Not satisfied with filling up our land masses with garbage and trash, the people of the planet are now striving to completely destroy the oceans. Remember when fish was a good thing to eat. It was healthy and full of rich fatty acids that were great at lowering cholesterol and reducing heart disease. Humans are putting an end to that. Most fish is so high in mercury, due to pollution, that too much fish can actually give you mercury poisoning. We have already driven multiple species of fish and mammals to the brink of extinction due to over fishing, destruction of habitat, global warming (yes, it is real), and hunting. As if that were not enough, we now are threatening the oceans with garbage.
from Ocean Trust Film.org
Floating around the Pacific ocean is a giant garbage patch the size of Texas. It is full of plastics that are slowly killing off wildlife, migratory birds and fish. The plastics literally are choking many of them. Some in the net-like mass itself. Some are choking on the garbage as it starts to break down and they try to consume it. Some are choking on the noxious poisons that are released as the giant patch dissolves. At least some day it will go away, right? Doubtful. Plastics do not biodegrade very fast. In the meantime, the mass has grown since it was first discovered some 13 years ago. Where is this patch? The largest portion lies in the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Hawaii. It is in an area of the ocean called the North Pacific Gyre. This is a region where most boats avoid, as it it like a giant high pressure eddy where water swirls and there is little wind. It is like a giant toilet bowl, where nothing flushes and all our waste is piling up.
So what is the big deal? It is only some garbage in the ocean in an area that we don’t really use. First, some of it does come back. The garbage washes back up on shore in some areas. It litters our beaches. It makes swimming difficult, even dangerous. Secondly, we cannot even begin to think about the problem as fixable. In fact it continues to grow. Trying to clean up this floating reef of garbage would ultimately bankrupt any government and further destroy area wildlife along the way. 
Thirdly, it is ugly. For such a beautiful planet, why do we have an ugly ocean? Think of a landfill the size of Texas in the middle of our country. But lastly, and most importantly, is the untold damage we are doing to the ocean’s natural habitat and the creatures that live in it. In yet another story of how man outsmarts beast, the birds of the Pacific forage here for food. Mistakenly they think plastics like milk rings and bottle caps are food. They take it back to their nests and feed it to their chicks who choke or starve to death on it. Birds, fish and other wildlife get caught up in the bits of floating crap and choke or drown. Some baby animals even grow around the plastics.
As the plastics break down into smaller pieces, they are eaten by fish and animals that usually feed on plankton. The biggest problem about all this pollution is that we do not know the long term effects of the damage. Just like we never knew about the damage of mercury to the fish population until it was too late, we may not realize the extent of the damage until the ecosystem of the world’s oceans are damaged beyond repair.
For a truly sobering view of the extent of the problem, watch this video. It is far more compelling than I could ever be.
Tags: environment, garbage, Green Policies, Oceans
