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Viewpoint – Ocean plastic pollution: A convenient but distracting truth?

Stafford, R. and Jones, P.J.S., 2019. Viewpoint – Ocean plastic pollution: A convenient but distracting truth? Marine policy, 103 (May), 187-191.

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DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2019.02.003

Abstract

Ocean plastic is a contemporary focal point of concern for the marine environment. However, we argue there are bigger issues to address, including climate change and overfishing. Plastic has become a focus in the media and public domains partly through the draw of simple lifestyle changes, such as reusable water bottles, and partly through the potential to provide ‘quick fix’ technological solutions to plastic pollution, such as large scale marine clean-up operations and new ‘biodegradable’ plastic substitutes. As such, ocean plastic can provide a convenient truth that distracts us from the need for more radical changes to our behavioural, political and economic systems, addressing which will help address larger marine environmental issues, as well as the cause of plastic pollution, i.e. over-consumption.

Item Type:Article
ISSN:0308-597X
Uncontrolled Keywords:Plastic, Pollution, Climate Change, Fisheries, Biodiversity Loss, Marine Ecology
Group:Faculty of Science & Technology
ID Code:31737
Deposited By: Symplectic RT2
Deposited On:06 Feb 2019 15:15
Last Modified:14 Mar 2022 14:14

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