Untouched by Humans: Pristine Henderson Island

Worst case of plastic pollution in the world: A plastic wasteland on an uninhabited, pristine South Pacific island

 

Ocean currents have carried about 38 million items of plastic debris to Henderson Island in the South Pacific.(A) Plastic debris on East Beach of Henderson Island. Much of this debris originated from fishing-related activities or land-based sources in China, Japan, and Chile (Table S5). (B) Plastic items recorded in a daily accumulation transect along the high tide line of North Beach. (C) Adult female green turtle (Chelonia mydas) entangled in fishing line on North Beach. (D) One of many hundreds of purple hermit crabs (Coenobita spinosa) that make their homes in plastic containers washed up on North Beach. Image: Jennifer L. Lavers. Source: PNAS

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‘Exceptional and rapid accumulation of anthropogenic debris on one of the world’s most remote and pristine islands’

By Jennifer L. Lavers et al.

Abstract

In just over half a century plastic products have revolutionized human society and have infiltrated terrestrial and marine environments in every corner of the globe. The hazard plastic debris poses to biodiversity is well established, but mitigation and planning are often hampered by a lack of quantitative data on accumulation patterns. Here we document the amount of debris and rate of accumulation on Henderson Island, a remote, uninhabited island in the South Pacific. The density of debris was the highest reported anywhere in the world, up to 671.6 items/m² (mean ± SD: 239.4 ± 347.3 items/m²) on the surface of the beaches. Approximately 68% of debris (up to 4,496.9 pieces/m²) on the beach was buried <10 cm in the sediment. An estimated 37.7 million debris items weighing a total of 17.6 tons are currently present on Henderson, with up to 26.8 new items/m accumulating daily. Rarely visited by humans, Henderson Island and other remote islands may be sinks for some of the world’s increasing volume of waste.

FIRE-EARTH Alert: CVLD

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• Details are available from FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

 

Japan Focus 07: Biggest Brothel in the World

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“Filthy old Japs,” JK business, “tour guiding,” “compensated dating,” taboo sex and all other illicit and depraved sexual activities

[Prepared by an affiliated team of political scientists.]

• Report available from FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

Background:

• The continued practice of enjo kosai (compensated dating) and the existence of websites for online dating, social networking, and “delivery health” (a euphemism for call-girl or escort services) facilitated the sex trafficking of children and other commercial sex industries. A trend known as “JK business” continued to grow; these businesses include cafes that feature underage female servers and massage parlors staffed by high school-age girls. NGOs helping girls in “JK business” reported a link between these activities and the exploitation of children in prostitution. [US State Department, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016, Japan]
• STD infection rates in Japan are currently soaring: more so than in most developed countries.
• Japan’s syphilis problem prompts ministry to bring in special team: Across Japan, there were 4,259 syphilis cases from Jan. 1 to early December 2016, up 77 percent from the same period in 2015.
• From 1985, when the first diagnoses were reported, to the end of 2013, there were a cumulative 23,015 reported cases of HIV, of which 7,203 (31.3%) were AIDS cases (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2014). … these numbers do not include 1432 cumulative cases of HIV and AIDS among hemophilia patients iatrogenically infected through blood products…

“Red Alert”: Italian Supervolcano May Erupt “Soon”

Italy’s supervolcano at “critical stage” of eruption: “volcanic activity might be imminent”

Campi Flegrei, Italy’s only supervolcano, could erupt sooner than previously predicted, researchers say, immediately affecting more than three million people who live in the Naples area.

The volcano last erupted in 1538 but it has been restless since 1950, with local seismicity and ground uplift recorded in the 1950s, 1970s and 1980s, similar to a 100-year long episode that lead  to the last eruption.

More than 26,000 micro-earthquakes, or volcano-tectonic (VT) events, have occurred across the central zone of the caldera during the current unrest, researchers say.

“The current unrest is consistent with a reactivation of the magmatic system after 412 years and, hence, with an increase in the threat from volcanic activity to the caldera’s population of almost 360,000 people, as well as to the three million residents of Naples immediately outside its eastern margin.”

Ground movements of about 3m, the largest recorded since Roman times, have occurred since 1950.

“At Campi Flegrei itself, an additional obstacle to effective warning is a low public awareness of volcanic hazard compared with the perceived threat from microseismicity. The persistent VT seismicity in 1983–1984 damaged buildings throughout Pozzuoli and triggered the evacuation of some 40,000 people.”

They have published their findings in the nature Communications.