HAUNTING footage of a pilot whale carrying her dead calf has sparked a long-overdue debate about the danger of discarded plastic in our oceans.
Revered for his wealth of knowledge, Sir David Attenborough suggested the calf may have died after drinking its mother’s polluted milk.
His comments came during the recent showing of the Blue Planet 2 series.
The latest technology has been used to dramatic effect to capture the sheer wonder of our marine environment, which covers 71 per cent of the earth’s surface.
Sir David warns that our actions have consequences: “The creatures that live in the big blue are perhaps more remote than any other animal but not remote enough to escape the effects of what we are doing to their world."
It is shocking to note that our oceans now absorb eight million tons of plastic every year, a quarter of the total produced worldwide.
Half is manufactured for single use only.
The effect on the marine world is a mounting environmental catastrophe.
Half of all starfish and sea snails sampled 2,000 metres down off the Scottish coast were found to contain tiny amounts of plastic.
Worryingly, the same evidence was found in sea creatures living seven miles down in one of the deepest trenches on earth in the western pacific.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove has promised urgent changes, as did the Chancellor this week.
Already the UK has banned microbeads by the end of 2017 and the 5p plastic bag tax has reduced usage by 85 per cent.
Environmental organisations are encouraging beach cleans, radical policies and a new phone app detects products containing plastics.
It is clear that Sir David’s powerful message has struck a chord.
It would be an appropriate legacy for a man who has brought us such pleasure for decades.