They May Have Leather Backs, But Inside It's Plastic

Leatherback turtles have been around for 110 million years. But a 19th-century invention may be ushering their exit

Alexander Parkes was born in England in 1813, the son of a brass lock manufacturer. After working as an apprentice to a brass founder, he patented a process to electroplate art works in 1841. But he is probably most known for the revolutionary substance he developed in 1856 he dubbed Parkesine. We know it by another name: plastic.

It's arguable that Mr. Parkes' invention has made lives easier -- at least for humans, and in the short run. One-hundred and fifty-three years later, at least one verdict is in: It's made life harder for turtles.

According to a new study, plastic has been found in one-third of leatherback turtles, an ancient turtle species listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The study was based on necropsy reports of 400 leatherbacks that died since 1885.

GET INVOLVED

• Reduce your plastic waste
• Stop using plastic water bottles by switching to resuable eco-friendly water bottles made by Sigg

RELATED POSTS

• Tata vs. Turtles (March 12, 2009)
• Sea Turtle Victory (January 31, 2009)
• One Man's Trash is All Our Trash (January 12, 2009)
• California Moves to Protect Endangered Turtles (July 25, 2008)
  
• China to Ban Plastic Bags (May 24, 2008)
• Conservationists Celebrate World Turtle Day (May 23, 2008)
• Ed Norton Says, "Bag the Bag" (May 4, 2008)
• Massive Pile of Garbage Grows in Pacific (April 10, 2008)
• Death by Plastic (March 28, 2008)
• Helping Endangered Turtles in Sri Lanka (March 20, 2008)

image: NOAA