Commotion in the Ocean:Reducing the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Chris Califano!Psychology MajorTAT MinorCHHS 302-01Natasha OehlmanApril 25, 2011

Introduction

• 70% water• 5 gyres -North Pacific Gyre• 100 million tons of trash sucked into continual vortex

(aka) Great Pacific Garbage Patch

• Orbicular winds – whirlpool• Incoming pollution becomes trapped.• 80% plastic -Can’t biodegrade -No bacteria

Plastic, plastic everywhere

• Photo degradation - UV rays cause photons to break down molecules -Takes foreeevvveerrr - Gets smaller and smaller

Stats

Plastic diapers Six pack plastic ring Plastic bag Plastic bottle0

100

200

300

400

500

600

ITEM

YEAR

S

What’s the problem?!• Animals mistake these small pieces of plastic

for food• Plastic bags can resemble jellyfish• 3 leading causes of death – choking,

entanglement, and suffocation

Causes• Gyre holds debris once spewed out by North America, Asia, and

the Hawaiian islands.• Correlation- Asia and United States are highest polluting

countries• Ship spillage• Nurdles• Plastic landfills incinerated

Dumped into oceansPlastics disperse non-bio-degradable pollutants and make their way into marine ecosystems

Marine Pollution

Effects

• Garbage Patch is increasing more and more each year.

• Between 2005-2008 sample of plastic particles had doubled.

• 6 times more plastic than plankton. • Marine animals at risk.• Plastic can get into our food chain.

What we can do…

• Recycle, reduce, reuse• Clean up beaches• Monitoring trash• Environmental Cleanup Coalition• Volunteer at aquariums – get educated!• Contact product management systems -biodegradable plastics -plastics that don’t have toxic materials

NO!

YES!

References

• Cookson, C. (2003). Recycling resolutions. Retrieved from• http://www.fvrd.bc.ca/InsidetheFVRD/MeetingsAgendasMinutes/AirQualityandEnvironme

ntManagement/Archived%20Agendas/2010%2003%2002%20Environment%20Committee/item%206.2%20-3%20Email%20re%20Recycling.pdf

• Marks, Kathy. (2008, February 5). The world’s rubbish dump: a garbage tip that stretches from

• hawaii to japan. Retrieved from http://teachers.oregon.k12.wi.us/sundstrom/Environmental%20Science/Outcome%204/Pacific%20Garbage%20Heap%20Reading.pdf

• Moore, C. (2006, November 7). Defending our oceans. Retrieved from • http://weblog.greenpeace.org/oceandefenders/archive/2006/11/whats_a_nurdle.html• • Watson, P. (2006, July 26). Killing off marine life: plastic garbage polluting the sea.

Retrieved • from http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_1342.cfm• White, Angel. (2011, January 4). Oceanic “garbage patch” not nearly as big as portrayed in • media . Retrieved from

http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2011/jan/oceanic-%E2%80%9Cgarbage-patch%E2%80%9D-not-nearly-big-portrayed-media