According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, between 4.8 and 12.7 million tons of trash are dumped into the world’s oceans each year. Currents then push the trash together in concentrated areas known as trash dumps. The trash in these dumps is mostly plastic and is incredibly dangerous to marine life. Not only do sea turtles ingest plastic bags, but albatrosses mistake plastic pellets for food and feed them to their young, who end up dying of starvation or ruptured organs. The biggest problem caused by this marine debris, however, is not something very big at all. As the plastics sit in the sun, they are broken down into smaller and smaller pieces, leaving them invisible to the naked eye.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, or GPGP, is a notorious trash dump located between the California and Hawaii coasts. Although its size is difficult to measure, according to The Guardian, the patch spans at minimum 386,000 square miles.
The GPGP was seen first-hand by Charles Moore, marine researcher, in 1997. In an article for Natural History magazine Moore said that he sailed for a week across the patch and saw plastic debris floating everywhere.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not the only trash dump in the oceans. Large quantities of trash and plastic can be found in each of the world’s oceans, floating and drifting with the circular currents, leaving them stuck to devastate the oceans. The GPGP and other trash dumps around the globe are detrimental to the oceans and by default the entire planet. Each year the problems and the trash dumps will continue to grow larger and become more significant.
We tend to look back and wonder how we let problems get as bad as they have. How could we have produced so much trash? How could we just dump it and not care? It’s difficult to promote environmental advocacy without being called names. In fact, I was recently told, “Chill it, hippie,” over my fear of losing the world’s bees. But someone must stand up for the planet.
Fortunately, more and more people are becoming aware of the effects we have on our planet. Unfortunately, some of these effects are irreversible. Each day is an opportunity to make a positive impact. Sometimes, we forget the impact we have on the planet, and devastation can result. It’s past time to fix some things, but if we take responsibility for our actions, we may be able to save the oceans before it’s too late.
