If you are not aware that there is a floating mass of garbage with an area of one and a half times the size of the USA, you should listen up.
I chose the eye opening topic of garbage island for my blog project because it is such a undercover topic that people need to start knowing more about. Even those people who have heard of garbage island, know little about whats really going on in our oceans and water ways. Garbage island, also known as the "Pacific Trash Vortex" is located between Hawaii and California. With the help of a consistent high pressure zone north of the Hawaiian Islands combined with the extremely weak currents, a natural point at the center of a set of revolving currents is created, called the North Pacific Gyre. This swirling mass of garbage formed slowly over time as a result of marine pollution gathered by oceanic currents. These currents bring in waste material from across the North Pacific Ocean including coastal waters off North American and Japan, and trap it.
What is the waste exactly?
-PLASTIC
"That Plastic Bottle You just Tossed, Will Live Longer Than You"
Plastic makes up 90 percent of all trash floating in the world's oceans, and about every square kilometer of the ocean contains about 120,000 pieces of floating plastic. This might just be the worst type of pollution simply because plastic does not biodegrade.
To make this point even clearer, the world produced about 300 billion pounds of plastic each year, about 10% ends up in the ocean, 70% of which eventually sinks. This is an outrage and has and still is causing terrible effects on our planet.
Large plastics such as; water bottles, bottle caps, plastic bags, and fishing nets, are not the only plastics found in this gyre. Small plastics pile up as well, most are a byproduct of other plastics manufacturing.
The reason plastics are a nightmare for the ocean is that on land they can be heated and break down faster. However in the water they are cooled and often covered in algae which blocks the sunlight.
Origins of this waste being trapped?
It is difficult to trace exactly where the plastic waste is coming from however it was estimated that about 80% is land based, and 20% is derived from ships.
- debris from Japans tsunami are also coming in
Effects of this much garbage in the ocean?
It has been estimated that over a million sea-birds and one hundred thousand marine mammals and sea turtles are killed each year by ingestion of plastics or entanglement
Not only can marine creatures get tangled in the garbage, but can also mistake some of it as food. Since this garbage is not clean, its not uncommon for it to possible contain toxins which can cause genetic problems, poison, or build up in their bodies. Another huge concern is the creation of a new species all together, disrupting habitats. Floating trash can attract a new type of barnacle or bacteria which attaches to the garbage and spreads. This could harm any native species in the area.
How was this discovered?
The garbage patch was not officially discovered until 1997 due to its remote location and harsh conditions for navigation. It was discovered that year by Captain Charles Moore, who passed through the area after competing in a sailing race and discovered debris floating over the entire area he was crossing.
This is shockingly not the only mass of garbage that has been discovered. In the North Atlantic Ocean the Sargasso Sea is located. Due to it being bound by the Gulf Stream, its currents also carry a swarm of garbage and trap it.
Below is a very important image, telling us to claim our garbage and clean up after ourselves so this wont continue.
What has been done about this?
Researchers have looked at this issue and seen the garbage only growing with every year. There have been some attempts to clean up the mess however the area is so huge its hard to make any real impact.
The most effective ways to help are to push recycling and cleaning up of beaches, or enforcing policies. The help of the people is the only way to get our environment back to the way its meant to be.
All we need are informed responsible citizens who are willing to save our planet one plastic bottle at a time!
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/02/16/vbs.toxic.garbage.island/index.html
Suggested Reading
Researchers have looked at this issue and seen the garbage only growing with every year. There have been some attempts to clean up the mess however the area is so huge its hard to make any real impact.
The most effective ways to help are to push recycling and cleaning up of beaches, or enforcing policies. The help of the people is the only way to get our environment back to the way its meant to be.
All we need are informed responsible citizens who are willing to save our planet one plastic bottle at a time!
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/02/16/vbs.toxic.garbage.island/index.html
Suggested Reading
