A scientist has made a pretty bleak discovery at Earth's deepest point, and it should spark other people into action.
To some, the ocean can be incredibly scary - particularly because much remains undiscovered.
So who knows what creatures may be lurking down in the depths?
Well, one scientist has explored the world's deepest undersea chasm and has made an unsettling discovery.
Dawn Wright, a renowned oceanographer, made the discovery during her 2022 mission to an unexplored area of the Challenger Deep - located more than 6.7 miles beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean
There, in the untouched sediment of the world's deepest undersea chasm, she found a solitary beer bottle.
"This discarded trash had managed to reach an unsullied part of our world before we actually did — a symbol of how deeply and irrevocably humans are affecting the natural world," Wright wrote in a Los Angeles Times op-ed, expressing her dismay at the discovery.
While the presence of trash in such a remote location is shocking, it is not an isolated incident.
Plastic bags and candy wrappers have already been documented littering the floor of the Mariana Trench.
Elsewhere, Mount Everest has earned the nickname of "the world's highest garbage dump" due to the accumulation of frozen trash at its uppermost camps.
Wright's discovery serves as a potent reminder of the need to curtail single-use plastics and reduce the overall waste generated by human activity.
Simple lifestyle changes, such as opting for reusable bags and water bottles, can make a significant impact by decreasing the amount of trash that ends up in landfills - or the bottom of the ocean.
Reducing waste not only helps protect marine ecosystems but also limits the spread of microplastics and harmful chemicals into soil and water.
These pollutants can disrupt ecosystems and threaten human health, with studies linking microplastics to adverse effects on plant growth and a range of potential health issues in humans, including dementia, heart disease, and cancer.
Although Wright's discovery occurred in 2022, it recently gained widespread attention on social media.
A post about the find on Reddit’s r/interestingasf*** sparked outrage among users, many of whom expressed frustration at humanity’s impact on the planet.
“F****** humans littering up our planet without regard,” one user wrote.
Another commented: “What a disgusting and embarrassing display of our impact on this planet.”
“Just further proves humanity polluted every corner of this planet,” echoed another.
In case you want the short version of this article - pick up your trash!
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