Afloat in the Ocean, Expanding Islands of Trash

Light bulbs, bottle caps, toothbrushes, Popsicle sticks and tiny pieces of plastic, each the size of a grain of rice, inhabit the Pacific garbage patch, an area of widely dispersed trash that doubles in size every decade.

Read this November 2009 update from the New York Times.

Timelines - Plastics Longevity

Charles Moore says "Plastics, like diamonds, are forever". For a good introduction, read the "Why is plastic in the ocean a problem" section from his Algalita brochure.

Here are several overview timelines, showing how long different materials will last in a marine environment. You might be surprised - plywood lasts a few years, but a plastic 'disposable' diaper or a plastic water bottle last four to five hundred years.

The Texas 'Adopt A Beach' program created this visually dynamic timeline, illustrating how long it can take commonly used items to dissolve back into nature.

Here are some more tabular versions of similar information:

• This simple page shows how long some common things will stay in the ocean - from the Los Angeles, California stormwater program.
  
• And here's a more complete list - from the Long Beach Peninsula visitors bureau in Washington State.
• A similar Marine Debris Timeline - from the United States Environmental Protection Agency - Gulf of Mexico Program.
  

This timeline comes from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 15 islands about 3/4 of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines.

 
Here's another pictorial view
that you can download from the Irish Sea Fisheries Board

Slideshow - Plastics in the (Ocean) Environment

This 12 page 'slideshow' provides a wonderful introduction to the issues of plastic marine debris:

• Plastics Debris Washed Ashore
• Plastic Debris on the Move
• North Pacific Gyre Study Site
• Plastic Deburs in the Ocean Water Column
• Sources of Pollution in our watershed
• Nurdles
• Chemical Pollutants from Plastic
• Pollutants from Plastic Incineration
• Peril of the Albatross
• Plastic Debris Pollutes the Food Chain
• Stopping Pollution in our Watershed
• Changing How We Think About Plastic

Source: Algalita Marine Research Foundation

FAQ - Pacific Gyre and Plastic Pollution

This set of frequently asked questions and answers will give you a jump-start to your understanding of the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch", and many related issues of plastic pollution.

Source: Algalita Marine Research Foundation

UNEP - Marine Litter Publications

The United Nations Environment Programme has several comprehensive publications available for download (in pdf):

• Marine Litter: A Global Challendge (2009)
• Guidlelines on Survey and Monitoring of Marine Litter(2009)
• Guidelines on the Use of Market-based Instruments to address the Problem of Marine Litter (2009)
• Abandoned, Lost or Otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (2009)
• Marine Litter - An analytical overview (2005)
• Marine Litter - Trash that kills (a 20 page 'brochure')

Source: United Nations - Environment Programme - Marine Litter

Monofilament Recovery and Recycling Program

Watch these videos about the recovery and recycling of monofilament fishing line.

• what is monofilament recycling
• how to build a monofilament recycling bin

Source: Boat U.S - Reel In and Recycle

Brochure - Used Fishing Line

DID YOU KNOW…?

• Monofilament fishing line lasts about 600 years in the marine environment
• Discarded monofilament line can injure divers and boaters, foul boat propellers, entangle and poison wildlife, and threaten the health of fisheries
  
• It can be recycled
  

Find out more in this brochure

Source: Sea Grant and Univ of Florida Extension

Video - The NOAA Marine Debris Program

This five minute video provides an overview of the NOAA Marine Debris Program, with special focus on retrieval of "monster debris"

Source: NOAA - Marine Debris Program

Music Video - Marine Debris

No words - just enjoy the music and pictures

Source: NOAA - Marine Debris Program

Video - Marine Debris

What is marine debris - where does it come from - what does it damage - what can you do to minimize it?

Get a quick overview in this 3 minute video from NOAA.




Source: NOAA - Ocean Media Center

Video - Sylvia Earle at TED

Several of our fellow volunteers were privileged to hear Sylvia Earle at a COSEE gathering for Puget Sound Volunteers in 2007.

You can hear her here, giving a presentation at TED in 2009.

Note: We have Sylvia to thank for Google Earth's wonderful new ocean features. While accepting an award in Madrid in 2006, along with a Google Earth's John Hankes, Sylvia told him

My children, my grandchildren think it is great to see their backyard, fly through the Grand Canyon, visit other countries .

But, John, when are you going to finish it?
You should call Google Earth 'Google Dirt'.
What about the three-quarters of the planet that is blue?

Timelines - Plastics History

Plastics are invented things - they did not exist several hundred years ago. Follow any of the links before to learn more about the inventions of plastics over time.

• about.com - The History of Plastics
• americanchemistory.com - the history of plastic
• plasticsindustry.org - History of Plastics- narrative history - with focus on United States
• plasticstech.info - The Plastic Timeline & History- starts 1000BC with use of resins in China.
  
• plastipedia.co.uk - A History of Plastics - includes a short (5 minutes) video, and poster-style images by time period. (from the British Plastics Federation)
• plastiquarian.com - People and Polymers - click on the little gold buttons for more information
• plastiquarian.com - Timeline
• polymerplastics.com - History of Plastics

See also:

• Timelines - Plastics Longevity to find how how many hundreds of years a given piece of plastic debris will continue to exist in the ocean.

Games and Activities - Understanding Marine Debris

Please download

Understanding Marine Debris:
Games and Activities for Kids of All Ages

for more than 20 fun pages of puzzles and activities of all kinds. You'll be glad you did!

Source: NOAA - Marine Debris Program

Resources - Marine Debris 101 (NOAA)

NOAA has provided a wealth of materials to learn more about marine debris, including

• Brochures,
• Fact Sheets,
• Posters/Placards,
• Guidebooks

Interested in helping - read What YOU Can Do !!

Interested in diving deeper? Check their Publications and References

Source: NOAA - Marine Debris Program

FAQ - Great Pacific Garbage Patch

See this NOAA map of, and some common questions about, the "Pacific Gyre" and the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch"

When you get there, click on some of the links on the right side of the page for lots more valuable information.

Source: NOAA - Marine Debris Program

Marine Debris - Learn and Help

For over 20 years, the Ocean Conservancy has been organizing the International Coast Cleanup, held the third Saturday of every September.

As they often state:

Trash doesn't fall from the sky,
it falls from our hands.

What can you do:

• Review their 10 things you can do to stop marine debris.
• Read A Rising Tide of Ocean Debris and What We Can Do About It. presenting data recorded by nearly 400,000 volunteers in 104 countries in the September 2008 cleanup.
  
• Read their Pocket Guide to Marine Debris (35 pages)
  

Source: Ocean Conservancy

Report - Growing Global Problem of Marine Litter

UNEP Head Calls for World-Wide Ban on Pointless Thin Film Plastic Bags

Washington DC/Nairobi, 8 June 2009

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director:

Marine litter is symptomatic of a wider malaise: namely the wasteful use and persistent poor management of natural resources. The plastic bags, bottles and other debris piling up in the oceans and seas could be dramatically reduced by improved waste reduction, waste management and recycling initiatives.

Some of the litter, like thin film single use plastic bags which choke marine life, should be banned or phased-out rapidly everywhere-there is simply zero justification for manufacturing them anymore, anywhere. Other waste can be cut by boosting public awareness, and proposing an array of economic incentives and smart market mechanisms that tip the balance in favor of recycling, reducing or re-use rather than dumping into the sea.

You will find the full article here, along with links to other related stories.

Source: United Nations - Environment Programme - Marine Litter

Art - Watershed -1500 plastic water bottles per second

Graphic designers create an installation using 1500 plastic water bottles, the number used each second in the United States.

Source: inhabit.com

Ocean Health - California, Oregon, Washington

In 2006, the governors of California, Oregon and Washington states launched a regional collaboration to protect and manage ocean and coastal resources along the entire West Coast of the United States.

See:

• Executive Overview - Draft Work Plans - May 2009
• Draft Work Plan - Polluted Runoff
• Draft Work Plan - Marine Debris
  
• Final Action Plan - July 2008
• a FULL list of documents

Source: westcoastoceans.gov

Article - Bottled water outlawed in New York State agencies

In May 2009, the governor of New York State has banned public sector offices from using bottled water:

Taxpayers have spent billions of dollars to ensure that we have clean drinking water supplies

If we are going to make such significant investments, we should reap the benefits and use that water.

Source: fairhome.co.uk

Visualization - Through The Gyre

From Good Magazine / Transparency ,
( A graphical exploration of the data that surrounds us )

This visualization represents the distribution of plastic (by size) in the Pacific Gyre.

Once at Good Magazine, make sure you

• click on the image, OR
• scroll down and click on the [Launch Infographic] link

This will give you a MUCH LARGER view, with readable explanatory text surrounding the image.

Source: Good Magazine / Transparency

26 billion liters of bottled water and counting ...

Take 5 minutes with this slideshow, alternately title "Water Disaster" or "The Water Bottle Problem".

Learn the impact of the 26,000,000,000 liters of bottled water our world uses each year.

You can view it by:

• seeing an online slideshow
• downloading a powerpoint
• viewing a pdf
• with music, on youtube

Source: unknown

Article - Message in a Bottle

This three part article appeared in the May 2009 issue of Sierra Magazine. This quote from the introduction is as succinct as it can get:

Plastic never goes away, and
scientists are finding that it
absorbs toxins with spongelike efficiency.

The fix?
Cut it off at the source.

The article, by David Ferris, is in three parts:

1. The Captain - Charles Moore, of Algalita
2. The Scientist - Richard Thompson, Professor of Marine Ecology
3. The Lawyer - Drew Bohan, California Ocean Protection Council
   

Source: Sierra Club

Plastic Water Bottles MayPost Health Hazard

This Discovery News report describes how scientists in Germany have found that PET plastics -- the kind used to make water bottles, among many other common products -- may harbor hormone-disrupting chemicals that leach into the water.

Source: Discovery Channel - April 2009

Brochure: Plastics Are Forever

This excellent and informative brochure (pdf) explains that "Plastics, like diamonds ... ARE FOREVER", and goes on to explain and discuss the impact on our oceans and their creatures.

It explains why plastic in the ocean is a problem, and provides some harrowing statistics on the American peoples use of plastics, and how so much of it makes its way to the ocean.

Source: Algalita Marine Research Foundataion

Video - Poisoned Waters

In this PBS Frontline special, Hedrick Smith shares startling new evidence ...

that today's growing environmental threat
comes not from the giant industrial polluters of old,

but from chemicals in consumers' face creams,
deodorants, prescription medicines and household cleaners

that find their way into sewers, storm drains,
and eventually into America's waterways and drinking water.

Source: PBS - Frontline

Poster - Marine Debris

Download this colorful poster from NOAA to hang on your wall.

The poster highlights the impacts of marine debris, particularly entanglement and ingestion in marine species such as the humpback whale, green sea turtle, and Hawaiian monk seal.

Source: NOAA - Marine Debris

Oprah Winfrey - Earth Day 2009

See this article about Oprah's interview with Jacques Cousteau's grandson Fabien on Earth Day 2009.

See also the video - "What Happens to Our Garbage", shown the same day.

Source: Oprah Winfrey Show

Overview - Marine Debris

This overview of Marine Debris, from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), covers these topics:

• The Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH)
• The International Coastal Cleanup
• National Marine Debris Monitoring Program
• Other Floatable Debris-Related Legislation
• Debris Hazardous for Marine Animals
• Polluted Waters Make Trouble for Humans, Too
• Fishing Industries and Communities Hit Hard by Marine Debris
• Beach Raking
• Unseen Consequences
• Trash In
• What You Can Do

Source: US Environmental Protection Agency

Audio - Talking Flotsam ...

Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer is the oceanographer who first started tracking the flow of debris around the oceans in order to understand the ocean currents.

Listen to these Seattle KUOW radio programs where he discusses his work.

Video - The BAY vs the BAG

This is a fun video which brings home the fact that what we each do adds up to a much larger impact than we might imagine.

Source: savesfbay.org

Audio: Beached Trash Tells A Story About the Oceans

Hear this entertaining interview with Curtis Ebbesmeyer (17 minutes) about his tracking of 'flotsam', including nike shoes, and rubber duckies.

Source: NPR - Science Friday

Book: Flotsametrics and the Floating World

What can rubber ducks tells us about swirling ocean currents, and how they redistribute our society's debris? This book is by the expert: Dr Curtis Ebbesmeyer, written with Eric Scigliano.

Some other interesting pages about this book:

• Harper Collins - About The Book
• New York Times - book review
• read the first chapter

Games - NOAA Planet Arcade

This Games - Planet Arcade lets you play lots of different kinds of games, including:

• WaterLife - Where Rivers Meet the Sea - you'll learn a lot about the ecosystem of an estuary.
• Ocean Challenge - you join others worldwide in helping to put together a puzzle.
• Recycle City - you'll explore how a city's residents can reduce, reuse, recycle, ...

Source: NOAA

Video - Charles Moore at TED

Everyone who sees this VIDEO says "Yikes!".

Watch Captain Charles Moore (of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation) talk at TED about how discarded plastic debris floats around the Pacific, and finally 'lands' in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch -- an endless floating waste of plastic trash.

Online Education Resources on Marine Debris

NOAA has assembled a page with links to non-NOAA educational resources.

See either:

• http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/outreach/pdfs/otherres.pdf
• http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/outreach/otherres.html

Source: NOAA - Marine Debris

Art - Running the Numbers

Look at some amazing art by Chris Jordan depicting the sheer quantities of our consumption of 'stuff'.

• Running the Numbers - An American Self Portrait
• Running the Numbers II - Portraits of global mass culture

Source: http://www.chrisjordan.com

If you'd like to see Chris Jordan in person, see his February 2009 presentation at TED.

Video - Synthetic Sea

This video, "Human Impact: Synthetic Sea "plastic in the open ocean", has some wonderful pictures, showing

• how similar krill and plastic pieces look
• what plastic nurdles look like,
• and how closely they resemble fish eggs

Source: Algalita Marine Research Foundation

Brochure - Facts About Marine Debris and How You Can Help

"Marine debris is a problem we can solve and by working together we can make a difference"

This two page brochure/factsheet provides a quick introduction to Marine Debris.

Source: NOAA - Marine Debris

Bring Your Own Bag

Check out igotmybag.org for

• reasons to buy/bring reusable bags to the store
• tips to remember the bring them!

Source: igotmybag