The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

By Jeff Lindsey

Graphic 1 The precise location of the patch is not known but is larger than twice the size of the State of Texas

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

By Jeff Lindsey

Biotic factors caused by this pollution Biotic: All creatures that live in the Pacific area are affected. There are sea turtles that get caught in plastic fishing nets. There are birds that mistake small plastic pellets for fish eggs and feed them to their young.

Graphic 2 Turtle entangled in fishing net

Graphic 3 Floating garbage

Graphic 4 Underwater garbage

Graphic 5 Bird with stomach full of plastic debris

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

By Jeff Lindsey

Abiotic factors caused by this pollution Abiotic: The water in the Pacific Ocean is becoming polluted by the breakdown of floating debris due to photo degradation. As sunlight breaks down the plastic materials, the inherently toxic plastic releases colorants and chemicals such as Bisphenol-A. Plastic has been shown to also absorb other existing organic substances such as PCBs. These toxic chemicals act to poison the water of the ocean itself and could result in a dead zone where biological life cannot be sustained.

Graphic 6 Photo degradation

Graphic 7 All this plastic found in the belly of one sea turtle

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

By Jeff Lindsey
Impact of Humans: As the graphic at right shows, 80% of all plastic enters the ocean from land based sources. The remaining 20% enter the ocean from ships and sea based activities like fishing.

Graphic 8 Where does all the garbage come from?

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

By Jeff Lindsey

Mankind bears responsibility for this abomination and must take a more active role to clean it up. Currently there are international treaties that prohibit dumping at sea. And while some island communities have mitigated the risk by banning the use of plastic bags, much of the work remains in trying to better manage waste on land, where the trash originates. Recommendations include finding alternatives to plastic using safe, reusable packaging. Expanding recycling programs to include more types of plastic, and educating the public about their value.

Graphic 9 Taking steps now to preserve the ecosystem

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

By Jeff Lindsey

Public awareness and legislation: In October 2006, the US Government passed legislation to increase funding for cleanup efforts and mandated other government agencies to expand their cleanup work. NOAAA conducts flyovers and two research teams recently sailed there to collect debris and water samples. The international Project Kaisei team spent time there studying its contents in hopes of recycling them or turning it into fuel. David de Rothschild has plans to sail around the garbage patch in a boat called Plastiki made entirely of recycled plastics to raise public awareness on the issue of recycling.

Graphic 10 Project Kaisei raising public awareness and aiding in the cleanup

Graphic 11 The Plastiki boat made from 12500 plastic bottles

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

By Jeff Lindsey
References Graphic 1: http://teethingtoddler.blogspot.com/2011/04/great-pacific-garbage-patch.html Graphic 2: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/what-is-the-great-pacificocean-garbage-patch Graphic 3: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/what-is-the-great-pacificocean-garbage-patch Graphic 4: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/what-is-the-great-pacificocean-garbage-patch Graphic 5: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/what-is-the-great-pacificocean-garbage-patch Graphic 6: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/what-is-the-great-pacificocean-garbage-patch Graphic 7: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/tag/pacific-garbage-patch/ Graphic 8: http://americanmoocher.com/scoreboard/2011/04/26/great-pacific-garbage-patch/ Graphic 9: http://www.usell.com/blog/category/electronics-recycling-ewaste/ Graphic 10: http://dailynews.openwaterswimming.com/2010_12_16_archive.html Graphic 11: http://gizmodo.com/plastiki/