Lets's balance out

It isn't as bad as you think. Or maybe it is.

Another week has passed and we're back with the climate updates! This is "Let's balance out" and you'll read one good news and one bad news about the climate crisis. Shall we begin?

So what do you want first? The good news or the bad news?

According to scientists, microplastics have been found in sea spray and this leads to hundreds of thousands of tonnes of waste being blown ashore by the ocean breeze every year.

Basically researchers discovered tiny plastic fragments in sea spray, suggesting they are being ejected by the sea in bubbles.
Steve Allen, the co-leader of the study, said "We keep putting millions of tonnes of plastic into the ocean every year, this research shows that it is not going to stay there forever. The ocean is giving it back to us."

Apparently some alternatives to plastic are being looked into, in order to produce more sustainably. In particular plastic bottles could soon be turned into "all plant" bottles, as major beverage makers are planning to use sustainably grown crops to make bottles.

For example in the Netherlands a biochemicals company is investing in a project that hopes to make plastic out of sugar plants instead of fossil fuels. And this project is already being supported by beer-maker Carlsberg, but also Coca-Cola and Danone.

Credits

Illustration by Jasmine Abd El Gelil