The numerous garbage patches in the world’s oceans are proof enough that we’re negatively affecting the environment, but the stomach contents of animals are a sobering and visual reminder of that unfortunate human impact. Scientists examined the 50 gallons of stomach content in a gray whale that recently washed ashore in West Seattle and found more than just your typical whale food.
In addition to things normally found in a whale’s diet, they discovered “more than 20 plastic bags, small towels, surgical gloves, sweat pants, plastic pieces, duct tape, and a golf ball.” Although it does not appear that the whale died from injesting human trash (scientists are trying to decide if malnutrition or water pollution and chemicals were the cause of death), it is obvious that animals are unable to avoid our garbage when searching for food.
This fact becomes disturbingly clear when viewing the photographs of Chris Jordan, an artist based out of Seattle. Jordan’s art tends to focus on mass consumption and waste, and his most recent body of work shows us where our waste ends up — in the stomachs of albatross chicks. Unlike the whale, I think it is safe to say that these animals died from their plastic filled diet. What is perhaps most unsettling about Jordan’s photos (and believe me the photos are upsetting enough on their own) is that they were taken on Midway Atoll, an island in the North Pacific that is more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent.
According to The World Without Us by Alan Weisman, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (an area in the ocean blanketed with man-made waste products) covers nearly 10 million square miles and includes millions of tons of plastic. Perhaps as much as 80 percent of that plastic was discarded on land — in other words, of the 250 billion pounds of the plastic produced annually, much of what we throw away winds up in the ocean and in the habitats of aquatic life. If we don’t learn to curb our waste and reduce our plastic consumption soon we’ll end up destroying a marine ecology that is vital to our survival.
Image via Chris Jordan
