Atlantic Ocean Garbage Patch Discovered
As if the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the world’s largest garbage dump, wasn’t enough, now a garbage patch has been discovered in the Atlantic Ocean, according to Red Orbit. Specifically, it’s in the Sargasso Sea, between Bermuda and the Azores Islands, but those kinds of semantics pale in significance when compared with the petroleum-based plastics that are poisoning fish, birds and, by extension, human beings.
An ocean garbage patch within the Bermuda Triangle
Apparently, not only is the Bermuda Triangle a place where lost ships and planes go, but is also a place where plastic refuse goes to die, if this newly discovered ocean garbage patch is any indication. Opening into regions of calm winds and seas, Gulf Stream currents run toward the area. The rather unique peril of being stranded in the dead of the Triangle has been experienced by several unpowered ships recorded throughout history. Many sailors jumped overboard when food stores ran low and madness ran high, which may have contributed to some of the popular myths of the Bermuda Triangle. Now all it takes is a loan company to fund the average consumer’s foray into science texts to see that it’s not mysticism.
The environmental impact of the ocean garbage patch is no joke
On their recent trip across the Sargasso Sea, Anna Cummins and Markus Eriksen told the Associated Press that they took samples every 100 miles. As they began to discover plastic waste with every sample they took, they knew they had discovered “the great Atlantic garbage patch.” Most of the plastic bits are smaller than pencil erasers, but that’s just large enough to attract the attention of birds and fish.
The couple’s discovery has inspired them to start an educational campaign, so that people will understand the global significance of plastic ocean pollution. Ocean-born plastic waste causes the deaths of “as many as 100,000 marine mammals” yearly, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The United Nations Environmental Program adds that nearly 80 percent of plastic ocean waste comes from land, as well.
Plastic bottles – no more!
It’s been proven that commercially bottled water is no safer to drink than tap water – and could be even more dangerous in some instances, claims the Government Accountability Office. Therefore, there is no good reason for any human being on Earth who has access to clean public water to continue to buy bottle water. Millions of plastic bottles are polluting our seas and creating an ocean garbage patch wherever major currents run. This will eventually catch up to us.
The quality of life will soon be hampered by the damage to the ecosystem and we will have to look to the stars to find an inhabitable world, since prospects for such projects as chucking the plastic into the sun is cost prohibitive. It doesn’t matter where you live, start making a difference. No longer is inaction acceptable. Look to payday loans if you cannot afford a washable thermos for water – in small amounts they can help a great deal.