Garbage problem on the Pacific Ocean
December 27, 2007 - Day 171 6.7032N,167.1124W
When I lost a 5-lt plastic jug and a Nalgene bottle on the 19th, the night that I was thrown against the port side cabin wall, that was unfortunate. I tied most everything down on the 20th, but who knew the boat would almost go 360 on me that very night? I ended up losing a plastic grocery bag half full of plastic food packaging, a sponge, a metal spoon, a diving knife, a bag containing about 30 GU energy gel packets and another with about 20 Cytomax fluid replacement packets, the latter two of which were left carelessly in the side pocket next to the rowing seat.
These losses, while bothersome to me, will not stop my crossing. However it is a nagging thought in my mind that somehow I should have better contained these items. In big-wall climbing, everything had to have a string on it as a leash. "If it can fall, it will" was the rule... Perhaps the corollary exists here on my deck six inches above the water, where if something is not tied down, the sea will eventually claim it.
It is nice to report that since the end of September, I have seen no debris in the water. I must now be away from the circulation pattern of the debris. What happens to the plastic which somehow finds its way into the North Pacific, like the ones which fell off my boat?
An article by Justin Berton of San Francisco Chronicle titled: Continent-size toxic stew of plastic trash fouling swath of Pacific Ocean talks about the so-called "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" - a heap of debris floating in the North Pacific that's twice the size of Texas.
An accidental drop, or an illegal dump from a ship is actually a fraction of this debris. The article sites oceanographers who are saying that the enormous stew of trash, which consists 80 percent of plastics and weighs some 3.5 million tons, floats where few people ever travel, between San Francisco and Hawaii. The circular winds which helped carry me away from the California shores, also in part power a clockwise gyre, which then becomes the collection trap for the said debris.
The article says that according to a report from Greenpeace titled "Plastic Debris in the World's Oceans," eighty percent of this enormous plastic debris is generated as onshore trash.
The patch has been growing, along with ocean debris worldwide, tenfold every decade since the 1950s, and cleaning it is not an option at this point according to the article. Given the onshore origins of the debris, we can however slow the growing trend of this debris. The article includes resources and suggestions on how to reduce the use of plastics. It all comes down to behavior modification and a change in consumption habits onshore by all humanity, which requires a massive increase in public awareness of this problem.
This problem is not only a nuisance, but it also kills marine life. When a sea turtle mistakes clear plastic bags for jellyfish and an albatross returns to her roost with an ink cartridge from a computer printer in her gut after a couple thousand mile feeding journey, they both die because the plastic does not pass, clogging them. In the case of the albatross, death of one parent means that the second has to abandon the nest to feed itself, leaving the roost unattended. This means additional deaths in that couple's offspring for that year as well -- a sad and an unnecessary outcome which I had mentioned in my dispatch on August 1st.
The creatures of this earth are dear to me. I want to preserve their habitats, at least do no further harm to them. If we each can personally learn to live alongside these creatures in a world that is increasingly becoming crowded, then the future generations will inherit this same earth with life forms as diverse and as abundant as I have been fortunate to observe.
It is very easy to destroy and to pollute. Idiots can reproduce, idiots can drive, idiots can exterminate other species, idiots can start wars. Idiots are born, live a full life and die. Idiots are capable of doing many things that we take for granted.
It takes a basic level of consciousness, which is a property of intelligent life forms, and "living with purpose" to create liveable spaces, to preserve what is beautiful and to consider our legacy for the following generations. By honoring other creatures and this fragile earth, we elevate ourselves to a higher life form which is accountable for its impact and responsible for its actions. I would like to belong to this latter group.
Please read the article that I mentioned above. Going forward, let's each do our part to reduce the personal use of plastics and the amount of our individual plastic garbage.
Erden. |
Article Details
