By: Gregory McCann
On June 22, an oil pipeline ruptured in the Taiwanese port of Kaohsiung, sending tons of crude oil into the sea and drifting as far as Kenting National Park, 107 km away, and its recently-bleached coral reefs, as well as out to Xiaoliuchiu Island—one of the few places in Asia where a snorkeler or diver can be guaranteed to see endangered green sea turtles. Unofficial reports state that turtles have been surfacing covered in oil. Xiaoliuchiu is not so far off from Kaohsiung, but Kenting is over 100 kilometers away, raising the question of whether or not the oil spill was larger than reported: could that much oil travel such a far distance and do vast damage?
We’ll probably never know. But it is just one example of the growing environmental damage to Asia’s waters, which is enormous and shows little sign of abating. Environmental awareness is in its infancy, and NGOs such as Friends of the Earth that are attempting to raise awareness have an almost futile task. Increasing drought and water scarcity are growing issues as climate change takes its toll. As sea levels rise because of global warming, coastal areas and the cities that have sprouted along them face billions of dollars in expenditures to combat the rising waters.
Vast amounts of plastic have ended up in the world’s oceans. As Asia Sentinel reported in 2018, only 9 percent of the world’s plastic has been recycled and another 12 percent has been incinerated. The rest is either in landfills or the environment, such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating debris patch of microplastics estimated to be the size of the state of Texas in the United States. That is just one of several huge vortexes in the world’s oceans that swirl floating plastics together into a concentrated stew. A recent United Nations study gained wide attention with the statement that there will be more plastics in the world’s oceans by 2050 than fish…