By Mary O’KEEFE

I have often written about plastics and microplastics in the ocean but I  came across a story about “Tama,” the green sea turtle, that touched my heart. 

Tama was first admitted to Sydney, Australia’s Taronga Wildlife Hospital in July 2022. Tama was found lying on its back in a “rock pool at Tamarama Beach in Bondi,” according to Taronga – Conservation Society Australia for the Wild. 

The turtle arrived with a lot of issues, including a missing right flipper,  a chip missing from its back left flipper and a piece of missing shell indicating that it had sustained a bite. The hatchling was also found to have a stomach full of plastic, according to Taronga.  

In fact Tama continued to defecate plastic for six days. 

Sarah Male, senior keeper at Taronga Zoo, received Tama and cared for him until his release.

“The fact that he pooped plastic for six days is shocking,” said Male. “That means that the food that he took in in the first couple of days that he was alive and out in the ocean was plastic. It was all different kinds of plastic; hard plastics, little bits of rope, line – and this guy fit into the palm of my hand. His whole body was full of it.”

According to Taronga, the wildlife hospital treats over 1,500 native wildlife cases, many of which have been impacted by plastics. 

“Experts estimate that 33% of marine turtles and 43% of seabirds have ingested plastics in their lifetimes, mistaking these items for food [that] then cause significant internal organ damage,” according to Taronga.

“Animals have been eating, or ingesting, plastic and other marine debris for a long time. The ingestion of plastic by wildlife was first observed in 1966 when researchers found plastic container lids and toys in dead Laysan albatross chicks. These observations happened more than 20 years before the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was discovered. A review by[science researchers] [Susanne] Kühn and [Jan A.] van Franeker found that over 700 species, including seabirds, fish, turtles and marine mammals, have been confirmed to eat plastic. That number will likely increase over time as wildlife continues to encounter our trash,” according to NOAA-Marine Debris Program Office of Response and Restoration. 

The sea creatures may mistake the plastic for food or the plastic may be mixed with natural food. The amount of plastic debris animals eat depends on their feeding behavior. Some may unintentionally eat microplastics with their food and others ingest larger pieces of plastic.

Microplastics are plastic fragments up to 5 millimeters long. About 10 to 40 million metric tons of these particles are released into the environment every year … and that number could double by 2040, according to Stanford.

Once eaten the animals release the debris in a variety of ways, including regurgitation (some birds) or it passes through their digestive systems – and then there are other times when the animal cannot process the plastics. The sharp, or rough, plastic can create cuts in the digestive system. It can also block thedigestive system making the animals feel full, reducing their urge to eat, according to NOAA.

Then of course there are harmful pollutants connected to the plastics, so it is just a long list of bad news for the sea creatures – and for us.

The buck really does stop here. We humans are using plastic materials and are directly responsible for those microplastics and plastics that are distressing and killing sea creatures. But in a karma-bites-you-in-the-tuchus moment, humans are being affected by microplastics too. 

According to Stanford University, microplastics are in what we drink and eat, the clothes we wear and the air we breathe. 

“They’ve pervaded every ecosystem in the world, from coral reefs to Antarctic ice. And they’ve infiltrated the human body, lodging themselves in everything from brain tissue to reproductive organs,” according to med.stanford.org.

“Scientists have estimated that adults ingest the equivalent of one credit card per week in microplastics. Studies in animals and human cells suggest microplastics exposure could be linked to cancer, heart attacks, reproductive problems and a host of other harms. Yet few studies have directly examined the impact of microplastics on human health, leaving us in the dark about how dangerous they really are” according to Stanford. 

This is nothing new. In the 1960s experts began warning about the dangers of plastic pollution. In the 1970s researchers found small pieces of plastic in marine plankton; the term “microplastics” was coined in 2004. 

Scientists are just starting to research the health impacts of microplastics though they have found them in multiple organs and tissues, including the brain, testicles, heart, stomach and placenta. 

In 1955, Life magazine published an article titled “Throwaway Living.” In that article a photo of plastic utensils, plates and cups flew around a man and woman with their arms wide open and smiles on their faces. 

“The objects flying through the air in this picture would take 40 hours to clean – except that no housewife need bother,” stated the 1955 article. 

For the most part, the article I saw was short and really more about photos than a story. It did seem to show the advantages of plastic and foil – how they are inexpensive and easy to clean by tossing them away. 

But as is a common societal practice, we often wear blinders as we fall in love with innovation – at first – without looking down the road at what negatives those new things may add to the generations to come. We have done better recently with Reduce, Reuse, Recycle programs, but again it’s like closing the barn door after the horse got out [to use a Midwestern term]. 

As for Tama, there is good news. Tama was released back into the sea in December 2023 in Sydney Harbour. And although not all animals are as lucky as Tama, at least it’s nice that this little turtle got a second chance. 

Tama’s freedom would not be possible if not for Taronga, a non-profit organization that supports and protects wildlife and has educational programs on wildlife. It is a non-profit that survives on support from others. To find out more about the organization or to donate, go to https://www.taronga.org.au/about.

As to our local environment, the temperatures are still really hot. We have an Extreme Heat Warning in place until Aug. 28 at 8 p.m.

“It is going to be quite hot through Friday,” said a NOAA meteorologist spokesman. 

Today we are expecting temperatures around 101 degrees; Friday will also see triple digit temperatures. 

Things are expected to cool down by about 10 to 15 degrees on Sunday and Monday. 

The normal temperature for this time of year is about 92 degrees. 

There is still very strong El Niño expected later this year. We should feel the effect in October through December. It is not a guarantee that this El Niño will bring significant rain. 

For a list of cooling stations in Glendale visit https://tinyurl.com/znyzj2yp.

The cooling stations in Burbank are at the local libraries during regular business hours: Buena Vista Branch, 300 N. Buena Vista St. and Central Library at 110 N. Glenoaks Blvd.

For cooling stations throughout LA County, go to https://ready.lacounty.gov/heat/.

La Crescenta Library at 2809 Foothill Blvd. is a cooling station.