The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Imagine a different version of Castaway. This version starts much the same: Tom Hanks crashes and ends up on an island,  builds a raft, and sets sail to try and find his way home. He falls asleep as he is rocked by the waves of the vast ocean. But this time, he is suddenly awaken with something clicking and tapping along the side of his raft. Out here in the middle of the ocean, what could he possibly be bumping into? Too excited and terrified to see what he may have encountered, he hesitates before opening his eyes. Is it possible he has reached shore? Has he finally returned home? Has he made it to civilization? The bright sun blinds him and his heart sinks...his hopes of being home washed away. His raft hasn't washed ashore on the beaches of Australia or been brought into a Hawaiian harbor. Instead he has awoken to find his raft caught and now dragging a tangled collection of old fishing net, plastic and trash out in the middle of the Pacific. Cruel reminders of the civilized world he longs for now float here, tangled, useless, poisoning and killing the sea. Nearby, an old kayak floats along with its underbelly covered in barnacles. Not too far off, a blue plastic bottle, appears to be laundry detergent,  bobs  up and down. And what at first glance looked like a jellyfish turns out to be a plastic bag.  The water is sprinkled with fragments of colored plastic that have broken down from their original form, but refuse to decompose. What he doesn't know is that this plastic soup is actually about twice the size of Texas and he will see days more of the world's largest landfill as his raft drifts across the Pacific. He has encountered The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. 

As you can see in the image below from Greenpeace, circular ocean currents in the pacific have accumulated the trash that gets swept out to sea into two continent sized areas: the Eastern Garbage Patch and the Western Garbage Patch.

One of the easiest ways to see the impact this is having on the ecosystem is to take a look at stomach samples of deceased Albatros (images from Algalita Marine Research Foundation). 

         Heartbreaking isn't it?
Please watch the following short videos to get a full understanding of this crisis. This is not something that should be out-of-sight-out-of-mind.

What can we do? Inform yourself and others. Recycle as much as possible and opt-out of using plastic, bags and packaging whenever possible. Be conscious of the impact you have on the environment. Get involved and be the difference. :)