Amphipodian Elegy

Episode One Hundred Seventeen: Amphipodian Elegy.
In which the Soap Strip bottom out.

1 comment:

  1. Several news outlets reporting in the Spring of 2019 that amphipoda have have been discovered in the furthest depths of the Pacific Ocean having ingested tiny threads of plastic. A National Geographic article cited one study that found plastic threads in 72% of sampled (from six disparate deep-sea trench explorations) organisms. From the Mariana trench (the deepest trench / James Cameron's exploration) it was 100%. It's there. Plastic pollution is everywhere on Earth.

    So, a couple things about this struck me:

    One scientist explained that these organisms (at that depth, no larger than two inches long) voraciously eat anything. This is the end of the line, food-chain wise, and they clean everything up. So, to them, plastic appears to be an attractive source of nutrition. Except that it isn't. Their bodies can't break it down, and for them eating that microscopic strand is like humans eating a meter of nylon rope. The point being, I take, is that it can't be viable, and it's not like this is a passing issue: plastic is only going to continue to accumulate there. One cited estimation is that by 2050 the accumulated plastic in the Ocean will outweigh that of all marine life.

    These amphipoda are only going to continue to eat it, and, unless they miraculously adapt, they will die. And the organisms that rely on them as a food source will subsequently die, and so on. Massive extinction event, I imagine, leading up to us.

    So, that's one thing that struck me. The other was the photo of one of these little creatures that was used in the article. Illuminated against a pitch black background, it conveyed a loneliness that spoke of unfathomable depths. Somehow, my garbage had reached this guy, down there in the dark, and our connection had dragged me into the black to where it lived. To me, that spoke of oblivion.

    The Pharm Life panel has a series of PCB formulae floating past the observer. The SM frame a coffee mug sentiment that I thought might be appropriate for lab techs and nurses.

    The resolution more of a resolve this week: from a 'break up' album by Beck, Sea Change (2002) (an album that had never really captured my attention before), the song "Sunday Sun" getting stuck in my head. Definitely a pessimistic week. (Although I am quite happy with this week's effort.)

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