Today I am going to talk about one of the most mind blowing pollution stories: The great pacific garbage patch. For those who have never heard of the great pacific garbage patch, listen up! The great pacific garbage patch is a gyre (a large system of rotating ocean currents) of marine litter that has become particularly concentrated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. While it is difficult to measure the size of the plastic "island", most scientists and oceanographers believe that the garbage patch is roughly two times the size of Texas. Yes, you heard me right. There is a patch of plastic particles in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that is two times the size of Texas.
How did this happen? Well 80% of all marine litter comes from land, not ships. And the oceans currents flow in a particular pattern that causes the majority of oceanic debris to mass in between the U.S. west coast and Hawaii. The millions of pieces of plastic and other garbage are not visible from space because the sun and the ocean essentially wash all color out of the plastic pieces making them clear and invisible from space.
Besides the problems of oceanic polution and the disruption of marine ecosystems, the great oceanic garbage patch may soon begin to directly effect humans. The sun also causes the plastic pieces to brake up into smaller and smaller pieces until they are barely visible. While the pices of plastic float around the ocean, they soak up toxins and other harmful chemicals. Fish and other marine animals end up unintentionally eating these toxic plastics. When fisherman catch these fish, the plastic winds up in our food supply.
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