Imagine…..setting sail across the vast Pacific Ocean – an ocean so large that all the land masses on earth can fit inside- 1,00 miles offshore from the California coastline after days of spectacular sunsets, the rare enccounter of dolphins at play on the bow, schools of baitfish broiling to the surface, the natural calm is interrupted by an eery vision.. bobbing out of sync with the rhythm of the waves is plastic- in almost every form conceivable.
Crumpled water bottles tossed aside after quenching the thirst of health conscious sports aficiandos, decrepid plastic patio chairs once used for backyard BBQs , styrofoam pool toys waterlogged and dangling with green algae, one time use plastic bags from countless grocery stores and hundreds of miles of fishing nets, floats, lines and gear bouncing in the swell suddenly dominates the marine landscape. And yet most overwhelming are the millions of miniscule colorful bits and balls of plastic debris– often called microplastics-floating just beneath the surface of the ocean in an endless blanket. This plastic wall of debris has been dubbed the Great Pacific Garbage Patch- and an ambitious exploratory endeavor is underway to clean up plastic garbage from an area twice the size of Texas. Scientists believe the trash washes down storm drains and rivers from places such as the Bay Area or Japan, eventually drifting into several large ocean vortices where Pacific currents swirl together.
Two vessels, the KaiSei a 150 foot tallship (which means Ocean planet in Japanese) and the New Horizon (a 170 foot vessel from Scripps Institute) set sail in August from San Diego to investigate how we might deal with cleaning up this monstrous plastic flotsam mess. Their goal is to study the size of the garbage patch, investigate how the plastic affects wildlife, and explore ways for cleaning it up someday!! Today, little is known about the environmental effects to marine life, though the hanging corpes of fish, dolphins, and seabirds doesn’t bode well for ocean health. More than a million seabirds, 100,000 marine mammals, and countless fish die in the North Pacific each year, either from mistakenly eating this junk or from being ensnared in it and drowning. Even from a human point of view, this distant mass of plastic may be making its way to your kitchen table.
These plastic pieces contain toxic chemicals and many believe these tiny balls are able to absorb now-banned chemicals such as DDT and PCBs. These chemical linger in the environment for decades, and can accumulate in the tissues of tasty fishes that we like to eat such as tuna and salmon. The plastic stew of the Pacific is entering the food chain as marine life inadvertently ingests these toxic tiny bubbles. Scientists not worry that these toxins may be causing infertility, obesity, and perhaps a range of other endocrine disrupting diseases.
So hats off to this brave new venture of sailors, philanthropists, and marine scientists for tackling such a colossal endeavor. Supporters of the expedition are searching for alternative solutions such as dramatically increase the use of plant-based, biodegradable plastic and beef up plastics-recycling programs along the California coast. Commercial ships could be encouraged to fish for plastics, and bring the garbage back to their natal habitat for recycling. So, remember the oceans hundreds of miles away each time you decline a plastic bag, or reach to place garbage in its proper receptable- your actions may have far-reaching affects. and someday soon, we all may be playing with toys or working off tabletops from scraps of plastic scooped up from decades of abandonment in the Pacific.
