The impact is so deep that scientists suggest renaming the human era on this planet from ‘Anthropocene’ (impact of human activities on the Earth) to ‘Plasticene’.
Our ocean-floors are covered with layers of plastic garbage. Plastic remains a popular storage and packaging choice across the globe. More and more plastic is being dumped into oceans across continents speeding up the Earth's transition to a plastic planet.
Environmentalists have rallied against the use of plastic from time to time, but even then, the scale of usage has shown only marginal signs of contraction.
The new study reveals that the face of the earth has changed dramatically over the past fifty years. Thus, it is fair to call Earth a partially plastic planet, as of now. Plastic has several uses in various stages of industry production. Thus the role of plastic remains crucial till date and hence its widespread usage cannot be limited easily.
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Interestingly though, about 50 to 60 years back, people were unaware of plastic. The introduction and spread of plastic across societies occurred rapidly. Today, it is not difficult to find plastic or plastic related products in any part of the world. The accumulation of plastic waste over time has multiple implications on wildlife, environment, and even humans.
Every three years, billions of non-biodegradable plastic is thrown away in trash and waste. If this continues, soon our oceans will have an extremely thick layer of plastic waste. Voices have been raised against widespread use of plastic products. However, a more dedicated and aggressive approach is the need of the hour. When we leave Earth (yes we'll have to someday), let's not leave behind a plastic planet.
(Featured Image Credit: seathos.com)