601394 external_news 1516978323 1516992847 Coral reefs didn’t need more bad news. They’re already being cooked by climate change and mangled by fishing gear. But because this is the age of humans, they are also being poisoned by billions of bits of plastic. Yet Kim Cobb of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences feels hopeful. We already know the solutions – developing better waste management systems, shifting our consumption habits away from disposable items, and picking up more plastic. All we have to do is implement them. “This is an optimistic message because this is something we can go out and through concerted effort try to fix,” Cobb told Earther. “In the face of other challenges like rising ocean temperatures, this can turn into a feel good story.”

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