The True Scale of Ocean Pollution

Today we're investigating the many different ways the ocean has been polluted, using a book I've been reading lately, The Swarm by Frank Schatzing, as my guide!
Join me in the wonderful world of dumping all your problems into the ocean, where nuclear submarine, mustard gas, sulfuric acid, and heaps and heaps of trash are only the tip of the iceberg.
Donate to TeamSeas here: teamseas.org/
Support me on Patreon here: / atlaspro
Follow me on Twitter @theatlaspro
Special thanks the @StefanMilo for lending his voice to author of The Swarm Frank Schatzing!
Check out the interactive map of chemical weapons dumping here:
www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/vie...
Music: / atlas-pro-music
"Deliberate Thought" by Kevin Macleod
Sources / Further Reading:
www.epa.gov/sites/default/fil...
www.iaea.org/sites/default/fi...
large.stanford.edu/courses/201...
large.stanford.edu/courses/201...
web.archive.org/web/200706140...
large.stanford.edu/courses/201...
nuclear.jrc.ec.europa.eu/tipi...
www.bbc.com/future/article/20...
web.archive.org/web/200708280...
e360.yale.edu/features/radioa...
www.upi.com/Archives/1982/08/...
www.oecd-nea.org/rwm/profiles...
biologicaldiversity.org/w/new....
nonproliferation.org/chemical...
www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/vie...
www.sciencedirect.com/science...
www.latimes.com/environment/s...
www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-...
world-nuclear.org/focus/fukus...
blogs.agu.org/wildwildscience...
www.iaea.org/sites/default/fi...
www.smithsonianmag.com/scienc...
www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/env...
oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/c...
www.pewtrusts.org/en/research...
www.prnewswire.com/news-relea...
www.plasticsoupfoundation.org...
www.nature.com/articles/s4159...
phys.org/news/2020-04-plastic...
www.spiegel.de/international/...
thebarentsobserver.com/en/nod...
www.bbc.com/news/world-europe...
• Komsomolets 30 år ette...
• Vannprøver fra den sov...
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-co...
www.nature.com/articles/s4159...
www.scientificamerican.com/ar...

[@nnioax]

I'm from Kazakhstan, specifically Mangistau region. We have a lake named Qoshqar-ata a few kilometers away from Aktau. It was used during USSR period to dump radioactive waste with no precautions, and now people have to deal with a literal boiling pot of radioactive clay water. The worst part is - the city is growing towards the lake and it is now on a walking distance. The state is covering it with concrete and locals are planting haloxylon trees, but it will still remain radioactive. How are we supposed to live love laugh at these conditions.

[@p0tmuffin69]

live love laugh you say 😂😂

[@macberg5806]

@@p0tmuffin69 right lmfaooo

[@WildsDreams45]

🤷 You're screwed. You just got unlucky.

[@Daeva83B]

I hear ya. Easy answer would be to move somewhere else. To remove yourself and your family from the area. But i'm sure many locals don't have that luxurious option. I just read about your lake on wiki and it sounds like a very serious situation. 😞

[@nnioax]

@@Daeva83B yeah, we were lucky enough to afford moving quite far away, but my extended family still lives there, which is kinda sad

[@kenzarezyarifin1076]

I remember when I was a kid, the river in the backyard turns red, I thought it's filled with blood like in a horror movie, turns out there's a new factory releasing untreated pollutant straight to the river. Fortunately I didn't touch the river, but all the grass next to the river just vanish.

[@Freshbott2]

@@magiccloud3074 it’s not fast for all situations though. Lakes Vänern and Vättern in Sweden were used for testing ammunition and dumping papermill waste. There are huge mercury dumps in them. People were instructed to dump tins of mercury with the idea the tins would prevent contamination (wtf??), but they wouldn’t sink cause they had air in them. So they were instructed to stab holes in them first. Now when the water is still, the levels of pollution are moderate, sometimes life hangs around. But any time the lakebed gets stirred up the pollutants come up and they’ll be there for hundreds if not thousands of years. Pripyat is far less contaminated than a typical lake near a military base, coal plant, copper mine or paper mill. Anywhere in the world where fire retardants have been used (airports etc). The groundwater is permanently poisoned. It could take 10,000 years to dissipate. We’re poisoning the Earth on a geologic timescale. We need to actively treat the majority of sources we can’t just wait for it to get better.

[@chrisclifford7080]

@@Freshbott2 Machines used for lumber Compact the soil which plants can't grow in; it takes a lot of time for it to recover if ignored.

[@Freshbott2]

@@chrisclifford7080 that’s wild. In Australia the soils are already so compacted we have cows walk on it to uncompact it. That’s just what regular burning does. I just remembered a nasty one. The US showered uranium bombs in the Balkans and Iraq because tungsten is too expensive for kinetic weapons. When you see Iraqi babies born without arms that’s usually why. It’s not very radioactive but it’s poisonous and it’ll will outlast our civilisation hundreds of times over.

[@125discipline2]

when you can still swim in the river.

[@augustlandmesser1520]

@@magiccloud3074 "Chernobyl is now teeming with life." - You forget to insert: "cancerous". Even the microorganisms in soil and insects and fungi aren't acting as they should be: go google "Forests Around Chernobyl Aren’t Decaying Properly".

[@Jeemus.]

It's a nice touch to use all the old educational films! Demonstrates just how long we've known about these problems but live at the mercy of a system that allows those with money and power to destroy our world.

[@epic3932]

Amen to that

[@aleksisratenieks4181]

Yeah, i think the only way to solve climate change and polution, is to overthrow capitalism and consumerism. THIS MEANS REVOLUTION!!

[@epic3932]

@@aleksisratenieks4181 😂😂😂😂😂 nice try but we know that Christ teaches against this so called revolution of your's!

[@aleksisratenieks4181]

@@epic3932 Do you think i believe in fairytailes? I believe science and fact.

[@aleksisratenieks4181]

@@epic3932 Capitalism is just is like cancer, it will slowly kill us all

[@FacePalmEXE]

Just a small factual error at 9:10 : Australia DOES actually have a nuclear reactor in Lucas Heights, Sydney which has been in operation since 1958. It's not for power generation however, It's mainly used to create isotopes for medical/industrial use and research. I used to drive by there pretty frequently. :)

[@flowgangsemaudamartoz7062]

Didnt they also recently buy nuclear Submarines? Or am i mixing something up?

[@FacePalmEXE]

@@flowgangsemaudamartoz7062 Ordered, yes. They won't be built for some time however.

[@charliekezza]

We ordered normal ones from the french, then realised they weren't nuclear just cancelled without asking if they could put the nuclear in. And that is why the French hate us right now

[@byakugan641]

@@charliekezza Well that's escalated quickly

[@abdiganisugal825]

@@charliekezza That's incorrect. The Australian govt were aware they could buy nuclear powered submarines from the French. The reason for the change was America is a more reliable wartime ally and is more capable of supplying the parts needed to maintain and repair the subs. The reason for the French hating the Aussies and Americans is because they did all this without consulting them first even though they are an ally.

[@halords17]

as a geology student that is currently studying pollution in our environmental science class, im definitely thankful for Atlas Pro for covering this topic in depth, giving us more info than we can learn from class but what im really thankful for is him reminding me that their true name is "no-no germans"

[@angelmonroy3012]

what do you do with a degree in that? im going to uni next year and i have no idea what to do lol, but geology sounds interesting :p

[@halords17]

@@angelmonroy3012 i have no idea if it's the same in other countries, but here in the philippines we typically aim for mining, which pays geologists a big sum compared to other jobs that an asian parent would be proud of. other things we can go for are government agencies, such as environmental protection and hazard assessment and avoidance. but geology is a really broad category. it's basically "earth science" in greek*, so everything on and in earth are what we study. minerals, rocks, rock layers, land structures, mountains and islands, continents, earthquakes, volcanoes, tectonic plates, rivers, seas, oceans, magma, impact events, even a little bit of biology (primarily for paleontology). also everything that Atlas Pro has talked about in his channel (except the politics and history) are what we study in geology. if you are interested in any of them, you should give it a try.

[@tsarnicholasii419]

@@halords17 I heard the mining industry of the Philippines has many problems: illegal mining operations, hazardous methods of extracting minerals and ores, inadequate initiatives in using the country's natural resources such as the abundant gold and cobalt reserves in the country, the use of child labor in the industry, etc. Can you confirm this?

[@halords17]

@@tsarnicholasii419 from what i understand, these problems that you mentioned are the primary reason our curriculum is focusing heavily on environmental protection (to the point that we have Environmental Science as a separate subject) and also why geology graduates are being encouraged to join government agencies (like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources). they want us to understand that, yes, participating in mining industries is a great way to earn so much money, but never forget that we, as future geologists, should be making sure the environment is protected in the process. they are trying to produce new geologists that are more aware about the environment and more responsible, so that future activities would be less problematic.

[@halords17]

@@tsarnicholasii419 i can't really confirm it definitely, but i personally believe that these things are out there, based on the things i mentioned above.

[@Dz73zxxx]

As an oceanographer, this is entertaining and well-showed! Covers all the basics about pollutants in oceans, the categories, their effects and also the worries that lie within the unknowledgeable, uncertain future. However, some of the list that probably i can add two pences are: 1. Plastic wastes are more dangerous than people thought, and the culprit is microplastic. Microplastic isnt just threatening due to its size, but it can also bonded with chemicals that suspended in the ocean, some of which is toxic. Microplastics also have detected to carry pathogen bacteria due to adsorption and bioaccumulation. 2. Even worse than micros, there is a new category, called "nanoplastic". Yes, it is a NANOSCALE plastic fragments, in which can bioaccumulate in the food web, and eventually reach human consumption. Further study required on this, but i'll bet that this will be a concern on late decade. 3. Human efforts sure is a main factor to mitigate this such as cleanup, but never forget, that ecosystem services can do a lot to us. Coastal ecosystem such as mangroves, seagrasses, and even salt marshes can act as a "sinking" ground for microplastics, heavy metals, and even carbon due to photosynthesis (called sequestration). The latter, even currently proposed as a main tool in CoP26 to combat CO2 emission. These so called "Blue Carbon ecosystem" are potential swiss army knifes for our solution. So, a movement for mangrove, salt marshes, or seagrasses restoration should have a weighted support too! Here are some sources (some includes paying, sorry to say...) for my two pences: nanopplastics: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2468584417300284 Microplastics: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210727171707.htm. Blue carbon ecosystem: Govindasamy, Chinnavenkataraman & Arulpriya, M. & Packiasamy, Dr. Ruban & Francisca, L.J. & Ilayaraja, A.. (2011). Concentration of heavy metals in seagrasses tissue of the Palk Strait, Bay of Bengal. Int. J. Environ. Sci.. 2. 145-153. www.mdpi.com/2673-1924/2/1/10#cite Tang, J., S. Ye, X. Chen, H. Yang, X. Sun, F. Wang, Q. Wen, and S. Chen, 2018, Coastal Blue Carbon: Concept, Study Method, and The Application to Ecological Restoration, Science China Earth Sciences, 6(6): 637-646.

[@RitaMaru11]

Thank you for this information

[@129das]

Plastic is by far the worst pollution of all, Radiation, Chemicals and others will clean naturally. Plastic although will break down find sand it takes forever and never returns naturally. The unknow/Knowen damage Plastic creates is scary and the fact that governments protect plastic creators are the same oil tyrants that have destroyed our ozone layer of the earth. The earth is Sick humans are the cause. Keep up the good work you do.

[@Yelrebmikkim]

As a Geographer, your 2 pences make sense. Restoration of the world's "sinks" would help a lot. It might lock our waste into geology - eventually. The Anthropocine, although heavily debated, is here.

[@joaquimbarbosa896]

The plastic problem can be even worse because there is no good subsitute for plastic. I mean we are starting to use a lot of paper but that paper requires extensive eucalipt/pine monocultures, destroying landscapes in countries like Portugal (eucalipts and pines already make half our forests)

[@joaquimbarbosa896]

@@magiccloud3074 That is interesting Specially a side effects of it (algae plantations for that demand) wich would also have a great impact on CO2 emissions

[@KDRulz]

I was not at all aware of the chemical weapons disposed to oceans, it is shocking to say the least.

[@GingerRuss75]

After the second world war, thousands of tonnes of munitions were dumped miles out to sea, at Beaufort's Dyke, between south west Scotland and Northern Ireland. In recent years, some of what was left has washed up on the coast of Galloway.

[@WestExplainsBest]

If anything, this video shows that everything has a price - even human advancement.

[@Ar_Tank]

@@GingerRuss75 iirc, the British dumped potentially irradiated water into the same place from one of their nuclear plants. Granted they were encased in concrete and rad levels are below safe levels it's still there and concrete doesn't last forever. Eventually it'll irradiated the sea

[@GingerRuss75]

@ok Nessie

[@joshjbradburn]

I'm surprised how much is by NZ and it being a Nuclear free zone.

[@dervakommtvonhinten517]

even before watching, thumbs up for a 37 minute video. most youtubers would have split that in 3-4 parts by stretching it just a bit to reach the 2 ad threshhold.

[@liambrock3831]

Get an ad blocker...

[@mapeditorjon5306]

I mean, I don't mind the ads

[@MiracleWinchester]

@@liambrock3831 sure, but that wasn't the point they were saying

[@jk-gb4et]

it's a fundraiser video he wouldn't make money anyway..

[@Arcvde]

Absolutely right. Got a thumbs up from me too before watching. But let’s face it. All of his videos are top notch in information and quality

[@ktrnch2992]

Cleaning ocean plastics may be the easiest part, but you got to be careful and don't support companies that promise a large scale automated operation. Like using nets to sweep ocean surface, or filtering top layer of beach sand with a machine like it were crops. These operations decimate entire ecosystems and fall on a side of greenwashing. Right now, cleaning plastics requires a ton of manual labor, but it's worth it!

[@RagingDong]

Perhaps we can put some of these refugees we have had ib recent years to work.

[@MrLebruleur]

Mhh, at this scale of 14 million tons added each year, the manual labour is pointless and will never have enough of an impact before a large scale reduction of plastic production. Also manual labour cannot fix the microplastics problem. I understand the effort of doing what one can do as an individual but it would be foolish to think any cleanup efforts, even a 30 Million Pounds effort will have any impact. And the fantasy that it does helps companies keep churning out plastics. Right now, Cleaning plastics requires legislation imo rather than manual labour

[@chrisclifford7080]

@@RagingDong put a ungodly tax on the materials used to make plastics forcing companies to recycle the stuff.

[@norml.hugh-mann]

@@RagingDong troll alert

[@norml.hugh-mann]

@@chrisclifford7080 plastic recyling is largely a public relations stunt put on by the Consumer Plastics Council to advance single use plastics over heavier grade reusable plastics for so many products, even modeling their resin batch identification after the recycling logo...only like 1 or 2 of the MANY numbers you find on the symbols are even somewhat recyclable,.the three arrows chasing each other in a pyramid shape symbol that does resemble the recycling symbol quite a bit by design but the number inside means its just the resin batch (and not "how many years it takes to biodegrade" as I have heard a few claim too) All in am attempt to sell more disposable plastic for mass commercial consumption..that while becoming a plague upon life itself, still occurs to as big of degree as ever today.

[@rcknrol7258]

I'm an avid fisherman...I quit eating ocean and migratory salmon about 4 years ago. I don't eat any seafood . One of my mom's friends was obsessed with the coast ( pacific northwest) and ate local seafood all the time . She got cancer twice and succumbed to it the second time . My uncle knew a guy that ate Sturgeon out of the Columbia River in oregon. He was warned that there are pcbs and all kinds of stuff in there ....he got kinda ill one week , went to the doctor- told he had about two months to live - riddled with cancer. Ambitious humans are planet killers.

[@Smd3580]

Thank you for this. This was very informative. When I clicked on the video, I expected it to be about plastic waste. I didn't realise there are barrels of nuclear and chemical waste all waiting to be released in to our waters. What you said about how we treat danger caused by our own governments vs enemy governments is so true!

[@WestExplainsBest]

True! And if anything, this video shows that everything has a price - even human advancement.

[@gregoryhouldsworth2189]

21:06 Atlas Pro: "Damn, I can't say the word 'Nazi' without getting demonetized. How do I get around that?" Intern: "Just bleep out the word?" Atlas Pro: "I've got a better idea."

[@Tokru86]

Probably watches Drew Durnils content who uses No-No-Germans for comedic (and self-censorship) reasons in almost every video already for a long time. Or it's from other youtubers that do that that I am not aware of.

[@subjekt5577]

And then says Nazis at the end anyway lol

[@pavelmachytka5604]

XD

[@Slaking_]

Really is the cruel irony of all environmental activism. You can raise awareness, watch your own waste, protest, and donate as much as you want. But if your government, and government's in other countries don't care enough to take action whatever you do won't make a noticeable impact.

[@jasonreed7522]

Your government actively works against you. Most of those chemical weapons have neutralization reactions that aren't too expensive, and certainly cheeper than having to fish rotting tanks of the stuff out of the ocean to properly dispose of the stuff. Edit: the CDC has a page on how the USA disposes of chemical weapons (Nerve and Blister agents). Basically you either burn them (incineration) or you can neutralize them by mixing them with a hot caustic solution (200°F water + NaOH [lye / sodium hydroxide]) and then you can feed this new solution to bacteria to finish the process. Notable how both options involve easily and cheaply aquired compounds, and yet we still dump iron canisters into the ocean, a famously corrosive environment for all metals.

[@aeway_]

Most social movements with any type of effect has started like this, and then progressed into more violent action after lack of change. Probably the way this is going to end up but it´s a necessairy tragedy

[@scottlarue5304]

The truth of the US military and 100 corporations doing most of the pollution has been snuffed out. We’re told that we have to recycle, pick up litter, and fly less. What a joke.

[@jasonreed7522]

@@aeway_ fortunately there is another possible outcome with slightly less bloodshed. It is possible that people start a grass roots movement focused on a very local level of cleaning up your hometown steams and rivers. (All problems propogate downstream, and atleast in NY the headwaters of rivers are very protected against things like fishing and polluting, littering is fined but not completely stoppable) Eventually with a large enough investment by the populace it can make it "politically profitable" to be a true supporter of change. Hopefully this eventually will be faster than people becoming ecoterrorists which is counter productive to garnering widespread support.

[@gaslitworldf.melissab2897]

It can be an act of conscience though. We may be tired of being party to it. Some folks go off-grid for that reason. If I had the means to d so, I would _ to clear my conscience.

[@aidangorrell6983]

A friend gave me The Swarm as a gift a few years ago and it became one of my favorite books. It’s truly one of the best works of sci-fi ever

[@SkateWeeb.]

Good lord Caelan, thanks for the enormous amount of research and work you put into your videos. Your videos are incredibly informative and well made. Lots of love from the Netherlands

[@cameliamelillo1930]

Ahh yes! Those other team seas videos fell short... very short. Good initiative of course, but the lack of in-depth information about the source of trash in the ocean was quite upsetting. This is more like it!! Thank you!

[@zachpalmer2836]

Don’t feel sorry that you feel the videos have been “depressing.” I’ve really loved the recent series because you do an excellent job at informing regular curious people how we create problems as a society and arm us with the knowledge to inform others to hopefully make a change. I’ve personally loved the purpose of the recent videos

[@planerdude88]

No bro he should feel super duper sorry

[@ushabanda6164]

@@planerdude88 bruh shut up , or explain yourself

[@unf3z4nt]

Only a combination of eugenics and mass culling may be the only timely method for the first step to sort this problem out it seems. Ultimate goal is to replace people with something superior and throwing humanity into the garbage incinerator of history.

[@TheAnakinn]

The Swarm is one of my all time favorite books, so I'm glad it's known outside of Germany! It takes some time until the story progresses and has a lot of subplots, which can be exhausting at first but all the plots are designed to really make the reader think about so many things. So glad you used this book as inspiration for this great video!

[@Graffititude]

Thank you for taking the time to make this video. It is a very sad topic, but one I feel should be prioritized. I loved how you broke it down into categories!

[@illiengalene2285]

Actually, yes, the U.s. built the first successful nuclear weapons, but Germany started with the experiments way earlier! 1938 to be exact. They were not successful, but most of them worked at the Manhattan Project later. Schätzing published a second book, don't know if it has been translated, but I read it and it's great! The title is like "Messages from an unknown universe". It includes most of his research in a great narrative.

[@Gumshrud]

Chadwick discovered the neutron.... which allowed for nuclear chain reactions.

[@aleempashashaik3318]

@@Gumshrud lol

[@pallascat6767]

@@Gumshrud xD

[@littlerave86]

A 2nd book? lol He has several ;) I'm currently reading Limit, which is also by Schätzing.

[@xDRAGONSHAGGERx]

@@Gumshrud hahahaHahahahAha

[@Equulai]

When you are done with The Swarm, you might want to read Limit, also by Schätzing. It's about claiming the moon fo resources, space infrastructure, and all the fun and exciting issues arising from cleaner power generation for the old giants. Another good read is Blackout by Marc Elsberg, which is about the fragile nature of our power grids and how reliant we are on them. Both books, but Blackout in particular, involve maps and geography as well, so they might even be interesting video inspiration materials. As for the depressing videos part: That's just what our current reality is like and it's not even close to hitting rock bottom yet. There will be many more depressing things happening in the near future, that will make the current times look pleasant and enjoyable in comparison.

[@Thomas83KO]

Schätzing is an awesome author! I'm honestly surprised, that his books made it to the US-Bookmarket.

[@peterheinzo515]

ah, someone mentioned something german, and all the germans with their beautiful ä’s are summoned

[@eggrollsoup]

@@peterheinzo515 hähä

[@Dz73zxxx]

In context of video, tbh, what makes us comfortable until now is our unknowledgeable about ocean. We only take a peek for now on how ocean works. Even researches about chemical transport in seabed still on process. However, one that human can be glad of (except for couple of decades), that ocean processes are on scale hundreds of years, like the global currents, sediment transport and residence time of pollutants on ocean. But, once we've reached their cycle, we probably came out with the worst effects no one has seen.

[@willyreeves319]

most of the micro plastics that are in the oceans and water ways are from ... laundry. yup washing clothes made from nylon, acrylic, polyester, and every other manmade fiber. most of the remainder is fishing nets and lines broken down to very small pieces.

[@sontapaa11jokulainen94]

Also plastic recycling is a scam. Most plastics are only recyclable a couple of times before becoming too fragile to use.

[@talus9663]

I’d recommend Simon Clark’s videos on team seas and team trees for a much more nuanced and important discussion on projects like these. As an environmental scientist a lot of these fundraisers make you feel good while producing near negligible impact. We need systematic change in order to make a real difference. There are better ways to spend your money.

[@Tokru86]

That's the reason why I will never donate to organizations like these. The vast majority of the funds will never be used for the cause but rather to give comfortable salaries to some lobbyist (while often relying on unpaid volunteers for the real work) and of course to produce and market A LOT of advertizing.

[@akaviral5476]

Yup. With 17 billion pounds of trash dumped in the ocean each year, or like 2 million pounds each hour, Team Seas’ cleanup will be undone in about 15 hours, but they'll all feel good about it

[@ishmaelmcgoo2945]

One of those cases where the money could be much more efficiently spent preventing further pollution. And especially with the Team Trees one.

[@kvltntr00]

so *you're* the one responsible for us not getting our Stefan Milo vids!!!

[@kvltntr00]

On a serious note, I recommend Tropic of Chaos by Christian Parenti.

[@TheGeographyBible]

Man, humanity can really suck sometimes

[@ali.___..mrlegendman]

Snamuh evol i

[@KrazyKaiser]

"we are all accessory to the murder of rivers" made me cry.

[@liam33over]

You should make a video about pesticides, the inpact on insects and why insects are so important for ecosystems and us. You can read about this topic in the books of Dave Goulson like silent earth.

[@21Kyzix12]

I like how that old clip throws in a Japanese sign at a river that is just warning children about drowning and has nothing to do with pollution.

[@PrideDefiler]

But the river looked very dirty LOL

[@markw9841]

The broad characterization of radioactive waste does not equate to risk. Each isotope has a different half life, risk, solubility. Saying we need to remove all of it is too simplistic.

[@grubert3535]

I appreciate your call to action at the end. You are completely right. For once I feel inspired rather than panicked from a video like this. Most videos of this nature have no call to action but instead are just meant to make people angry or panicked so they keep clicking but you don't do that. You give us something to think about and give me a sense of hope. Thank you.

[@DanielSanGV]

Dude, this is, to me, more eye opening and useful than the exhibitions of so-called enviromental activists do nowadays. Looking at the problem, identify it, search for possible solutions, and more importantly assign responsibilities to the culprits of those pinpoint dumping sites. Doing mass gatherings to chant "we want change" about it and generate conscience, are nothing if when the leaders of these movements are given the opportunity to speak on these matters, say a bunch of non-sense and don't come up with solutions. Anyways, excellent job on the video.

[@kamikaze5528]

As a prominent child activist said: "I mean, our job is to demand solutions, not provide solutions." Most of these activists are just shams trying to fill their pockets using your guilty conscience. That is, if they are not on somebody's payroll to screw everybody else, complaining about emissions and "ignoring" the biggest polluter around. So, yeah, take everything these people say with a grain of salt and do your own research.

[@nielsbourgeois9800]

Climate marches are a joke, especially when you have to ask the government permission for organising them. Polluters pacify people by giving them a sense of fullfilment in the form of carefully boxed in protests.

[@jaadotech]

I checked the links, wondering what was that old pollution doco footage and narrator being sampled throughout the video? Awesome production, couldn't stop watching, and although this is an amazing summary of the damage we have done or potentially will do to the oceans its efforts of communication excellence like this that can mobilise and unite new and old generations for benefit of humanity and mother-ship Earth.

[@billstreet39]

Great information, I remember Lorne Green voice from Bonanza on those old reels… he passed in 1987

[@pierrebegley2746]

It's honestly depressing that the people with the most power to make changes are the least likely to do anything about it.

[@blackdesertsage9836]

Short term profits over anything

[@hobbiefox-pastrycat4568]

Isn't capitalism lovely? [Having read the below responses to my comment: I guess that's what happens when you make a political joke ey lol]

[@jasonreed7522]

@@hobbiefox-pastrycat4568 the communist USSR was litterally number 2 on the list of nuclear waste dumpers, and their method was even less considerate then the idiots who thought a steel barrel wouldn't immediately turn to rust in the ocean. Its not capitalism its basic human laziness, greed, and corruption that is problematic in all systems and atleast capitalistic societies let you talk about it and take some action through things like team seas.

[@zivs2454]

@@jasonreed7522 as if team seas will make any actual impact. At best it's just to raise awareness at the true magnitude of the problem. Capitalism is woefully unprepared to deal with issues where the is no profit motive.

[@jasonreed7522]

@@zivs2454 cant argue with that, but step one is definitely a grass roots movement focusing in cleaning local rivers (all problems propogate down stream, my area had/has issues with invasive seaweed and i remember laughing when they tried cleaning up the lowest lake/reservoir on a river without also dealing with the just as full lake upstream of it). Trust me its way easier to collect trash at the storm drain output than from the ocean floor. This would also create mounting political pressure for the government to step in. Most economists agree that its the governments job to make the cost of externalities a cost of the transacting parties. Basically if scientists calculate that 1 metric tonne of coal costs us $1.25 from all the social and health inpacts (massively lowballed number by the way) then they need to impose a tax or other regulation to raise the price of coal by atleast that same amount creating a profit motive to do better, or atleast making the polluter pay for cleanup.

[@bush.nawaz.t8385]

1 million coming up! Great video, I'll always support you!

[@ticksunbs4944]

Whats will he do for 1 million vids tho

[@ivettrivera5306]

A large educational video about something very important maybe grouping up our largest problems and a new fundraiser for it and doing a huge collab with other edu-channels

[@knightofsvea604]

That this Guy dont have 30.000.000 follower is... Not suprising. The algoritm hates Good youtubers

[@PremierCCGuyMMXVI]

Watching these kind of videos really wants me to protect the environment and appreciate nature. It’s so sad what our species is doing to the oceans and the rest of our Planet.

[@nik_evdokimov]

Great educational material and topic to be aware of and discussed, thank you for making this video!

[@SophiaAstatine]

Checked your channel yesterday because I felt it was time for a new Atlas Pro video. Guess I was a day off. Definitely a great video all the same, wonder if there's a channel out there whose willing to talk about the issues falling outside your usual sphere, like why political willpower is always lacking when it comes to abstract issues, and why the long term harm is never considered a cost to be imposed on the corporations partaking in pollution of any kind. It is a herculean issue, yet so few adequately criticise how much we tolerate leaders who neglect the issue in favour of other, less existential political promises.

[@MsPoliteRants]

Thank you for this video. I, and I assume most people, think only of trash and plastics when we think of ocean pollution. Chemical waste never crossed my mind. However, I’m now more depressed than ever, and super glad I’m not going to have children and bring them into this cursed world.

[@AV-we6wo]

I get where you're coming from, sometimes it's just overwhelming and can look hopeless. But please don't give up on humanity yet. We can strive to be less harmful to the environment in the future, even repair some of the damage we've already done to earth. Luckily more and more people try to help with that. Sometimes there will be fustrating delays and even steps backwards. But I believe we've been making progress over the last years and will do so even more in the coming decades.

[@folke_hagall2946]

This is the kind of videos we need more of; by spreading important knowledge to the masses, you are genuinely helping the world.

[@JohnComeOnMan]

Milo's voiceover work was spectacular.

[@mr.lonewolf8199]

Would love to get my hands on that book. As a environmentalist this is quite fascinating video. Very well articulated and supported by facts

[@willywestsidee]

The work you put in on your videos is amazing, thanks for the content.

[@mikestrain4747]

Got to say the depressing tone was helped by one of my favourite spoon talking Utubers. @Stefan Milo is slowly taking over and I think its great

[@emil_nilsson]

You should see the state of the baltic sea, it's the worst polluted/overfished in the world, the fish is so toxic that the swedish government had to get a special permit from the EU to sell it domesticly.

[@TheWalkingSteakhouse]

Thanks for making this video, and for doing it in such a thorough manner

[@samlob1184]

If u showing these vedio then do something good n report to 'WHO'

[@CenarosNL]

I know this is just a drop in an ocean of problems we have. But I do love the fact the internet spawns initiatives like this. Nice video dude. Thanks for the effort.

[@seanlanglois8620]

I knew about the nuclear waste because the mob in the '80s and early 90s were dumping off the coast of Somalia but to find out about the chemical weapons on top of it it's like how have we not destroyed ourselves yet is kind of unsettling

[@peterbristol5604]

Hey brotha, your channel is getting so much better. Been watching since the beginning. Keep it up

[@cactus_jam]

I knew that was Stefan Milo when I heard the narration! And it was!! Haha. Great vid as always :)

[@studmuffinthuglife]

Above and beyond a excellent vid. I think its the best yet, so not depressing it's bringing awareness to our reality and thats a service few provide. So thank you!

[@vitaminluke5597]

This video is oceanographer-approved (yes, that is my real profession when I'm not mindlessly commenting on KZbin videos). Keep up the amazing work! I hope your channel keeps growing!

[@hannahbrown2728]

When I heard Stefans voice I had to pause and recuperate for a second, I was like "Theres no fucking way thats Stefan Milo..." *checks description* "Ok thats Stefan Milo, awesome!" I highly recommend anyone here who hasnt watched his videos and are interested in archaeology videos as quality as these, give him a shot. Thanks for another great video!

[@shadymcnasty5920]

Ohhh I'm so excited u fuckib live Stefan mili

[@hannahbrown2728]

@@shadymcnasty5920 Wha.... What?

[@kentario1610]

@@hannahbrown2728 Through the typos, I believe they're saying they love Stefan Milo

[@hannahbrown2728]

@@kentario1610 I realize that but you helped me realize that they might be genuine about it, thank you. I just thought they were mocking me.

[@kentario1610]

@@hannahbrown2728 Ah, ok! I tend to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, so I'm hoping it really is genuine.

[@rennohokwerda]

Book tip: the Seabird's Cry. About how seabirds find their way, exchange knowledge, suffer from plastic litter, and survive in an environment so totally alien to us.

[@MystikmonC]

Your videos are always awesome, just perfect👍

[@Mathis218337]

I am loving the old clips you’re putting into videos. A+

[@serlibob]

Amazing work man ! You have my respect !

[@rogaineablar5608]

Back when I researched this stuff like 20 years ago, most US nuclear waste is still stored on land, near where it was created.

[@darth3911]

Still is for the most part.

[@carkawalakhatulistiwa]

After 1994

[@HistoryScienceTheater]

Mustard gas dumped off the coast of Maine- clearly they were trying to add some flavoring to the lobsters.

[@joythought]

:D :D

[@PrimalBoos]

I get it 😂

[@parichehrmhrpyn964]

Thank you for this video! It was kinda long but very informative and interesting that i didn't even notice it was almost 40 minutes!

[@floridaman697]

I saw the special thanks in the front of the book and then I heard the narrator read from the book. I love collaborations between some of my favorite KZbinrs.

[@xINVISIGOTHx]

Do you know how frustrating it is to have another person in my house that is too lazy to recycle anything? and he makes a lot of trash. Sometimes after I eat something or open something I have to hide my recyclables so he doesn't grab them and throw them in the trash. Sometimes on garbage day I look through the trash outside and pull out his soda cans, cardboard boxes and other stuff

[@BusanDalint]

Or when I see a cleaning lady in shopping mall just putting the trash from all different recycle trash bins into one big bag anyway.

[@NOT_EZ_NFL]

Just an FYI a large amount of items you put in the "Recycle" bin just ends up in the landfill as well, if an item is cheaper to create new than to recycle it has less of a chance of being recycled Recycling as it is today is a big scam... Do a bit a research but I hope one day we could actually recycle a lot more products

[@indulgentenhydra5997]

Sorry to hurt you this way but very much the majority of your recyclables are thrown away in the garbage anyway :( Even if they make it to the recycling plant, most things that claim to be recyclable usually only are in very small portions.

[@seanc6128]

Yeah recycling is a lie.

[@PHANTOmIND8]

The only thing I know for sure the governments and corporations are interested in recycling are the items containing heavy metals and precious minerals. All the other trash goes to landfills or incinerated for energy.

[@Silvergum]

this video was absolutely gut-wrenching, It is disgusting and despicable and it makes so sad and so angry But good on you Atlas Pro, in my opinion you are one of the best channels on youtube, keep it up bro, love your work

[@wani12]

Amazing video, great content! I am glad i found this channel

[@EslamAbdo1919]

that was really informative and entertaining. Thank you

[@skyblaizepleiadianhighcoun9993]

Thank YOU!! Hehe I am really like being able to know we are talking when I focus enough regardless if you are fully unlocked yet or not you already know I'm typing it out for old us 🤣

[@Xaelum]

It would be interesting to put numbers into the dangers of each one of these pollutants for the environments. Having studied a bit of radiology myself, I can say water is actually incredibly good at shielding from radioactive emissions, therefore its effects on local fauna could be much much smaller than other types of substances.

[@Tokru86]

The lack of comparable numbers in the video is my main critical point about it. Yes, radioactive material and chemical weapons are probably much more dangerous on their own per weight, but the sheer amount of plastic dumped each day let alone each year dwarfs everything else mentioned in the video. Therefore the 2nd half of the video is extremely lacking in my opinion. Not only was not enough time used to discuss this category it's baffling that there was no mention of the main polluters at all, whereas this was a major point for the first 2 categories.

[@andreassag]

As a toxicologist, I agree with you that the water is a good shield for radioactive emissions, but not the added chemicals or the radioactive metals themselves that could enter the food web and cause a handful of toxic effects to wildlife and eventually, humans.

[@Xaelum]

@@andreassag Agree, although my main point was that without number at hand it's impossible to compare whether nuclear or chemical byproducts are actually worse than plastic, even if that's general idea sent by this video.

[@Dz73zxxx]

@@andreassag as an oceanographer, i can second this. Bioaccumulation and biomagnification throughout the food web always gives me headaches...not to mention the still-on-the-process of understanding deep sea ecosystem which exposed to the radioactive and heavy metal sinks. My worst fear is that transport via deepwater currents, in which for millenias responsible for deep sea colony-dispersion, had actually contaminated heavily with the toxical waste, and thus creating a doomed network....even worse, concentrated, polluted sediments get carried by upwelling towards surface and enters shallow water food web

[@basharkano9658]

Great content as usual, even though it was a massive bummer.

[@andreluizbutzkedallacorte5242]

Amazing video as always! Love thia style of intros

[@Ricardo_Belmonte]

Fantastic nonbiased message. Love your passion!

[@DigitalDuelist]

I'm honestly amazed we aren't living in the Borderlands already with all the pollution dumped. Keep in mind that it was the same governments and corporations that now lecture the people they claim to serve that caused this mess.

[@gaslitworldf.melissab2897]

We just die slowly from birth. Some pollutants behave like hormones in our bodies, screwing up fertility, male sex organs, who knows, maybe affecting brain health. Our bodies store these pollutants and we don't necessarily connect our minor health issues to pollution. Besides, some eating habits make matters worse. Need a mountain top home with its own spring water to get above this mess. I've long felt the urge to return to pre-electricity days, but I'd definitely go through Internet WD symptoms.

[@DigitalDuelist]

@@gaslitworldf.melissab2897 now days you can have both.

[@jbird4478]

If you want you child to be a world leader, never tell him to clean up after himself. "Sure, you can dump that in the ocean."

[@zainmudassir2964]

Wow thanks for informative vid👍

[@AngDevigne]

This was really well made. Thank you.

[@zhuofanzhang9974]

Thank you so much for this video that explains all my doubts for Team Seas. Instead of focusing our energy to the most deadly threats, this fundraiser has the danger to make us pat our backs and stay content after simply donating a few dollars and think that we participated in the grandest grass-root movement that might've helped saved the world... at least based on the style of their typical videos. That said, donate if you can. It's still one of the better chances we have.

[@polarwolfie9028]

29:41 He mentions that Team Seas does this because it’s the easiest and most direct form of waste to tackle. Getting rid of radioactive waste and chemical weapons is a task that’s so big and expensive that it has to be the responsibility of governments. Any effort by groups like Team Seas to help is still an improvement

[@seikousanneh6673]

That stefan milo narration is great

[@Talon19]

0:50 “We are all accessory to the murder of rivers” 💔

[@colintilbrook]

so Awesome you got Some Stefan Milo in here.

[@JustArtsCreations]

Its shocking that anyone thought dumping things into the ocean because it was going to kill us wouldnt lead to it killing us??

[@xenos_n.]

They don't care, it was kicking the can down the road. All of those people are dead now and they will never have to deal with the consequences of their actions.

[@JustArtsCreations]

@@xenos_n. "all of those people are dead now" is in fact, not a fact. My father was alive and old enough toparticipate in this and hes still kickin strong. It was not that long ago yo. However, i do agree, it was just kicking the can 100%.

[@JustChill6519]

Love hearing Stefan's voice!

[@StefanMilo]

You're a legend

[@JustChill6519]

@@StefanMilo you're a hero! Love the anthropology vids! Keep up the good work!

[@willemdezeeuw5918]

Amazing summary! Thanks a lot!

[@samanjj]

I’m a big fan of the old videos you use at the start of your videos - and man this particular one had beautiful music

[@joebennet770]

Brilliantly made video about a pretty sombre topic

[@Anonymous-ot6hi]

21:06 so you're watching drew durnil?

[@modmaker7617]

Who doesn't?

[@sephikong8323]

Remember when he wasn't a Reddit channel like all the others ? Pepperidge farm remembers

[@modmaker7617]

@@sephikong8323 I sure do

[@rashadbeybutov7201]

I thought the same. Seems like now it is an official name of nazis on youtube

[@Soilfood365]

Earned the like as soon as you brought up the Swarm because I loved that book and had forgotten its name.

[@hayrogarciga924]

Thanks for this video!!

[@ninjasheep8722]

This video was incredibly well structured and informative while stil being very captivating. Really enjoyable to watch and a great message to take with, thanks.

[@Niphiz]

Amazing work once again, and since this is closer to my study field, I would like to add on the topic of micro plastics, that not only themselves pose a harm for human consumption as plastic, but also they bind other pollutants (POPs (persistent organic pollutants) like PCB, dioxins, oils etc) carrying also those to our stomach via the various trophic grids plus, they have an ecological impact because organisms consuming plastic, spent energy to pass them through without getting any back, i.e. crustaceans and fish consuming plastics have a reduced survivability

[@ansatsusha8660]

We've also recently found that there are nano plastic pollutants as well, which are similar in some ways. But they may even be able to enter the bloodstream and are extremely hard to filter out because of their size 🙃

[@jasonreed7522]

And all this plastic "confetti" provides a surface on which bacteria have an incredibly easy time growing, (compared to open water) so all this confetti not only is hazardous on its own, its also covered in a biofilm and apparently extra fun chemicals. The bacteria issue is namely that is accelerates antibiotic resistance due to more generations being exposed to the low level of antibiotics also filling the ocean. Of everything in the ocean i think his "Materials Waste" is probably the most directly harmful, nuclear isotopes should generally disolve and disperse to near background levels and its "glow of death" is blocked by water, most of the chemicals similarly are either dilute, preventable, or still recoverable for proper disposal. (Chemical weapons are actually really easy to destroy, either burning or neutralizing in hot water + lye solution [NaOH]) but all the floating junk is constantly breaking into smaller, increasingly dangerous pieces. 1 large fishing net might kill a few sea animals but won't hurt humans, but once the sun breaks it down to micro + nano plastics it just entered our food chain and is now causing cancer in countless people.

[@spiffyh]

I don't know how you can produce a video like this in such a cheerful voice.

[@idraote]

You've used the biohazard symbol throughout the video instead of the chemical hazard symbol.

[@ashraile]

there is a difference?

[@Rob-sf4xy]

@@ashraile yes biohazard could be my shit if i had colera. Chemical hazard is corrosives and other stong chemicals.

[@sandyj342]

Dumping nuclear waste in the ocean sounds like a great idea. Very scientific!

[@Doge-zb7ku]

Well radiation does travel poorly in water

[@arturoeugster2377]

It is not, it is stored in underground facilities. And very carefully monitored.

[@hiranyajihva]

His videos keep getting better and better!

[@christiankroemer4267]

Awesome video that is very informative. Its a shame nothing will be done about it though.

[@emeralds222]

Thank you for posting this. It is greatly disturbing, yet must be known as another rescue that we must do.

[@LENZ5369]

The focus on nuclear waste and even chemical weapons is pretty out of scale when compared to the rest of the list. The lack of context is probably going to misinform people into misjudging the severity/danger of the various pollutants and thus what should our priorities be. Context is essential to "figuring out what that problem is".

[@Tokru86]

Exactly. It's a huge flaw of the video to shift 90% of the attention to nuclear and chemical and only so little to plastic and other regular waste whose amount is some orders of magnitutes higher and rising every day and every year.

[@user-cc3ms3mh4h]

13:00 Damn, I thought that at least the islands in the middle of the Pacific were clean and innocent. It is the biggest ocean on earth and the islands there are very isolated and untouched by industrialisation. But it was a nuclear testing ground. Humans thought no one cares what happens at the end of the world. I think southern Australia or Chile still get a lot of clean water from the Antarctic current.

[@emstonestreet]

In every travel show, wherever they go around the world, when they interview a fisherman, it's the same story: the fish have disappeared.

[@augustgremaud2738]

I expected a lot of things from this vid, but not for you to plug one of my favorite eco-sci-fi books of all time!

[@NiffYT]

I love how you use old documentaries they always look awesome

[@hardcard254]

Nuclear waste in the oceans (and nuclear waste in general) is a pretty insignificant problem, when compared to chemical/garbage/plastic dumping. Water is a pretty good radiation stopper, you could dive around the vicinity of exposed radioactive materials (without the concrete casing) and radiation would probably still be at background levels (or close). That's part of the reason why nuclear reactors are filled with water, it provides very effective shielding almost for free. People are exposed to way more radiation when tanning in the beach, getting massive skin burns (yes, those are radiation burns), but those are alright, apparently. It's hilarious that the same people who voluntarily get radiation skin burns every year make such a big drama about comparatively tiny amounts of radioactive material encased in concrete, at the bottom of the ocean, somewhere far from the coast... Way too many people need a crash course in physics.

[@YahyeAli123]

Yay an new atlas pro video :)

[@grzegorzfilipiuk1770]

Superb video I've got to say. Food for thought.