How the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is Destroying the Oceans and the Future for Marine Life. Twice the size of Texas, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch stretches for hundreds of miles across the North Pacific Ocean and is one of the most frightening examples of just how much human activity is violating the planet. Spanning from the. It's been called the Great Garbage Patch and 'the most shocking thing' Oprah has ever seen. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. And scarier still as oceanographers and. The contents of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch have been described as a toxic “plastic soup,” for which we have provided all the ingredients. As new research surfaces linking plastic debris to marine species extinction, the consequences of our waste are clearly becoming more and more devastating. But before we delve further into this horror story we must first understand how we created this monster in the first place. We are Feeding a Cancer in the Ocean. According to the National Geographic about 8. Great Pacific Garbage Patch comes from land- based activities in North America and Asia and the other 2. The majority of this 2. The trash gets trapped between two main gyres that act as a whirlpool and collect this trash. Greenpeace has published an animation that explains how this all works. The trash then accumulates because many plastics are non- biodegradable and do not wear down. Instead, they only break into tinier and tinier pieces creating the “plastic soup” mentioned earlier.
How Big Is The Great Ocean Garbage PatchFor us, the most frightening aspect of all of this is just how quickly this monster has grown in a relatively short period of time. Plastic was initially mass- produced in the 1. U. S. So, it seems that in just half a century we have managed to create the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. But that is not the scary thing. It is estimated that by the year 2. Just how big could the Great Pacific Garbage Patch get? This monster is growing and we are the ones filling its gut. A Catastrophe for Wildlife We have watched many wildlife and environmental films that have filled us with sadness, anger, disbelief . The trailer alone is one of the most tragic pieces of film we have ever witnessed and it is with great apprehension that we look forward to when the full length it is finally released. Check out the trailer below. The albatrosses mistake plastic. Marine debris can be very harmful to all. Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish which they then mistakenly eat. Many. Animals that fall victim to ghost gear become entangled. Some, the “lucky ones,” may either drown within minutes. The unlucky victims can endure long, slow & painful deaths that can last for months and years, suffering from debilitating wounds, infection and starvation. Even the smallest creatures in the sea are affected. Microplastics and other trash block sunlight from reaching. So it goes without saying that the impacts of the plastic soup can have enormous unseen impacts to the planet. How You Can Help End This Monstrosity. Every piece of plastic discarded is directly feeding this monster in the ocean which is acting like a cancerous clot determined to destroy every living thing in its path. We have to act to stop this. So what is the chemotherapy for this manmade cancer? Check out the Sea Change campaign from World Animal Protection and do everything you can to spread to the word and support them. Share the Midway trailer with your friends, family and contacts. Check out this list of ten things you can do to help save the ocean. And most important of all, purge plastic from your life. Click here to learn how. Let’s #Crush. Plastic! Click the graphic below for more information. Lead image source: Paul Williams/Flickr.
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