THE GREAT GARBAGE PATCH

Stop Polluting Our Ocean

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Premiering April 23rd on PBS:

Join
The Strange Days Global Community
on Facebook

Watch
Video Interview with Charles Moore
the captain who discovered the Garbage Patch

Much of our waste today is comprised of plastic that does not biodegrade.  This waste accumulates in swirling seas of debris, where plastic to sea life ratios are 6:1; where birds and mammals are dying of starvation and dehydration with bellies full plastics; and fish are ingesting toxins at such a rate that soon they will no longer be safe to eat.

The largest of these garbage swills is known as the Pacific Gyre, or:
The Great Garbage Patch.

It is roughly the size of Texas, containing approximately 3.5 million tons of trash.  Shoes, toys, bags, pacifers, wrappers, toothbrushes, and bottles too numerous to count are only part of what can be found in this accidental dump floating midway between Hawaii and San Francisco.

Amazingly, there is no effort underway to clean the mess. Join our forum with your ideas and suggestions, and most importantly - spread the word!

 

News
Image courtesy Algalita Marine Research Foundation

The Teaching albatross at Monterey Bay Aquarium
- San Francisco Gate (June 21, 2007)

Plague of Plastics chokes the Sea
-LA Times (August 2nd, 2006)
Trashed
-Charles Moore, Natural History v.112, n.9 (November 2003)
Trashing the Oceans
-Thomas Hayden, U.S. News & World Report (November 4, 2002)

Web Links

 

 

Strange Days on Planet Earth: Dirty Secrets

New series Strange Days on Planet Earth: Dirty Secrets focuses on plastics issues and how they affect the planet.

Find out how these important issues affect the planet, and contribute to the dialog and solution.

Plastics in the Ocean

Bisphenol A and Endocrine Disruptors

Biodegradable plastics

 

THE GREAT GARBAGE PATCH 2008