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2.13 Os Microplásticos

Todas as fontes online foram acedidas no dia

  1. estão a acumular-se na atmosfera Painel Intergovernamental sobre as Alterações Climáticas, Climate Change: The IPCC Scientific Assessment, ed. J. T. Houghton et al. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar1/wg1/; Stubbins, A., et al., ‘Plastics in the Earth system’, Science, 373 (6550), 2021: 51–5, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb0354.

    estão a acumular-se… nos oceanos Painel Intergovernamental sobre as Alterações Climáticas, Climate Change 1995: The Science of Climate Change. Contribution of WGI to the Second Assessment Reports of the Painel Intergovernamental sobre as Alterações Climáticas, ed. J. T. Houghton et al. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar2/wg1/.

    15 a 40% dos resíduos plásticos mal geridos Jambeck, J. R., et al., ‘Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean’, Science, 347 (6223), 2015: 768–71, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1260352.

    sucessivas amostragens realizadas nas praias e em alto-mar Galgani, F., et al., ‘Are litter, plastic and microplastic quantities increasing in the ocean?’, Microplastics Nanoplastics, 1, 2021: Article 2, https://doi.org/10.1186/s43591-020-00002-8.

    de acordo com cálculos simples Eriksen, M., et al., ‘Plastic pollution in the South Pacific subtropical gyre’, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 68 (1–2), 2013: 71–6, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.12.021.

    Nos últimos anos, estes plásticos de pequena dimensão têm sido encontrados Peng, X., et al., ‘Microplastics contaminate the deepest part of the world’s ocean’, Geochemical Perspectives Letters, 9, 2018: 1–5, https://doi.org/10.7185/geochemlet.1829.

    em sedimentos não costeiros ao longo da plataforma continental Filgueiras, A. V., et al., ‘Microplastic distribution in surface sediments along the Spanish Mediterranean continental shelf’, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26 (21), 2019: 21264–73, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05341-5.

    logo abaixo da superfície do mar, onde a luz não penetra Choy, C. A., et al., ‘The vertical distribution and biological transport of marine microplastics across the Epipelagic and Mesopelagic water column’, Scientific Reports, 9, 2019: Article 7843, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44117-2; Pabortsava, K., and Lampitt, R. S., ‘High concentrations of plastic hidden beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean’, Nature Communications, 11, 2020: Article 4073, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17932-9.

    high concentrations around the Arctic Ocean Ross, P. S., et al., ‘Pervasive distribution of polyester fibres in the Arctic Ocean is driven by Atlantic inputs’, Nature Communications, 12, 2021: Article 106, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20347-1.

  2. as patas enredadas em fibras microplásticas Kang, J. H., et al., ‘Can zooplankton be entangled by microfibers in the marine environment? Laboratory studies’, Water, 12 (12), 2020: Article 3302, https://doi.org/10.3390/w12123302.

    o estômago repleto de microesferas Cole, M., et al., ‘The impact of polystyrene microplastics on feeding, function and fecundity in the marine copepod Calanus helgolandicus’, Environmental Science and Technology, 49 (2), 2015: 1130–37, https://doi.org/10.1021/es504525u.

    revestidos de bactérias e toxinas patogénicas Galloway, T. S., et al., ‘Interactions of microplastic debris throughout the marine ecosystem’, Nature Ecology and Evolution, 1 (5), 2017: Article 0116, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0116,

    ainda não se sabe se o efeito líquido está a contribuir para o aquecimento ou o arrefecimento Revell, L. E., et al., ‘Direct radiative effects of airborne microplastics’, Nature, 598 (7881), 2021: 462–7, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03864-x.

    uma fonte significativa de microplástico atmosférico Allen, S., et al., ‘Examination of the ocean as a source for atmospheric microplastics’, PLOS One, 15 (5), 2020: Article e0232746, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232746.

    podem ser tão prejudiciais… como para o aquecimento global Kvale, K., et al., ‘Zooplankton grazing of microplastic can accelerate global loss of ocean oxygen’, Nature Communications, 12, 2021: Article 2358, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22554-w.

    uma influência desproporcional no funcionamento planetário Zhu, X., ‘The plastic cycle – an unknown branch of the carbon cycle’, Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, 2021: Article 609243, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.609243

    O problema… parece intensificar-se https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421521002883

    permeáveis e a não ter capacidade para reciclar Jambeck, J. R., et al., ‘Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean’, Science, 347 (6223), 2015: 768–71, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1260352.

    o fenómeno da “reciclagem aspiracional” Albeck-Ripka, L., ‘6 things you’re recycling wrong’, New York Times, 29 de Maio de 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/climate/recycling-wrong-mistakes.html.

    a ausência de responsabilização nos sistemas multinacionais de exportação de resíduos McCormick, E., et al., ‘Where does your plastic go? Global investigation reveals America’s dirty secret’, Guardian, 7 de Junho de 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/17/recycled-plastic-america-global-crisis.