The knock out punch?

The deepest solo ocean dive ever made was to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean.

It was made in a titanium-hulled submersible on May 1. The depth of the dive was more than 35,800 feet.

Four new deep sea species were discovered.

Also, discovered on the sea floor was a plastic bag and what may have been candy wrappers.

In the Philippines, a juvenile whale was found dying of what scientists thought was dehydration and starvation. After its death, it was discovered that the whale had ingested 88 pounds of single use plastic bags. That is what killed him. He could no longer eat or get water from food sources.

Plastic or pieces of plastic have been discovered in sea salt, bottled water and foods normally eaten by humans. Some have even been found in municipal drinking water.

Much has been said about the chunks of plastics and other garbage in the giant gyres in the oceans, such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

More worrisome is the danger of partially degraded plastics and micro beads of plastic that are mistaken for food by animals all along the food chain. Reportedly, 100 percent of sea turtles and 70 percent of sea birds have ingested plastic. Many have died as a result.

Discarded plastics endanger most ocean animals. Plastic can and may already be affecting human health.

Little has been done to curb plastic pollution. Everyday eight million pieces of plastics are dumped in the world’s oceans.

Scientists claim that the danger to wildlife and humans is real and imminent. It is something everyone needs to take seriously.

Humans need to cut the use of plastics as well as better control its disposal.

Our poor earth is being savaged. And, we are the culprits.

Three calamitous developments are facing us.

First, there is global warming to which humans have contributed. Then, it has been predicted that the world faces a mass extinction of species, primarily due to human activity.

The third, and perhaps the knock out punch, is plastics, a man-made problem.

Taken together, we are well along in the process of destroying our world. Congratulations are not in order.