Ocean Pollution (The Great Pacific Garbage Dump)

Q. What, specifically about your topic, are you going to research?

A. On our topic of ocean pollution I will research the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.


Q. What conclusions did you come to? What do you recommend average citizens do to make a difference?

URL'S

-http://www.greatgarbagepatch.org/
-http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch.htm
-http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jul/10-the-worlds-largest-dump
-http://blog.mywonderfulworld.org/2009/03/the-great-pacific-garbage-patch.html

A. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a big patch of garbage, approximately the size of Texas, floating in the middle of the ocean. The garbage patch lies between San Francisco and the Hawaiian Islands. The dump is full of biodegradable plastic which is rapidly starting to kill the marine life. Shoes, toys, bags, pacifiers, wrappers, toothbrushes, and much, much more is only part of what is being discovered right now in the dump. Dead animal species are being found with stomachs full of plastic. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is formed and being formed from ocean currents. This patch is almost like a swirling whirpool of garbage. Marine life is starting to suffer because they are all mistaking garbage with food. Toxins in the water are also causing all sorts of marine life to suffer. In the central North Pacific, plastic outweighs surface zooplankton 6 to 1. Most of the plastic found in the dump is biodegradable. Fish and other forms of marine life then eat these substances which can not degrade in there stomachs which causes them to die. This garbage patch is just about the size of Texas and is rapidly increasing in growth. If we continue to do nothing about this garbage dump, it will contaminate are waters killing marine life and then, eventually, killing us. The only recommendations I can make is to recyle and not litter. You can also join a group to help clean up the waters and find a better place to put garbage other than our Earth's waters.

Q. What would happen if, worst-case scenario, nobody listened to your recommendations?

A. Worst-case scenario is almost every organism on the planet dies from toxis and over-pollution.


Q. What would happen if, best-case scenario, everybody listened to your recommendations?

A. If everyone listened to my recommendations it would be amazing. We all wouldn't die and we would end up with cleaner and safer waters[: