death by plastic

Today's news provides graphic evidence of the harm plastics in our oceans cause to marine life: a sperm whale has washed up in southern Spain with 17kg of plastics in its stomach. Thick transparent plastic sheeting, 9m of rope, hosepipe, plastic flower pots, a clothes hanger, an ice-cream tub and bits of mattress were among the items which caused the whale's death.
Read more here.

a good place for a nuclear power station

On a rare sunny day last week, I took these photos of recent erosion of the cliffs just north of Thorpeness.
What's round the corner?
Sizewell C...

Filling my boots

Since moving to our woodland home 11 years ago, we have done everything we can to provide a good habitat for wildlife. Some wildlife (the barn owl and grass snakes) is more welcome than others (abundant moles and daily herds of fallow deer) - but where should we draw the line?

This dilemma came into sharp focus earlier today when, rummaging in the bedroom cupboard for my snow boots, I discovered that they were somewhat heavier than I expected... I soon realised why. The boots were filled to the brim with grain with just a discreet layer of torn tissue paper concealing the cache.

This is not the first incident - some Christmas biscuits, bought as a present and hidden in our cupboard, was nibbled before Christmas and our dog got the blame. And, just yesterday, I discovered some soap in our bathroom - a fragrant clove and orange - with distinct incisor marks.

But this newest discovery certainly takes the biscuit. This mouse and its friends must have laboured for days to create this hoard - there was nearly a kilo of grain in my boots! Regardless of their careful attempts to conceal it, the cache is now gone: I needed to wear the boots (despite their newly nibbled filigree edges...).

I find myself admiring these mice for their enterprise (where did they bring the grain from? it's not what we feed our chickens...) and laughing at their audacity. Part of me really wants to keep accommodating them here in my cupboard. But really enough is enough... So our idle cats are now being encouraged to take up residence in our room (and cupboard) and, if this doesn't keep our rodent friends away, then (regrettably) maybe a spot of feline 'self-catering' might...

Plastics beyond oil

I keep imagining a future beyond oil... a life without plastics and yet where plastic fragments of our Oil Age lives continue to wash up on the shore. I often think about what future generations will make of these objects (what they might think they are and how they might use them) - and what they might think about us...
I recently had the chance to explore some of these ideas with art, photography and textile students at a local high school. Here are some of the ideas I liked best:

empty pill blister packs = ocean migration modules for ants

plastic dustbin = personal flotation device in event of flooding      
or
      plastic dustbin = privacy module for couples in multiple occupancy one room living units

traffic cone =  high status head-dress as wearer unable to do anything practical whilst wearing one

You can send your own ideas to me here.

Moles on the move

I have for a long time thought that moles might provide us with a (partial) answer to likely sea level rise over coming years: http://www.flyintheface.com/up%20and%20under.html
It seems that someone may be trialling my idea as super-large molehills have recently been seen 'on the move' near Aldeburgh (pictured above) and then on the beach at Thorpeness (see below).
As you can see, these molehills are much larger than those produced by the average garden mole, lending credence to speculation in scientific circles that mutant moles are either being bred and released in the Aldeburgh area precisely for this purpose - or that they may even be evolving 'naturally' as a result of the local Sizewell effect...

Not everyone is convinced of their merit. Diggers were brought in to remove the offending molehills with the earth helpfully being re-utilised in sea defence works on the beach.

Evidence suggests that Aldeburgh is not the only area affected by mole trials. More modest trials also appear to be underway on Bournemouth beach.

If you would like to take part in future  UP AND UNDER trials in your area, then please contact me upandunder@flyintheface.com, with the proposed location of your UP AND UNDER action and attaching your agreement to the Mole Protection Charter.  

Fish Food

I have always thought that fleeces were a very practical use for recycled PET bottles - warm, light, quick drying, comfortable... But, as usual, there is a downside. Recent scientific studies have shown an unexpected source for the rising amounts of plastics found in our oceans: microfibres from man-made fabrics like fleeces are finding their way into the sea - and therefore the food chain - via our washing machines!

 A new study has found that when you wash fleeces and other synthetic fabrics, miniscule threads of plastic seep through filters and escape into the environment. Browne, lead author of the new study, estimates that more than 65 percent of plastic debris in the sea is smaller than one millimeter in diameter - and scientists are becoming increasingly concerned about the harm these tiny bits might be causing. Marine microplastics can penetrate the cells of even the tiniest organisms, affecting the way they function and raising all sorts of health concerns for both sea creatures and the people that eat them. Moreover, plastic particles in the water are not only hazardous for their own potential toxicity but also because they adsorb the pollutants in the water around them.

Yet currently there are no requirements for manufacturers to test fabrics for their environmental impact or for filtration processes of waste water to eliminate this potentially damaging source of pollution.

“Consumers have the power when they go into a store to ask whether clothing has been tested for its impact on the environment,” said Browne. “If more and more consumers started doing that, it would then put pressure on the people who actually produce clothes to do something about it.”

 To gauge the extent of the microplastic problem, Browne and colleagues collected and tested sediment samples from 18 shorelines on six continents. Microplastics were not just ubiquitous, the team reported in Environmental Science & Technology. Concentrations were also highest in the most densely populated countries. Places that produce the most waste, in other words, suffer the most from their waste.

More food for thought about our dependence on plastics...

Beached at Jaywick

I have had a hugely busy week, re-arranging my collections of litter to create a site specific installation BEACHED! at Jaywick Tower. All done now (phew!) and the launch is tomorrow (Saturday 7th July 3 - 5 pm). For more details see www.jaywickmartellotower.org
The Tower has a fantastic glass reading room on the roof with amazing views - it's worth a visit for that alone - and there is a beautiful beach too... (surely worth missing the Ladies' Wimbledon Finals for)
Hope to see you there!