From the deepest depths of the sea to the highest mountain peaks (ain’t no mountain
high enough? thanks diana ross!) — humans seem to have seen everything there is to be
discovered on Earth.
But is it really so?
In fact, not in the least.
Our planet hides so many secrets that we might spend another thousand years and still not
see it all.
And yet, recent discoveries make scientists all over the world ring the alarm bells: the
Earth might be in more danger than we thought.
As you might know, the deepest point on the planet is the Mariana trench in the Pacific
Ocean.
There have been many attempts to explore it, and they’ve been rewarded with fascinating
discoveries of new and amazing species.
Marine researchers say, though, that biodiversity of the ocean is much greater than that.
We have only found about 5% of creatures dwelling under the sea, and we’ve no idea what else
can be lurking down there.
Some even say there could be a Megalodon shark somewhere in the deeper waters!
But that’s another video.
In the meantime, several people have gone to the deepest place there is in the world:
the Challenger Deep.
Its bottom is at 35,853 feet, which is deeper than Mount Everest is tall.
There’s no light there, it’s freezing cold, and the pressure of water is so high
that a person would be squashed in a blink of an eye.
And yet something has been found there.
Something disturbing.
You see, there are still plenty of places in the world where humans have never stepped
foot.
It might come as a surprise when we have advanced so much in technology, but it really is so.
Most of these places are, of course, under the surface of the Earth: there are huge unchartered
cave networks underground and vast spaces beneath the seabed that have only been explored
instrumentally.
For example, there’s a large maze of caves under the island of Mallorca in Spain that
hasn’t been mapped yet; and recently, an enormous sea of fresh water has been discovered
beneath the Atlantic Ocean.
But even without stepping into these wondrous places, humans have managed to leave their
trace there.
When I told you about the Challenger Deep, I mentioned that several people have been
down there.
One of these brave explorers was Victor Vescovo who dared the abyss in his submersible called
The Limiting Factor.
He ventured there alone and broke the record for the deepest solo dive set previously by
James Cameron.
He dropped to the very bottom of the ocean and stayed there for a while, looking out
for signs of life and making incredible photos.
But even as he made another photo of the otherworldly seascape, he noticed something strange.
And that was a plastic bag and candy wrappers.
Imagine the shock he felt when he saw these things in the place where no human can survive.
This finding could only mean one thing: human trash has found a way even in the most pristine
corners of the Earth.
Either that, or the deep-dwellers share our love of Reese’s cups.
Anyway, Vescovo’s discovery shook the scientific world, and researchers who supported him in
his endeavor decided to run tests on the creatures he found down below to evaluate how much plastic
there is in them.
Such a revelation is nothing but very troubling.
It appears that human waste has penetrated even in places where people themselves have
no access to, and that’s a dangerous situation.
Who knows when the Mariana trench becomes so polluted that its ecosystem is destroyed?
The worst of it is that we won’t even know about it until it’s too late.
And the whole thing might be even graver than that.
You see, there are many initiatives worldwide to preserve the oceans from plastic waste,
but not even one of them goes as far (or rather, as deep) as the Mariana trench, let alone
the Challenger Deep.
Until today, people thought that pollution only concerned the outer layers of the ocean,
but with the recent news the trouble seems to be much bigger than that.
What’s worse, what must be done with it is still unknown.
Maybe you have some ideas on how to improve the situation?
Let me know down below!
Yet even so, ecologists have already sounded the alarm and mobilized people around the
world about the problem’s nature has to deal with because of us.
For example, some suggest that the map of the world should be updated with a new continent
— a trash one.
Right smack-dab in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, there’s a huge area littered with
pieces of plastic waste.
It can’t be seen from above, but when you get there, it becomes painfully obvious.
If you go to this place and scoop some water from the surface, you’ll end up with a pile
of garbage in your hands.
And this place even has a name: the Great Pacific garbage patch, or Pacific Trash Vortex.
The patch spans about 580,000 square miles, and it was estimated that it contains 100
million tons of trash.
One.
Hundred.
Million.
This is larger than some of the biggest landfills in the world — and all that is right there
in the ocean waters.
Marine life in the area is badly damaged.
Sea creatures and birds get trapped in the trash, and fish living there eat it and become
inedible.
No fishing is allowed in the zone because it’s simply dangerous.
What’s more, the patch keeps growing: its emergence was predicted in 1988, and since
that time it’s grown at an incredible rate.
Humans haven’t reduced their waste disposal, so the question of what to do with the garbage
patch is wide open.
But if you think it’s the worst that could happen, then I have even more news for you.
Yes, today I’m on the darker side of things, sorry.
It’ll get better, though, promise!
So, where do you think people mostly leave their garbage?
We’ve seen land and sea trash fields, even the Mariana trench… but what about space?
Yep, we’ve reached as far out as the Earth’s orbit.
You see, many countries of the world send their satellites into space, and that’s
really a good thing: these devices help us get connected with the rest of the world,
predict weather changes, and do a lot of other useful things.
But have you ever thought about what happens to them when they get out of order?
In fact, they mostly stay out there, untouched, drifting slowly in the vacuum.
Same goes for the rockets launched into space: parts of them fall back to Earth, adding to
the pollution in the oceans, while the rest of them stay in the orbit.
By most accounts, the amount of space garbage is about 7,000 tons right now.
It sounds like a trifle compared to the Great Pacific garbage patch, but the alarming thing
about it is that it keeps growing by 2-4% every year.
So in just about 25 years this amount could easily be doubled.
Imagine looking at the skies and seeing nothing but a layer of debris floating high above
you?
Well, this just might be our future.
But hey, I promised you some brighter news, didn’t I?
So here it is: ecologists and volunteers all over the world are actively inventing more
and more new ways to fight the trash invasion.
For instance, there’s a method of trapping the ocean waste in nets that is affordable
for anyone, so even you can participate in saving our planet!
Moreover, governments across the globe also get actively involved in the process.
They encourage people to produce less waste and promote ways to do so.
Old clothes get recycled instead of just being thrown away.
Plastic cups and plates get replaced with biodegradable ones made of natural materials.
They’re no less durable than plastic ones but don’t pollute the environment.
Can you imagine there’s a startup that makes coffee cups out of used coffee?
So even the dregs become useful.
Humans are not as careless as they used to be in the past.
We are now conscious of what we’re doing to our home planet, and there are lots of
people who help the environment.
Let’s just hope everyone will become equally caring soon.
And what about you?
Do you know of any ways to help reduce the amount of waste on Earth?
Let me know down in the comments!
Hey, if you learned something new today, then give this video a like and share it with a
friend.
But don’t go deliberately diving drastically deep down dangerously just yet!
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