Research Draft 2: The Pacific Garbage Patch

Littering has become a huge issue in the world now. Our world is becoming more polluted as the days past by around the globe. Trash is building up around the world-changing as the months change. All of these issues are because of us, humans not caring enough about the world. We are destroying the world that we live in every day, more and more each day. Although humans may not be the only reason for polluted ocean they are the main reason because of the plastic in the oceans, marine animals dying, and contaminated water.

The Pacific Garbage Patch was discovered by a man who goes by the name of Charles Moore. Charles Moore is a man from Long Beach, California that grew up in the water. His family was a water family always sailing to different places. Charles Moore was actually a woodworking and finishing business owner that sailed in his free time. Mr. Moore discovered the Pacific Garbage Patch on the way back from a yacht race in 1997 from Hawaii. To be more pacific August 3, 1997 was when Captain Charles Moore discovered the garbage patch by accident. Since that day he has dedicated his time to research the patch and find ways to prevent and solve the issue.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is almost completely self-explanatory. We get it’s located in the Pacific Ocean but how big is the patch is the question. Patch can range in all different types of patches such as big, medium, or small. According to different literature the patch is from Hawaii to California and is bigger then any landfill that’s on land. Hawaii also has trash around it call the Eastern and Western Pacific Garbage Patch.  The western patch is located between Hawaii and California also. The eastern patch is located off the course of Japan. The approximate size is two full states of Texas and it estimated to get the size of Africa.

A known way how the trash gets into the ocean; is people who are sailing or working on the ocean throw it overboard either on purpose or accidentally. The trash is able to collect because the ocean circulates slowly in that area. The little wind and high pressures cause slow circulation.  Of course trash has always been thrown into the ocean but it was easier broken down back then. Now that trash has become lightweight and durable that break down process takes a lot longer and more toxic.

Littering is another way the ocean is contaminated with garbage. People litter all over the world. A great deal of that littering makes its way into the ocean over time by getting washed through drain storms, into the rivers and stream than float into the ocean. Just littering on the street eventually hurts other parts of the world. Basically everyone should try not to litter anything it’s not hard to put trash into a trash can.

Sea turtles tend to eat plastic bags because they look like jellyfishes. As marine mammals swim through the ocean that is filled with trash they become stuck in fishing net, plastic bags, and much more.  Many of these items get stuck in the animal’s intestines. Fish typically eat microscopic organisms for their nourishment. Birds fly over the ocean to find food to eat. Marine birds typically eat fish that have eaten the microscopic plastic particles. They also scope up plastic that they mistake for fish. The plastic pieces usually look like fish eggs, small crabs, and other things of nourishment to them.

Human are affected by ocean pollution because as the plastic breaks down chemicals are released in the ocean water. Humans are affected by the sea food that they eat, through fish, crabs, shrimp, clams, and much more marine animals that come from the sea. Fat cells are affected by Endocrine Disrupters Chemicals (EDCs) that plastic is made with. It’s believed that Endocrine Disrupters Chemicals (EDCs) can cause fertility problems, brain development, and chromosome abnormalities. Humans are causing health problems on themselves because of the toxins that are getting put into the ocean.

There’s not much publicity about this issue. I have talked to people personally and they have no clue such a thing existence. The issue has been known since 1997, that was thirteen years ago.  I know, I won’t have learned about if it wasn’t for this environmental English class. There are needs to be more articles, news coverage, and so much more to get this environmental hazard out into the public awareness. Usually no one goes in that area because of the slight wind problem.

In 1987, a law was passed that it’s against the law to dumping plastic into the ocean. Then on December 31, 1988 a law was passed against ships and land-based operation throwing plastic into the sea. Plastics aren’t the only thing by law that isn’t allowed to thrown into the ocean. Other items like glass, paper, metal, and crockery are not allowed.

There are no plans of cleaning up the Pacific Garbage Patch. It’s thought of that clean up would because more harm than good for the ocean and especially ocean life. Clean up would affect the microscopic ocean life. Like everything else once you affect part of the chain it’s downhill from there.  Those microscopic organisms also called plankton that is eaten by other ocean life that is usually trap in or on the trash.  The way garbage is cleaned up mostly today is performing beach clean ups from trash being washed up on shore or left by visitors.

Hundreds of years ago plastics were able to sink to the bottom of the ocean that would dissolve over time. Now a day’s that’s not so simple.  Plastic is built to be durable and long-lasting.  It can take up to four hundred year for plastic to break completely down in the ocean.

As it breaks down harmful chemicals are released into the water. Alternative things to use are paper based, cardboard, or glass made items. Recycling is always a great method of decreasing waste also.

Project Kaisei is a nonprofit organization that wants to increase the awareness of marine debris and solutions to prevent and clean up the debris. In 2008 Project Kaisei was started by three people who purpose was to bring notice to the amount of plastic that had built up in the last 50 years. That purpose eventually turned into wanting to decrease the amount of plastic and marine debris into the ocean. They have plenty programs to inform people about the issue and ways to help the problem. Project Kaisei way to solve the problem is to identify the problem and research it, develop ways to solve the problems, and put those ways into action. If you can’t help physically there’s the option of making a donations towards the Project Kaisei mission. To keep updated on all the new information discovered, there’s a place to sign up for email alerts.

Oceana was started in 2001 by “The Pew Charitable Trusts, Oak Foundation, Marisla Foundation (formerly Homeland Foundation), the Turner Foundation and Rockefeller Brothers Fund.” Oceana mission is to restore the oceans to original state before the plastic contamination that it has revolved into today. They want the ocean to be healthy and rich place it once was. Oceana has identified the problem as people destroying the oceans by pollution and taking more than we put back the ocean. Oceana focuses on decreasing the pollution, promote responsible fishing, protect marine life, and preserve land. For public awareness they use celebrities, foundations, corporate donor and any other donations.

A celebrity by the name of Ed Norton has dedicated his self to bring public awareness on the use of plastic bags and the damage that it causing to the ocean. Usually plastic bag never truly break completely down into something that’s not harmful to the world. Plastic bags are made with petroleum that makes the bag biodegradable. An alternative method to using plastic bags is using canvas bags that can be used repeatedly. He is now working on getting plastic bags banned all over the world. There are currently banned in China, Australia, Bangladesh, Ireland, Italy, South Africa and Taiwan. Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and India. In the United States Portland, Oregon has put a fee on using plastic bags. A few other places are Texas, New Jersey, and Iowa to name a few. California so far has rejected the ban on plastic bags.

Pollution has extremely changed the ocean from it original state. It has taken years, hundreds of years to get the ocean into the condition it is in today, so of course to successfully change it will take even longer. A change is wanted to increase a healthier place for marine animal to live and also for human’s health. Humans created this problem; humans can fix it and prevent it from occurring again someday. It’s our responsibility to change and improve the world

Works Cited

• Program, N. M. (2010, Febuary 27). Local Beach Global Garbage. Retrieved November 4, 2010, from De-mystifying the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”: http://www.globalgarbage.org/blog/index.php/2010/02/27/de-mystifying-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch/

• Amaral, K. (n.d.). Plastics in Our Oceans. Retrieved November 1, 2010, from http://www.whoi.edu/science/B/people/kamaral/plasticsarticle.html
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