Polluted Pacific

After a loyal reader pointed me towards a recent NY Times article about the island-sized patches of garbage afloat in the Pacific Ocean, I realized that I must not have given this topic enough attention when I was reading Thomas Kostigen's chapter "Where the Currents Take Our Trash" in his book You Are Here this past spring.

We're talking about huge islands of trash floating in remote areas of our oceans, folks. Here's a sampling of what these toxic whirlpools consist of (some still in their original shapes and form, others broken down into tiny, confetti-seized pieces that are gobbles up by marine life):

Light bulbs, Tooth brushes, Plastic water bottles and caps, Glass, Pill bottles, Buoys and fish nets (more on this momentarily), Traffic cones, Plastic bags, Tires, Disposable lighters, Paper, Oil and oil cartons, Wood, Rope, Toys...

The patch  Lindsey Hoshaw explored for the Times is about 1,000 miles east of Hawaii and is said to be doubling in size every decade. It is one of five ocean areas where heavy currents and slack winds keep the trash swirling in a giant vortex known to experts as a gyre. The impact of these patches on marine life is tremendous. There is a passage from a portion of Kostigen's book looking at the growing number of animals endangered by ocean debris that really hits it home:

"[Dr. Marcus Eriksen, director of research and education aboard the Charles Moore's Alguita vessel that discovered the Eastern Garbage Patch] spent time on Midway Island examining the effect of trash on albatross. 'I found birds with syringes sticking out of their stomachs and toothbrushes caught in their mouths,' Marcus says. He explains that albatross have two stomachs: one where they store food to feed their young and another where they digest food for themselves; plastic filled both. When he arrived on Midway he was shown a series of Laysan albatross skeletons. 'Every single one had plastic in it. Every single one.'"

Scientists have identified more than 250 species known to have been injured or killed by this ocean debris and bear in mind: this is only one aspect of the problem. These dangers eventually make their way to us.

Let's start at the bottom. Plankton is the base of the marine food chain. The amount of plastic fragments in the central Pacific outweigh zooplankton sixfold.  Zooplankton are non-selective feeders and ingest anything small enough which is inevitably plastic. Then marine mammals feed on zooplankton and so forth up the chain. Our fate and the oceans' are certainly looking more and more parallel. I'll let Hoshaw take it from here:

"PCBs, DDT and other toxic chemicals cannot dissolve in water, but the plastic absorbs them like a sponge. Fish that feed on plankton ingest the tiny plastic particles. Scientists from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation say that fish tissues contain some of the same chemicals as the plastic. The scientists speculate that toxic chemicals are leaching into fish tissue from the plastic they eat.

The researchers say that when a predator — a larger fish or a person — eats the fish that eats the plastic, that predator may be transferring toxins to its own tissues, and in greater concentrations since toxins from multiple food sources can accumulate in the body."

If you can't picture it from words alone, I urge you to view the collection of photographs in this slide show from Hoshaw's visit to the patch with Charles Moore, the captain who came upon the patch in 1997 during the Transpacific Yacht Race and has dedicated his vessel to researching it since 1999. Keep in mind, the pictured patch is said to pale in comparison to the Western Garbage Patch, just south of Japan, that captures trash from Asia, Russia, India and the Malaysian Peninsula.

We're all in this together. What the what are we going to do!?

Save the Rain Forest

Paying landowners to protect the rain forests isn't a new idea. It's also not guaranteed to be as successful as we may hope because, unfortunately, local and global economic forces driving deforestation are often far more lucrative. The NY Times reports on recent efforts in Brazil:

Deforestation, a critical contributor to climate change, effectively accounts for 20 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions and 70 percent of the emissions in Brazil. Halting new deforestation, experts say, is as powerful a way to combat warming as closing the world’s coal plants.

But until now, there has been no financial reward for keeping forest standing. Which is why a growing number of scientists, politicians and environmentalists argue that cash payments — like that offered to Mr. Marcolini — are the only way to end tropical forest destruction and provide a game-changing strategy in efforts to limit global warming.

Unlike high-tech solutions like capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide or making “green” fuel from algae, preserving a forest yields a strikingly simple environmental payback: a landowner reduces his property’s emissions to zero.

Are you ready for some mind-blowing statistics? (Keep in mind, the Amazon accounts for about 17% of the world's forested area and deforestation and forest degradation make make up the second largest overall contributor to global warming) At the current deforestation rate, the Amazon is losing nearly 5 million acres per year. Since 1970, about 230,000 square miles have been lost. It is predicted that at the current rate, the Amazon will be cut in half by 2030. Do you know what the land sans trees is being used for? Cattle. In 2004, Brazil surpassed the United States as the largest meat exporter and has maintained approximately a 25% market share since.

I'm just saying... Who knows if paying the land owners will help. I bet a decreasing demand for meat would though. Bottom line: Saving the rain forest (or rainforest - it was one word in 1989) is one of our biggest challenges.

six degrees

You may have noticed a new addition to my recommended reading list: Thomas M. Kostigen's latest book, You Are Here. Or you may not have noticed - which is why I am posting about it. It's a great book. The basic premise is in it's subtitle: Exposing the Vital Link Between What We Do and What That Does to Our Planet. So many people, myself included, are unaware of how our seemingly small individual actions are connected to the enormous environmental issues we hear and read about. Kostigen's book makes those connections for you, in an uncomplicated, conversational, educational and entertaining tone. Let me give you an example from Chapter Two, Our Future, Mumbai, India:

"The simple things you see and hear have meanings upon meanings. When I walk to the Gateway of India, a huge archway in front of the Taj Mahal Hotel on Mumbai Harbor, I see the tourists mill and snap photos. But beyond, way in the distance, are convoys of shipping tankers. They are low riding, meaning they are full. And they are making their way into port filled with goods... and waste, often hazardous waste... This is where the traces of American lives, thousands of miles away, can be found steaming to shore... About 80 percent of the electronic waste in the United States is exported, mostly to Third World countries like India. It comes by ship, on tankers filled with used computers, cell phones, televisions, batteries, all kinds of things that contain mercury, lead, and heavy metals that are dangerous to people's health and the planet... For every PC we buy, we discard one. While about two billion dollars worth of electronic equipment is recycled in the United States, it represents just 11 percent of the e-waste generated."

Pretty disturbing, huh? There's a lot more to this e-waste export too. Instead of a U.S. recycler spending the twenty or so dollars to recycle a discarded computer, Indian importers will buy it for fifteen dollars, extract usable parts, generate about ten dollars in revenue, and dump the hazardous remains in India's backyard. Net gain per computer for the U.S. recycler: $35. For the Indian importer: $10. Environmental impact: priceless.

Long story short: I highly recommend this book.