Ocean plastic: clean it up, but avoid the mistakes of global climate policy
(WorldNews Environment)

Fotos593 / shutterstock In early December 2017 the United Nations Environment Programme in Nairobi announced a resolution on marine litter and microplastics. The move was widely welcomed as the emerging `plastic oceans` crisis has become starkly clear. It is estimated that 8m tonnes of plastic waste finds its way in to the ocean each year, and it is notoriously difficult to remove. The impacts are increasingly apparent: great rafts of plastic are congregating in ocean gyres, blame games have broken out between neighbouring countries , and marine species face poisoning from the associated toxins. There may even be direct risks for humans, especially the 400m or so poor people who depend...