It is not something that can be cleaned up. In fact, most of the debris is small and spread out over the surface of the ocean. There are debris under water and on the surface. Objects do not pile up on top of it, rather, they become submerged. While we do see buoys, television tubes and soap bottles, etc, they are not piled up in a group for photographing.
The majority of the debris consists of small plastic fragments and broken objects just below the surface.
The concept of a "trash island" to describe this phenomenon was originally coined by Pravda and picked up by other European media, who showed artists drawing of a mountain of trash. This is not an accurate depiction. The enormous accumulation zones for plastic debris are better described as "trash vortexes," and except for fishing buoys do not appear above the ocean surface. They are also referred to as the "Eastern and Western Garbage Patches," although we prefer vortex because the word "patch" does not do justice to their more or less million square mile size."–
Wow. Let us repeat that very last little bit: "More or less million square mile size."
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The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is really, truly unconscionable.Whether it actually exists is largely questioned by some, while others feel its existence is indisputable. Either way, it blows our minds that nearly every single article Algalita have come across in their research states that "There's nothing we can do about it now…" (Eriksen, October 19, 2007).
What kind of asinine, uncaring and lazy response is this?
An article from the San Francisco Chronicle states:"Ocean current patterns may keep the flotsam stashed in a part of the world few will ever see, but the majority of its content is generated onshore, according to a report from Greenpeace last year titled "Plastic Debris in the World's Oceans."
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This is just totally unacceptable. We can no longer, in good conscience, continue to write off this horrendous creation and let it continue unabated. To that end, a website has begun with the hope to evolve into the official, leading source of information, activism and action against this atrocity. In the coming months, they plan to raise funds to start dismantling this floating island of trash, generate significant publicity, donate hundreds if not thousands of hours and dollars, to turn the tides on this.The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.com will serve as the central focus on what we hope grows into a massive wide effort to eradicate this abysmal by-product of our global industries.
What are Nurdles??
-A nurdle, also called a pre-production plastic pellet or plastic resin pellet, is a plastic pellet typically under 5mm in diameter. Approximately 60 billion pounds (27 million tonnes) of nurdles are manufactured annually in the United States alone.
In the ocean, plastic breaks down into tiny nurdles that absorb 'persistant organic pollutants' (POPs) making them highly toxic to marine life that consume them.
And the Environmental Impact...
Nurdles are a major contributor to marine debris. During a three month study of Orange County beaches researchers found them to be the most common beach contaminant. Nurdles comprised roughly 98% of the beach debris collected in a 2001 Orange County study. Waterborne nurdles may either be a raw material of plastic production, or from larger chunks of plastic that have been ground down.
And the Environmental Impact...
Nurdles are a major contributor to marine debris. During a three month study of Orange County beaches researchers found them to be the most common beach contaminant. Nurdles comprised roughly 98% of the beach debris collected in a 2001 Orange County study. Waterborne nurdles may either be a raw material of plastic production, or from larger chunks of plastic that have been ground down.
Nurdles that escape from the plastic production process into waterways or oceans have become a significant source of ocean and beach pollution, frequently finding their way into the digestive tracts of various marine creatures. Nurdles also can carry two types of micropollutants in the marine environment: native plastic additives and hydrophobic pollutants adsorbed from seawater. Concentrations of PCBs and DDE on nurdles collected from Japanese coastal waters were found to be up to 1 million times higher than the levels detected in surrounding seawater.
Sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nurdle
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-Dr Richard Thompson at the University of Plymouth is leading research into what happens when plastic breaks down in seawater and what effect it is having on the marine environment.
He and his team set out to out to find out how small these fragments can get. So far they've identified plastic particles of around 20 microns - thinner than the diameter of a human hair.
He and his team set out to out to find out how small these fragments can get. So far they've identified plastic particles of around 20 microns - thinner than the diameter of a human hair.
Dr Thompson's findings estimate there are 300,000 items of plastic per sq km of sea surface, and 100,000 per sq km of seabed.
So plastic appears to be everywhere in our seas. The next task was to try and find out what kind of sea creatures might be consuming it and with what consequences.
Thompson and his team conducted experiments on three species of filter feeders in their laboratory. They looked at the barnacle, the lugworm and the common amphipod or sand-hopper, and found that all three readily ingested plastic as they fed along the seabed.
"These creatures are eaten by others along food chain," Dr Thompson explained. "It seems an inevitable consequence that it will pass along the food chain. There is the possibility that chemicals could be transferred from plastics to marine organisms."
So plastic appears to be everywhere in our seas. The next task was to try and find out what kind of sea creatures might be consuming it and with what consequences.
Thompson and his team conducted experiments on three species of filter feeders in their laboratory. They looked at the barnacle, the lugworm and the common amphipod or sand-hopper, and found that all three readily ingested plastic as they fed along the seabed.
"These creatures are eaten by others along food chain," Dr Thompson explained. "It seems an inevitable consequence that it will pass along the food chain. There is the possibility that chemicals could be transferred from plastics to marine organisms."
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