The world's oceans are in peril. Runoff from modern life is feeding an explosion of primitive organisms. The 'rise of slime,' as one scientist calls it, is killing larger species and sickening people. In many places some of the most advanced forms of ocean life are struggling to survive while the most primitive are thriving and spreading. Fish, corals and marine mammals are dying while algae, bacteria and jellyfish are growing unchecked. In additon, we are choking the waters with plastics which do not effectively break down and are harmful to shore birds and marine mammals. The oceans, once thought to be so vast we could not do them harm, are suffering immensely from human impact.