The Tangled Web We Weave...

This microscope photo shows how humanity's overdependence on plastic, and subsequent overuse, coupled with irresponsible disposal and recapture efforts can effect the smallest of creatures. As a result, our environment, land and sea, even the air we breathe is polluted with plastic. Upper estimates say up to 199 million tons of plastic currently reside in our oceans, with another 16 million tons added every single year. While we see distressing photos of large marine animals trapped and dying from entanglement in plastic netting and ropes intertwined with fishing gear, this photo shows what we don't see...microplastics. This photo shows a juvenile gastropod surrounded by a tangle of microplastic fibres. Microplastics arise as larger plastic debris breaks up into smaller, and increasingly problematic pieces which are turning up in the stomachs of birds, fish, bivalves, even plankton. With recent studies finding microplastics in human blood and tissue, it seems our irresponsible actions have returned to haunt us.