Pacific Ocean Plastic Patch

Have you heard about the well documented but tragic story of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? It is one of the most shocking environmental issues that's been discovered but barely given any attention to in the media. Wouldn't you like to hear more information about what occurs on the seawaters in the Pacific Ocean for major green topics like this? I'm sure your just as excited about it as me.

It seems that people do not have sufficient place for proper garbage disposal...I mean really? Why else would there be mounds of floating plastic debris in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? People must not know how to use the trash can. Besides regular people like you and me, big industry has contributed to this plastic debacle as well.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a term that refers to the massive waste products and shameful littering habits into pristine ocean habitat. The great patch expands or covers a vast area in the Pacific Ocean. It consists of chemical mires and other waste products like plastics, etc. These waste products are trapped in the currents of the North Pacific Gyre. Although the accumulated waste products are massive, it is not visible by satellite photography due to suspended particulates that are consistent with the upper layers of the ocean. Of course, like any other environmental issue, the great pacific garbage patch causes hassles and headaches for people like you me who are trying to raise awareness on the practical green living practices like proper disposal and proper recycling.

The waste products in the patch are gathered all the oceanic currents swirling everything around and around into a giant island of plastic (maybe we should call it the Isle of Plastic Land). The patch covers a wide area of the North Pacific Ocean via North Pacific Gyre which is known as “Horse Latitudes.” The rotational pattern of the Gyre draws all the waste products from Japan and the North American seawaters. Thus, waste products from these coastal areas are carried by the current and are trapped into the North Pacific Ocean. Huge items that are floating on the waters are visible from the deck of any passerby boat, but especially those giant cruise ships. Although most of the waste products are composed of plastic items, there are other various unusual waste items that are floating in the patch area.

The patch size is supposedly indefinite...although I highly doubt that. However, researchers have used sampling tests to determine the approximated size of the patch. They have found out that almost 0.41% - 8.1% of the Pacific Ocean is covered with waste products. Other sources have converted it to twice the size of the continental US. If that fun fact is true, then that is a tragedy indeed.

The Great Patch has plenty of sources and plenty of contributors. However, all of the sources can be traced to one common denominator - “humans.” Generally, man-made activities have been attributed to most environmental issues that have sprouted up in the last century. Research shows that 80% of waste products came from land while the other 20% from ships at sea. Did you know that cruise ships can produce more than eight (8) tons of waste products per week? Most of the waste products are organic. Furthermore, dumped fishing materials, like nets and abrasive cleaners, are a common pollutant in the Great Patch.

Like any other environmental problems, like environmental pollution, that impose a threat to Mother Nature, the Great Pacific Patch is very alarming in its own right. Some of the waste products, especially the plastic ones, are eaten by the fish and various marine birds. Since these are toxic products, they have negative effects on the health of marine life as a whole. If the infected birds, fish, and other marine animals are eaten by humans (upper most of the food chain), toxins could be ingested into the human body. In fact, research shows that these waste products affect a minimum of 267 species around the globe. That simply means every living thing is affected by these toxicities. Thus, every single misdeed will affect Mother Nature and in return it will affect every life form on earth.