Did you know that the Lower-Hudson River Estuary is basically artificial? The culprit is micro-plastics. Which are pieces of plastic (five millimeters or less in size) that are a recently studied phenomenon affecting the Earth globally, especially our oceans. Scientists are just, in the past five years, finding out how plastic has and will be changing our Earth and all that is upon it, including you.
By 2050, plastic pieces will out- number fish, according to a report by the MacArthur Foundation. This means at the current pace we are consuming and discarding plastic; our oceans will face the consequences of dying populations and acidic dead zones that destroy entire ecosystems. These ecosystems and populations have an intense impact on the environmental, social, and economic factors that society depends on: for natural Earth processes to occur, to feed the planet, and have safe waters that surround all global landscapes. Scientists found that there is “an average of 256,322 micro-plastic particles/km squared” throughout various collection sites in the Lower-Hudson River Estuary (NY-NJ Baykeeper, 2016). Not so shockingly, these micro-plastics are also found throughout the modern, human body attached to various organs and in the blood stream. The long term effects of this phenomenon in humans are not well known, though the chemicals found in plastic materials is known to causes adverse effects on human health.
Research was conducted, in a collaboration between the Hudson River Park Alliance and Brooklyn College, to survey and compare the concentration of micro-plastics from previous years in the Lower-Hudson River Estuary. The results of the study found that “in 2016, 2018 and 2019, the second most common type of micro-plastic found was foam (13%). This is consistent with the Park’s 2019 macroplastic, shoreline survey where foam is the dominant marine debris found in cleanups (50%), followed by beverage bottles (29%) and food packaging (5%)” (Marine Pollution Bulletin 161 (2020) 111702). These surveys were also only conducted on the surface level of the river and did not breach the lower depths of the river, which is hypothesized in higher yielding results of microplastics infiltrating our beloved waterway.
The Department of Environmental Protection currently, only tests the water routinely for bacteria, chlorine, and PH levels. A bill by Council Member Keith Powers, was recently introduced that would expand for more extensive, routine testing for micro-plastics and all other contaminants in New York City’s surrounding waters that cause damage that scientists do not even know the future extent of. Relying on studies from universities and environmental scientists was that start, local and national governments must take actions to monitor our waters to observe the ecosystems within and prevent more catastrophic damages to occur to our home. The micro-plastic research is in the hands of global governments and scientists around the world to mitigate the damages of the non-biodegradable material.
^The Ocean’s Biggest Garbage Pile Is Full of Floating Life – The New York Times^
The solution starts with you. Vote for politicians who support extensive testing of microplastics in your local waters and the monitoring of our dying estuarine ecosystems, so solutions may be implemented to revive them. Purchase sustainably, consume and discard less plastic, and educate the people on the effects of plastics in our blood streams, rivers, oceans, and on every crevice of our Earth. Regenerate our ecosystems by living environmentally conscious for the future the planet’s largest mass: the ocean.