We won't save the world by watching celebrity nature shows | Lucy Siegle

For all its worth, Blue Planet doesn't exactly provide a thorough educationIt's been a big month for the planet on TV. Through Judi Dench recently, we discovered these things called trees, a life-sustaining resource to be sure. This came hot on the heels of David Attenborough's revelations that the oceans are chock-a-block with plastic that might kill baby whales. Who knew this stuff was happening to our precious planet?Well, everybody knew, or at least we should have done. I'm guessing it was not news to Professor Richard Thompson, head of the International Marine Litter Research Unit at the University of Plymouth. For more than 20 years, he has been researching the accumulation and consequences of litter in the oceans. He coined the term "microplastics". Nor would there have been shock among the thousands of UK citizens who regularly scoop up plastic litter on beach cleans. Continue reading...