You may have heard of the North Pacific Gyre. According to Wikipedia, “the North Pacific Gyre (also known as North Pacific Subtropical Gyre) is a clockwise-swirling vortex of ocean currents comprising most of the northern Pacific Ocean. It is located between the equator and 50º N latitude and occupies an area of approximately ten million square miles (34 million km²).”
Sadly, floating around within the gyre is a massive accumulation of plastic garbage known as “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch”, “Plastic Soup”, or “The Pacific Trash Vortex” that’s double the size of Texas.
As the floating plastic breaks down it resembles zooplankton (a predominant food-source for jellyfish), thus making it’s entry into the ocean food chain. Fish, birds and other marine animals also consume the plastics.
Water samples taken from the gyre by scientists in 2001 indicate that plastic within the ocean are now six times more prevalent than zooplankton - further proof that we humans are fucking up the planet beyond repair.
VBS.tv has compiled a great documentary exploring the issue. It’s well worth a watch.
Sadly, “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch” Isn’t contained in a manageable patch or a cluster, rather, the Pacific is becoming a massive toxic stew, and it’s a big big problem.
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I’m in a bit of a quandary here over conflicting statements. Am I to believe your article written in 2008 that gives the size of the plastic swirl as, ‘twice’ the size of Texas…or a local news program’s statement this month (May, 2009) saying, “This plastic island is ‘growing daily’ and is now ‘the size’ of Texas ‘or larger’.” Was it Texas sized in ‘08 or now? Well, guess what…I think the squabble over hype versus non-hype (many sites are devoted to that debate) is immaterial.
I find ‘easily visible reality’ much more terrifying then any hype or non-hype conclusions these time wasters come up with.
Here’s what I surmise: Plastic is an ever growing critical problem that is threatening our existence. We can easily ‘see’ this by what is showing up on the beaches and in the rookeries across the earth. As well, plastic ‘has’ been found at the molecular level and in the deepest parts of all the oceans. Thus stated let’s now face the reality of what we should all find truly terrifying.
The plastic problem now comes in line with: the melting of the polar caps, the fouling of the air, the devastation of the rainforests, the driving of animal life to extinction, the growing of the deserts, the over fishing of the oceans and who knows what else still undetected. And no matter how blown out of proportion or understated any or all of these issues are they all can be proven to exist on a level that is unparallel. The sheer number of atrocities should easily terrify us (the people of the earth) into global action.
Yet now we’re faced with another ‘fact’ that I can’t find any historical evidence to disprove. There is no historical record that proves mankind has ever banned together as one to defeat anything…much less a number of things happening simultaneously each in itself of dire consequences.
Now,I have visited sites that give Adolph Hitler as a global threat that was eradicated. However, it was further stated that Hitler was easy for people to stay focused on. He was goose-stepping all over Europe loudly proclaiming that his goal was world domination. History records that people were so terrified that they not only put aside strong differences, but were willing to suffer great sacrifice to rid the earth of Hitler.
As stated above, today’s problems are far more threatening then any sociopathic world ruler could ever be. As well the problems are too diverse and we are forced to spend too much precious time and limited resources trying to prove to naysayers that even one of these global threats could become catastrophic.
What to do. Well, as I said I’ve been reading different sites for an original thought and low and behold, from way out there (in my ‘personal’ estimation of course) in left field I find this site that is willing to state (quite unabashed) the following: “I recently saw a SiFi movie with this premise: other planets in the universe decide that if they don’t step in and remove the destructive species (mankind) the earth will surly die.” (I saw that movie as well). Now interestingly enough, add the people who come to your door and read the following scripture, “God will bring to ruin those ruining the earth”, very similar. The thought of intervention by something supernatural has sounded quite unrealistic to me in the past. However, here of late and in view of my above statements it is now sounding more plausible.
I’d quote one final site. This one was left in answer to the US government’s recent announcement of their ‘drop in the bucket’ offering of 30% less auto pollution by 2016. It went as follows: “The thought of an outraged god finally stepping in is much more terrifying to me then the thought of never being able to drive my Volvo again.”
I now find myself in agreement with that statement. Why? Two reasons: #1- A First World power haling as a “victory” or even a “step in the right direction”(I heard both phrases used concerning the 30% statement above) sends a message to their First World peers that there is still plenty of time to languish in their statuesque. #2- The First World’s greed is insatiable on every level. That is why the Second and Third Worlds must burn the forests, fish the streams dry, exhaust the lands they live in of every commodity and kill any animal they find in order to survive.
Perhaps the people that come to the door and read that God will ‘ruin those ruining the earth’ should be asked to narrow their point a bit. Are they speaking in general terms or actually referring just to the First World?