The Plasticene
Artificial Earth
Welcome to another edition of Seascapes – a collection of incredible oceanic artwork and photography.
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Once a miracle invention, now an era-defining consumerist nightmare, plastic has become so embedded in our lives, landscapes, and bodies that scientists argue it defines a new age within the Anthropocene: the Plasticene.
In recent testing, microplastics were found in every sample of semen. In another study, at least one piece was found in the breath of every dolphin tested. It’s been found in our blood, in placentas, in Arctic ice cores, and in the deepest ocean trenches. Hermit crabs use discarded plastic as a home. Birds are feeding it to their chicks. Whales are swallowing so much of it, it kills them.
We can no longer deny that this poison has a permanent place in our world—and will continue to release its toxins into us and into nature until we stop producing it. Only then will cleaning it up have any real impact.
Until that day, such is the power of this pollution that we’ve essentially created a new age. One marked not by stone, bronze, or iron, but by plastic. Here are some extraordinary photographs capturing the Plasticene and the synthetic world it's shaping.
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Amie 🐋
This makes me profoundly sad. And so much of this damage is within my lifetime (60+ years). Growing up, liquids came in glass bottles. Water bottles weren’t even a thing. I try to avoid plastic whenever possible, but it is way too little, too late.
Powerful photography. Thank you.