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Plastic Soup: An Atlas of Ocean Pollution
Plastics have transformed every aspect of our lives. Yet the very properties that make them attractive—they are cheap to make, light, and durable—spell disaster when trash makes its way into the environment. Plastic An Atlas of Ocean Pollution is a beautifully-illustrated survey of the plastics clogging our seas, their impacts on wildlife and people around the world, and inspirational initiatives designed to tackle the problem.
In Plastic Soup , Michiel Roscam Abbing of the Plastic Soup Foundation reveals the scope of the plastic trash now lurks on every corner of the planet. With striking photography and graphics, Plastic Soup brings this challenge to brilliant life for readers. Yet it also sends a message of hope; although the scale of the problem is massive, so is the dedication of activists working to check it. Plastic Soup highlights a diverse array of projects to curb plastic waste and raise awareness, from plastic-free grocery stores to innovative laws and art installations.
According to some estimates, if we continue on our current path, the oceans will contain more plastic than fish by the year 2050. Created to inform and inspire readers, Plastic Soup is a critical tool in the fight to reverse this trend.
In Plastic Soup , Michiel Roscam Abbing of the Plastic Soup Foundation reveals the scope of the plastic trash now lurks on every corner of the planet. With striking photography and graphics, Plastic Soup brings this challenge to brilliant life for readers. Yet it also sends a message of hope; although the scale of the problem is massive, so is the dedication of activists working to check it. Plastic Soup highlights a diverse array of projects to curb plastic waste and raise awareness, from plastic-free grocery stores to innovative laws and art installations.
According to some estimates, if we continue on our current path, the oceans will contain more plastic than fish by the year 2050. Created to inform and inspire readers, Plastic Soup is a critical tool in the fight to reverse this trend.
136 pages, Hardcover
Published April 4, 2019
About the author
Michiel Roscam Abbing
9 books1 followerMichiel Vincent (Michiel) Roscam Abbing (Vlissingen, 30 oktober 1958) is een Nederlands politicoloog en schrijver over vooral Rembrandt, kunstgeschiedenis, natuur en milieu.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 2, 2021
Plastic Soup: An Atlas of Ocean Pollution, by Michiel Roscam Abbing, is a devastating little book on plastics in the world, and especially there impact on the oceans. Entries are done in encyclopedic fashion, each one on a specific topic. The topic has an introduction paragraph, and then a longer description on the issue, accompanied by pictures, figures and graphs. This book sets out to show the oversized impact plastics have had on the world. Only in production for about 100 years or so at a large scale, plastics have been one of the key tools of humanities rise. They keep our food fresh, replace expensive or rare objects, and are closely tied to the creation of fuels and gases for transportation. Packaging, dishes, clothing, implements, tools, buckets and containers, clothing, furniture and so much more contain plastics, or are increasingly composed of plastics. Much of these products are made to be disposable, and do not decompose naturally in the environment over any conceivable timeframe. Most plastic ends up in landfill, and a marginal amount is recycled again, but a large amount ends up in the ocean. This is so dangerous because plastics often do not degrade in the ocean, instead breaking down eventually into microplastics that are ingested, absorbed or attach to living creatures. Many creatures, from plankton to mussels, algae, fish, turtles, whales and seabirds are found to contain numerous and alarming numbers of plastic items in them. A particularly disturbing case study on Pacific Albatross found numerous corpses of albatross young with large plastic objects in their stomachs.
The statistics are largely depressing here - another example of humanities poor stewardship of the Earth and its resources and living inhabitants. Humans toss increasingly huge amounts of plastics away every year. There are many initiatives to stop this. BPA bans, microbead bans, plastic bag bans, straw bans and so forth are all initiatives that would be familiar, either in implementation or discourse, in many nations globally. India and Canada have banned microbeads at a federal level, the UK has banned plastic sticks used in Q-tips, and many jurisdictions globally have banned plastic bags. These policy initiatives are the key way to ensure a more plastic-free world. Other initiatives stem from individuals and organizations; plastic free July, the UN Millennium Development Goals, trash fishing initiatives, and corporate recycling programs are all exceedingly positive initiatives that support the reduction of plastic waste globally. Plastic is an important component that has so many fabulous uses - however its damaging aspects may do more harm then good in the long run. It is good to educate yourself on the uses or plastics, there damaging effects on the environment, and ways in which they are being combated. This book has all of that. Easy recommendation as a quick read on the environment and specifically the issue of plastic waste.
The statistics are largely depressing here - another example of humanities poor stewardship of the Earth and its resources and living inhabitants. Humans toss increasingly huge amounts of plastics away every year. There are many initiatives to stop this. BPA bans, microbead bans, plastic bag bans, straw bans and so forth are all initiatives that would be familiar, either in implementation or discourse, in many nations globally. India and Canada have banned microbeads at a federal level, the UK has banned plastic sticks used in Q-tips, and many jurisdictions globally have banned plastic bags. These policy initiatives are the key way to ensure a more plastic-free world. Other initiatives stem from individuals and organizations; plastic free July, the UN Millennium Development Goals, trash fishing initiatives, and corporate recycling programs are all exceedingly positive initiatives that support the reduction of plastic waste globally. Plastic is an important component that has so many fabulous uses - however its damaging aspects may do more harm then good in the long run. It is good to educate yourself on the uses or plastics, there damaging effects on the environment, and ways in which they are being combated. This book has all of that. Easy recommendation as a quick read on the environment and specifically the issue of plastic waste.
June 12, 2020
If you have ever wondered "What can I do to reduce my plastic footprint?" or felt concerned with the way plastic usage is exploding in every single sector, this book is a must read. The author has used multiple photos that keep the book interesting and also help in driving the points deeper in your mind. What I like about this book is that it draws a complete picture of the reality, instead of focussing on just one or two areas, as is often the case in articles. It is a good balance of statistics, facts, recommendations and a wholesome view of how large a problem this is and what can be done going forward.
April 16, 2020
The book, Plastic Soup by Michiel Roscam Abbing was about Plastic Marine Pollution, the causes, effects, and how it is changing our world as we know it. This book had several pictures that helped the reader understand the topic. It also had lots of good statistics and facts, as well as reasoning about why Plastic Marine Pollution is such a big problem. I really liked this book because it had relative pictures that helped me stay engaged in the book, and because it provided me with more knowledge about the problem. After I read it, I felt extra compassionate about the problem and it made me want to explore plastic pollution as well as promote the idea of eliminating plastic pollution.
July 17, 2019
A beautiful large book with short informative chapters along with pictures and graphics to illustrate the problem of plastic in the oceans:
* Benefits of plastic e.g. reduction of food waste
* Ghost nets & fishing waste
* Gap between plastics produced vs recycled
* Worst rivers for plastic waste
* Discarded water bottles can be filled with sand and used as building material
* Ongoing fragmentation, plastic soup & risks to wildlife
A concise collections of the current situation on this important topic.
https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/
* Benefits of plastic e.g. reduction of food waste
* Ghost nets & fishing waste
* Gap between plastics produced vs recycled
* Worst rivers for plastic waste
* Discarded water bottles can be filled with sand and used as building material
* Ongoing fragmentation, plastic soup & risks to wildlife
A concise collections of the current situation on this important topic.
https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/
June 26, 2020
This book is a truly good read. This is a book that I will keep forever and read often. It educates the reader about plastic pollution in a comprehensive, organized and easy-to-read way. It's also a quick read, as this is not a long book nor heavy. It is uncomfortable at times to face the hard truth about the pollution from our plastic consumption, but looking away and brushing it under the carpet will certainly not help anyone. Every single person that even has the ability to read, should read this book. This is a problem that concerns us all.
February 21, 2021
Great visual companion to Garbology. Imagery is fantastic, but found the layout/print portions somewhat disjointed and stopping shy of fully engaging readers or eliciting the full range of potential emotions.
February 6, 2024
Despite being slightly dated in parts there is a wealth of information in this book. Whether or not some research and policies have changed , there is still a massive plastic soup global problem. Well worth reading !
August 9, 2019
Much more than an atlas of pollution; this book also describes some of the inspirational initiatives people are developing around the world.
Excellent photographs.
Excellent photographs.
September 20, 2020
I learned a lot about plastic waste in our oceans.
December 31, 2021
Very clear, well illustrated explanation of plastic soup - its causes, effects, and possible solutions.
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January 20, 2022363.738 R791 2019
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews