The Great Pacific Garbage Patch free essay sample

The North Pacific Ocean is home to the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. This gyre is created by the North Pacific Current, the California Current, the North Equatorial Current, and the Kuroshio Current, all rotating clockwise throughout the northern hemisphere. It expands over the Pacific from the North Pole to the Equator and from California to Eastern Asia. The NPSG currents create the largest ecosystem on Earth, but they have also created one of the biggest threats to the health of our ocean: the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The currents are constantly moving and circulating animals and minerals throughout the ocean, but they also trap and carry pieces and particles of trash that have been disposed of in the water or on shorelines. The trash is all carried to the same place where the convergence of currents forces the trash into the center of the gyre. The result of years and years of this process has collected enough trash to qualify the GPGP as the planet’s largest landfill. We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Pacific Garbage Patch or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the last 40 years, it is said that the amount of trash in the GPGP has increased 100-fold. The trash resides somewhere between 135 ° to 155 ° W and 35 ° to 42 ° N in a constant swirl within the currents. Because of this, it has been nicknamed the â€Å"trash vortex. † The majority of the trash in the GPGP is floating pieces of plastic. Of the more than 200 billion pounds of plastic produced each year on Earth, approximately 10% ends up in the ocean. Plastic will never biodegrade, but rather it photodegrades. Any piece of plastic thrown into the ocean will break into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic without breaking into simpler compounds. Plastics are also able to absorb and trap toxic chemicals whenever they come in contact. The majority of life-forms found in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre are microbial organisms, plankton and few other small sea creatures. Plastic that photodegrades into microscopic pieces is ingested by filter feeders and can cause permanent damage to their bodies. Often times it stays in their system forever as it cannot be digested. Other animals eat pieces of plastic while pursuing other prey; the plastic is either extremely poisonous or can cause permanent blockages in their digestive systems, leading to death. All of these side effects increase monumentally when a fish ingests plastic that has absorbed toxins, which almost always leads to death. Toxic plastic has the ability to threaten an entire food chain. If a large quantity of toxic plastic is accumulated into one area, it has a greater chance of affecting a larger quantity of organisms. Once the filter feeders have ingested toxic plastics, any organism that feeds off of them will also ingest that toxic plastic and so forth. This food chain will eventually lead directly to humans – if someone buys a fish that had previously ingested a toxic plastic particle, there may be detrimental effects on their health. Underwater organisms are not the only life-forms that are affected by ingesting plastic. Albatross birds roam widely throughout the North Pacific Ocean and are specifically a very affected species of the harmful effects of improperly-disposed plastic. Each year albatrosses on Midway Island, located almost equidistant between North America and East Asia in the North Pacific, collectively give birth to 500,000 chicks. In recent years, over 200,000 have died due to their parents finding and feeding them pieces of plastic which they mistook for food. Albatrosses, being a larger organism, also face concerns of becoming caught or stuck in plastic trash such as soda can holders and other debris. This can cause them to choke or to even be immobile. All in all, more than a million birds and marine animals die each year from consuming plastic or getting caught in debris. The plastic debris also damages boat and submarine equipment, litters beaches and shorelines, discourages swimming and harms local and commercial fishing industries. Fishers’ nets often get caught or tangled in debris and are abandoned in the ocean for marine life to become entangled in, contributing to the pollution. Any shore along the currents of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre is at stake of receiving trash from all over the world. The 19 islands of the Hawaiian archipelago receive massive quantities of trash shot out by the gyre. Some beaches are layered in 5 to 10 feet of trash while others are classified with â€Å"plastic sand† due to the millions of grain-like pieces of plastic that are nearly impossible to clean up. Unfortunately, once the plastic has entered the ocean and the GPGP, it is very difficult to remove it and its removal may have some negative effects on marine life, depending on the designated area. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a federal agency that is currently working toward improving the condition of Earth’s oceans and the atmosphere. NOAA has partnered with the Okeanos Explorer, a ship with a manta net that collects tiny pieces of trash and debris through fine mesh to collect some of the trash and pull it out of circulation. The net can even snag microscopic pieces of plastic that are too small to be seen by human eye. NOAA is also working with the Marine Debris Program, who volunteers to track levels of debris through rigorous survey and scientific study. Ocean Conservancy offers multiple volunteer programs to aid in the clean-up of littered beaches and oceans. They are the catalysts for the International Coastal Cleanup program. Cleanups are held worldwide and sites are designated on the website. People who wish to contribute to the cause can sign up for a site near their area to work with other volunteers and clear the beaches of trash. Ocean Conservancy has also created the â€Å"Trash Free Seas Alliance† pledge. Any individuals or businesses that take the pledge seek to reduce and, when applicable, recycle products and services that damage ocean wildlife and ecosystems. Members of the alliance network with each other to share ideas and create and fund projects for a better ocean. Many people who live inland believe that they are not a contributing factor to ocean pollution. The fact of the matter is, about 80% of garbage floating in the GPGP has come from the land all around the world in what is called nonpoint source pollution. Littering and pollution on streets or common ground can easily end up in a local storm drain that leads to a river which will in turn lead to the ocean. People often tend to drop small trash or throw it out of their car window without realizing that it has the ability to travel the globe. To start fighting for the cause, people can simply throw their trash in the proper receptacles and recycle whenever possible; the less trash that is aimlessly floating around outside of the dump, the less that is able to find its way to sea. The US Coast Guard estimates that recreational boaters dump an average of over a pound of trash into the ocean every time they go out. 80% of trash comes from the land, but the other 20% is from careless boaters who directly contribute to the problem. Everyday people are not the only ones to blame: commercial cruise ships, merchants, and even marine vessels. Every day, the world’s fleet discards 5. 5 million containers, some plastic, into the sea. As the federal government is funding organizations to stop ocean pollution, they should not allow their marines to dump that much, if any, trash into the ocean. Knowledge is a key tool in fighting the battle on trash and debris polluted oceans. The more knowledgeable a citizen is about what is happening and the direct affect it is having on their environment, the more they can do to help. Not everyone will immediately sign up for a volunteer opportunity after hearing that they are contributing to a million marine animal deaths each year, but at least they might remember not to throw their fast food wrappers out the window of their car. Even better, they might promote the idea to others. Much of the world is uninformed or only informed to an extent – the people need to understand that each and every one of them is playing a role in this somehow, as it is our planet. The true power lies with the people.