Tragic view of Svalbard: polar bears eat plastic



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Although the photos of the garbage can and the two boys from Liefdefjord Island north of Svalbard became magnificent, the photographer was sad when he saw what was on the menu of the two children

while the kids were playing with a big trash bag that they had found on the shore. The plastic bag was quickly torn before landing in the small peaks of the bears, says Thokle.

Even more attempts

The purpose of the trip was to photograph Arctic nature and wildlife, with the polar bears in the center, but Thokle said More and more often, colored plastic pieces, empty bottles or fishing gear residues appear through the viewfinder of the camera.

– It may be tempting to omit these foreign elements from the images. We do not want to see that. Nevertheless, it is important to document the less beautiful aspects of existence, he thinks.

Research shows that every minute about 15 tons of plastic in the ocean are transported. Researchers believe that about 70% of the plastic is found on the seabed. The quantity of plastic in the Arctic shocks researchers

More plastic than fish

In Norway, about 8,000 tons of microplastics are released – plastic particles less than 5 millimeters – each year.

Worldwide, about 8 million tons of plastic are consumed each year in the oceans and according to the World Economic Forum, by 2050 there will be more plastic waste in the ocean than in the world. fish if the problem is not solved. contamination for hundreds of years.

(© NTB)

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