Hello Again!
Well today in my Global class I was reminded of something catastrophic that is going on right now under our noses. I’m not talking about Global Warming, I’m talking about this giant island of garbage in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I was reminded of it because I had previously learned about it in my Oceanography class in my senior year of high school. This area is filled with various plastics, as well as other types of waste, and is twice the size of Texas. The large quantities of plastic materials and garbage came from water run-offs or from the coast of California, Oregon and Washington.
So, how is this colossal mass of trash just sitting in the middle of the Pacific? From what I learned in Oceanography the water flow in the Pacific, as well as the other oceans, have gyres. A gyre, as defined from dictionary.com, is “a ring like system of ocean currents rotating clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere”. So this means that this garbage is gathering right in the middle of the gyre.
So, do you know how long all that trash takes to actually biodegrade or disintegrate? Upon doing research in class I found that it takes 1,700 years for a computer to biodegrade, batteries take up to 100 years, wood takes 10 to 15 years, a carpet takes 10 years, and a drop ceiling (Styrofoam) takes about 1 to 2 million years to fully biodegrade. So what about plastic bottles? Well, I found that it takes about 450 years for a plastic bottle to fully disintegrate. I thought about this and was thinking about how many plastic bottles I use on a daily basis. I use about four to five plastic bottles a day. That means I use 1,825 plastic bottles a year. That’s a lot! All I know is that when I throw away my plastic bottles in a recycling bin I feel that it is not my problem anymore or so I thought.
So, to reduce my use and become a factor hoping to influence all of you reading, I’m going to start using a Nalgene bottle to fill with various beverages. With a Nalgene bottle I will not have to worry about throwing away my bottles and thinking of where they’re going and if they’re contributing to the island’s growth. So my fellow followers, you might be reading this wondering, well this doesn’t affect me unless I live on the west coast. You’re wrong. According to Thomas Morton on News to Me “the problem with plastic is it doesn’t biodegrade, it photo degrades. A process in which it is broken down by sunlight into smaller pieces, but they still remain plastics”. Also according to News to Me there is a whole food chain that the floating plastic is disrupting. The plastic is getting into the filter feeding fish, which larger fish eat, which we catch, and then we all eat those fish. So, how does this affect us? According to Dr. Saal in News to Me “there would be early onset diabetes, problems with the liver, kidneys…effects on the reproductive system…[and]women in Japan were having miscarriages…”. If you want to see the facts for yourself the link to the video is posted below. However, to stop this epidemic we need to reduce our plastic use. I’m going to start right now by using my Nalgene bottle. I think you should too.
So, how is this colossal mass of trash just sitting in the middle of the Pacific? From what I learned in Oceanography the water flow in the Pacific, as well as the other oceans, have gyres. A gyre, as defined from dictionary.com, is “a ring like system of ocean currents rotating clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere”. So this means that this garbage is gathering right in the middle of the gyre.
So, do you know how long all that trash takes to actually biodegrade or disintegrate? Upon doing research in class I found that it takes 1,700 years for a computer to biodegrade, batteries take up to 100 years, wood takes 10 to 15 years, a carpet takes 10 years, and a drop ceiling (Styrofoam) takes about 1 to 2 million years to fully biodegrade. So what about plastic bottles? Well, I found that it takes about 450 years for a plastic bottle to fully disintegrate. I thought about this and was thinking about how many plastic bottles I use on a daily basis. I use about four to five plastic bottles a day. That means I use 1,825 plastic bottles a year. That’s a lot! All I know is that when I throw away my plastic bottles in a recycling bin I feel that it is not my problem anymore or so I thought.
So, to reduce my use and become a factor hoping to influence all of you reading, I’m going to start using a Nalgene bottle to fill with various beverages. With a Nalgene bottle I will not have to worry about throwing away my bottles and thinking of where they’re going and if they’re contributing to the island’s growth. So my fellow followers, you might be reading this wondering, well this doesn’t affect me unless I live on the west coast. You’re wrong. According to Thomas Morton on News to Me “the problem with plastic is it doesn’t biodegrade, it photo degrades. A process in which it is broken down by sunlight into smaller pieces, but they still remain plastics”. Also according to News to Me there is a whole food chain that the floating plastic is disrupting. The plastic is getting into the filter feeding fish, which larger fish eat, which we catch, and then we all eat those fish. So, how does this affect us? According to Dr. Saal in News to Me “there would be early onset diabetes, problems with the liver, kidneys…effects on the reproductive system…[and]women in Japan were having miscarriages…”. If you want to see the facts for yourself the link to the video is posted below. However, to stop this epidemic we need to reduce our plastic use. I’m going to start right now by using my Nalgene bottle. I think you should too.
-T
Works Cited
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gyre
http://www.thatdanny.com/2008/06/06/how-long-does-it-take-a-plastic- bag-or-a-glass-bottle-to-decompose/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7rNYzSH-BA
This is a totally awesome post!!! get your family to start following the adventures of the green global team.. I agree this whole plastic thing is whacked.. I mean think about the plastic containers that tennis balls come in. I just found a lady in the farmers market selling flowers and she was selling them in vases from the tennis club.. yikes.
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