of ocean plastic https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-chicks-choking-on-a-toxic-diet-of-ocean-plastic.html

Plastic diet could be causing seabird chicks to shrink https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2023/march/plastic-diet-could-be-causing-seabird-chicks-to-shrink.html

Plasticosis: a new disease caused by plastic that is affecting seabirds https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2023/march/plasticosis-new-disease-caused-by-plastic-affecting-seabirds.html

Ocean plastic is changing the blood chemistry of seabirds https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2019/july/ocean-plastic-is-changing-the-blood-chemistry-of-seabirds.html

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