There is a certain “coolness” that comes with living around the beach, even if you rarely ever get to enjoy the sound of waves or feel the warmth of the sand in between your toes. As you might have guessed, that would be me.
For most of my life, I have appreciated that “coolness” and have even bragged about it to my unfortunately enclave Mid-Western friends. However it took a group of wonderful students (a special shout out to all the Peer Connection folks) at Pepperdine University to remind me that when you love something, you take care of it!
So when the opportunity came up to volunteer for beach cleaning at Venice Beach, I was definitely a go-er!
Instead of preparing for my Accounting midterm the following Monday, there I was on a beautiful Saturday morning weaving in between sun-bathers and surf aficionados, picking up trash ranging from candy wrappers, feeding bottles, to a pair of boxers! Yes, a pair of boxers! Please ask no further.
Looking at the amount of trash we picked up, one must wonder: What happens to the debris that ends up being carried away by waves and into the Pacific?
This debris, mostly made of plastic, because they are not biodegradable, travels the ocean for thousand of miles, led by various currents (mostly the North Pacific Gyre) into a vortex of marine litter in the central North Pacific Ocean. This gyre also commonly referred to as The Great Pacific Garbage Patch or Pacific Trash Vortex, is estimated to be twice the size of Texas! No, this is not a typo – TWICE the size of Texas! Most ironically, many people living on the California coastline have never heard of it before.
To be put in perspective, imagine the entire state of Texas to be a garbage dump. Painful, isn’t it? Now, double that.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch started receiving wider public and scientific attention after its documentation in several articles by Charles Moore, a California-based sea captain and ocean researcher. Mr. Moore discovered the patch of litter while returning home through the North Pacific Gyre after competing in a sailing race.
The debris have had a serious impact on the marine wildlife as the floating plastic particles are often times mistaken for zooplankton and subsequently eaten by jellyfish, turtles, Albatross and other marine birds and animals.
Many efforts, notably led by Richard Owen, a building contractor and scuba dive instructor, have been invested to clean up the Pacific Trash Vortex, but it is obvious that it would take many years before we see a significant reduction in its size.
Not all of us are marine biologists, and I can understand how remotely connected some of us might feel towards the issue – after all, how many of us would have the opportunity to sail across the Pacific on a recycling adventure?
Although few of us might actively participate in cleaning up the Pacific Trash Vortex, we can all contribute in making sure the Great Pacific Garbage Patch does not become thrice the size of Texas. Heck, if we could just do enough to get rid of “Great” I am sure many marine creatures would be extremely thankful.
So next time, you’re on the beach bronzing under the beautiful Californian sun, please don’t forget to properly dispose of your trash and remember to make everyday an “Earth Day.”
Sources: Wikipedia
Filed under: Environment , charles moore, great pacific garbage patch, green, north pacific ocean, ocean cleaning, pacific, pacific garbage, pacific gyre, pacific ocean, pacific ocean clean up, pacific trash vortex, pepperdine, pepperdine university, plastic trash, richard owen, trash, trash in pacific ocean, trash vortex, wikipedia
