| Plastic Soup |
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| Environment - Environment |
| Written by Dominique de Bruin |
| Saturday, 29 August 2009 13:08 |
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It has been said that in the pacific ocean there is a plastic bag island larger than the state of Texas.
It has been said that in the pacific ocean there is a plastic bag island larger than the state of Texas. But actually, there is no real island of plastic to set up lawn chairs and beach towels. The proper name is the Central Pacific Gyre (East). It spans from the California coast to Japan or approximately 10 million square miles in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The Gyre has extremely strong and circular currents and winds which cause it to lock in anything that enters its space. The Algalita Marine Research Foundation in Long Beach, CA, says that even boats should avoid traveling into the Gyre. The Gyre is also known as plastic soup as it has accumulated so many plastic bags recently. The Algalita Foundation focuses on marine ecological issues and recently went to the Gyre. Along the way, their team uncovered an even more urgent threat to marine life at the west subtropical convergence zone. A convergence zone is the location where warm tropical currents and cold, arctic currents converge. And in the western subtropical convergence zone, the accumulation of trash is even more significant than the Gyre. Many locals call these zones the Pacific Garbage Patches, and they consists mostly of plastic items such as bags, fishing line, and nets. Sometimes our trash gets confused with a marine animal's normal diet. It has been documented that many marine species cannot tell the difference between a plastic bag and a jellyfish, for example. It has also been shown that many marine animals have been found dead from chocking on plastic bags and other items. Waste has more consequences than we realize, as our oceans attest. Despite a rather successful recycling movement there are still 90 billion plastic bags that are thrown away rather than recycled ever year. The answer is simple, use reusable bags! Imagine if and perhaps when towns decide to start charging for plastic bags. In fact, residents in Seattle, Washington may be facing a $.0.20 bag tax. Those who vote against the tax are clearly showing the very reason the ocean is polluted with plastic debris. Its time to take a stand, use reusable bags. |