Great Pacific Garbage Patch Research Paper

This toxicity has since driven most ocean creatures to the verge of extinction, from the tiny biota to larger species like the tuna and sea mammals like the whales. Since the mid- 20th century, approximately half of the coral reefs have died untimely because of the oxygen-deprived ocean areas. According to Earle a scientist in her book the world is blue, there is a need for us to find ways of coming up with sustainable renewable strategies to combat the ever-increasing plastic waste that is being channeled into the ocean and contributing to the great pacific garbage patch. This paper discusses the state of the region before the great pacific garbage patch, the state as it is now, the effects of the great pacific garbage patch on the environment, the medical conditions of the local inhabitants, the future mitigation measures and the possible measure of preventing further patches.

Introduction The great pacific garbage patch (GGP) provides the basis for our discussion on the ocean pollution. The subtropical convergence zone which is near Hawaii links together these areas of spinning debris. The convergence zone is primarily the area where cooler water from the Arctic meets the warmer water from the south pacific. This zone, therefore, acts like a highway through which the marine debris moves from one patch to another forming giant patch on either side of the Pacific. The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre binds the GGP the formation of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre is as a result of the North Pacific currents, the Kuroshiro, and the north equatorial currents. The currents move in a clockwise direction covering an area of about 7.

While there are many types of trash which find its way into the ocean and thus contributing to the GGP, plastic makes up the majority of the trash with above 90 percent. More industrial products in the manufacturing and in packaging prefer to use plastic for their everyday activities of production because of its malleability, low cost, and durability (Le Guern). These plastic, however, are non-biodegradable and remain for many years forming patches. The sun breaks down the plastic in the ocean through a process known as photodegradation forming tinier pieces. There is evidence that scientists have been able to collect about 75,000 bits of microplastic pieces per square kilometer of the GGP which in estimation is about 1. Before the pollution, there was little or no evidence of dead animals that were trapped by the marine debris, in addition, there were little or no incidences of the ever-increasing toll deaths of the coral reefs.

Accumulation of the plastic and other marine debris was not anything to describe the oceans around the western and the eastern Pacific because the ocean line was characterized by a clean surrounding void of marine debris and other wastes that are as a result of the human activities either in the ocean or in the surrounding environment. The resulting medical conditions Different plastics that are spread throughout the ocean especially in the GGP breaks into smaller pieces through the process of photodegradation and spreads throughout the sea column. The chemicals that are emitted as a result of this process of degradation are ingested by the sea creatures and is not entirely good for humans who end up eating the animals as food.

Plastic is harmful to humans and other animals in different ways. The measures are focused on the prevention of further disposal or entry of debris into the ocean. The measures include source reduction, recycling and composting, waste reuse, conversion of waste to energy sources and containing waste at the points of entry. The measures are concerned with the way plastic debris and waste is disposed-off. The measures taken are imperative and they overlap with the preventive counterparts by limiting the further entry of debris into the sea. Source identification is a very crucial step in the prevention of marine plastic pollution. The first country to outlaw the use of plastic bags was Bangladesh in 2002 which was followed by Mnymar and later China and subsequently a number of African countries including the latest one Kenya an economic power in the Eastern part of Africa.

Canada outlaws the production of products that contain micro-plastics except it is for personal use (Akpan). The future mitigation measures Future mitigation measures are geared towards removing plastic wastes that have already accumulated forming patches in the ocean and tidying up the entire marine environment from small rivers, to lakes and the oceans. The operating costs for cleaning up marine debris is very high with countries reporting sudden increases in the amount of expenditure every year with countries like Britain spending approximately 18 million pounds every year to clean up the beaches and experiencing an increment in the amount of expenditure by more than 30 percent every year (Akpan). Future endeavors include the biotechnology approach. There are both the eastern patch near Japan and the western patch in northern America.