There’s something to be said about progress driven by consumerism; There’s even something to be said about resilient convenience in a society with drive through beer distributors and quickie health clinics in Walgreens Pharmacies; But there’s something in the water and I am not just referencing a bad Jeffery Steele song. The North Pacific Gyre is a slow moving current that is infested by what is commonly called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This vortex of waste has formed over time, a result of pollution and ocean currents. It is hard to visualize that underneath the water’s lucid surface lies a mass of plastic rubble estimated to be around the size of Texas and estimated by several sources to be comprised of around 3.5 million tons of trash. The mound of bottles, clothes, lighters, and other assorted plastics has not been deemed entertaining enough to warrant a broadcast on the five o’clock news; most networks find it more lucrative to report celebrity funerals than to televise causes of a breakdown in our environment. Newsworthy or not, this dominantly plastic landfill is disrupting the natural balance of the ocean and if not addressed now will become an even deadlier force for our disposable society to reckon with.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch does not seem to be common knowledge and is not very well documented. The actual effect on the environment has not been pinpointed yet by scientists. But what is known has proven it to be destructive and extremely hazardous to environmental growth. There are other materials besides plastic in the “soup,” but according to Discover Magazine, plastic “adsorbs hydrophobic pollutants like PCBs.” While the ocean does its best to decontaminate itself – this is apparent by the assorted rubble it spews back up on the beach daily that we apathetically avoid on summer beach trips – plastic almost seems eternal and does not biodegrade. Any kind of breakdown process is long and arduous. In the meantime, fish and other oceanic life feed on the plastic, mistaking it for food. In this downward spiral, eventually the normal cycle of life will dictate that hardworking fisherman will put these same fish on the market to be sold. Consumers, such as you and I, will purchase the aforementioned fish which will lounge in our freezers behind the ground beef, waiting to be dipped in tartar sauce and pushed down our digestive tracts. The fish and our stomachs are not the only casualties; turtles, birds, mammals and other aquatic organisms either become entrapped in the floating plastic or consume parts of the trash while foraging for food. Snapshots have been taken of deceased albatross documenting bellies stuffed with parts of bottles and bottle caps, unfortunate casualties of a fast food nation.
Until recently, no massive movement had been made by any government or organization because most sources consider the cost of a cleanup to be astronomical. A champion emerged in 2008 when the Environmental Cleanup Coalition was formed by Richard Owen to begin to address the issue and promote efforts to begin the process. Charles Moore, an oceanic researcher, has also proven himself a pioneer in expediting the process. His series of articles, which indicated that there was six times more trash than plankton in the area of the Garbage Patch, brought attention to the disaster. Most cleanups take time and Charles Moore estimates that any effects of the cleanup will only be seen by other generations.
I have always held Newton’s third law of Physics as a personal mantra, which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction; for every can we throw out of our car windows, for every apathetic instance of careless littering, there will be consequences. The good news is there are multiple avenues available for every individual to personally combat this crisis. The Great Garbage Patch website lists many organizations and resources for people interested in this issue. After I had researched a little on the topic I began drafting a letter to Curt Shroder, my house representative, asking how this issue was going to be addressed. I began telling my friends, coworkers, my boyfriend; I even told my mom. Most of the individuals who I told had no clue that this was happening. Awareness is always the first step in any recovery process. Awareness is a step that should be closely followed up by change. And change is a commodity that should be highly appreciated in a society that has no other gods before progress. Change doesn’t have to be painful; biodegradable materials are an easy alternative to plastic, reusable canvas bags are a fashion forward statement that can be used in place of destructive plastic shopping bags. We have many resources at our fingertips with which we can educate ourselves in less destructive ways of living. Nalgene bottles are a simple substitute to plastic bottles because all the containers require is a washing and they can be reused. In this disposable society we jump at the quickest avenue to the finish, but solutions are worth the few extra steps. According to Live Science, 72 percent of the earth is water, so it makes sense to keep our Oceans clean. We may be driven by expediency, but we have not evolved if we cannot put the health of our water, and ultimately our planet, before convenience.
Additional Resources:
GreatGarbagePatch.org
Image courtesy of Webzer:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/webzer/2871344853/
