This photo has been popping up on the lower right corner of my dash today. Someone put a comedic caption to it. Ha ha ha. Look at that silly dolphin using a shopping bag.
It’s estimated that around 100,000 marine mammals die each year due to plastic litter in the North Pacific. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is estimated to measure between the size of Texas and the continental United States; the North Atlantic Garbage Patch is hundreds of kilometers across. Most plastic bags are made from polyethylene, which comes from petroleum, and cannot biodegrade. They are affected by photodegradation, meaning they eventually break down into tiny synthetic granules because of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, but they are not thought to degrade fully. This means that, on top of all the other trash and waste polluting the ocean, these microscopic bits of plastic are ingested by marine animals all over the world. That’s when they’re not mistaking plastic bags for food, or playing with them, and getting them stuck in their digestive tract until it slowly kills them.
So, yes. Hilarious.
People on Tumblr post snarky comments about a dolphin with a shopping bag on its fin while completely missing the sad, fucked up irony? I can’t imagine!
Oh wait, yes I can. Well said, Mockingnerd!
