Download Great Pacific Garbage Patch

President Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President
A slowly clockwise spinning area known as the Great Pacific Garbage
Patch is the world's largest dump: a slowly rotating mass of trash-laden water,
sometimes divided into the Western Pacific Garbage Patch and the Eastern Pacific
Garbage Patch. Estimates of the size vary, but together, the two patches may be
twice the size of Texas.
The western patch floats between Japan and Hawaii; the eastern one floats
between Hawaii and California. Both move around, changing locations with the
currents. The two patches are connected by a thin current stretching 6,000 miles. It
is called the Subtropical Convergence Zone. The Subtropical Convergence Zone
is the place where the cold, green, heavier waters from the north slide under the
warm, blue waters of the south.
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The vast expanse of debris, made up of plastic junk including footballs,
kayaks, Lego blocks and carrier bags, is kept together by swirling underwater
currents. Bottle caps, soap bottles, laundry baskets and shards of plastic also float
in the ocean's vastness. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is composed mainly of
non- biodegradable plastic.
The trash came from many places, mainly from the land and ships at sea. In
total, there is about 3.5 million tons. Around a fifth of sea junk is thrown off ships
or oil platforms - the rest comes from land. 80% of the garbage comes from landbased sources and 20% from ships at sea.
About 46,000 pieces of plastic litter are floating on every square mile of the
vast ocean. 70% of that plastic will eventually sink to the bottom of the ocean.
There is so much trash that for every pound of plankton, there are 6 pounds of
plastic.
The technical name for this area is the North Pacific subtropical gyre. It is
bounded on all sides by a clockwise flow of currents around the Pacific Basin and
tends to have a high pressure system sitting over it for much of the year. The result
of these conditions is that the material that drifts into the area tends to stay there;
this portion of the ocean does not mix much with the surrounding currents.
The North Pacific Gyre draws in waste material from the Pacific Ocean and the
coastal waters off North America and Japan. As material circulates, the current
gradually moves the floating debris toward the center, trapping it in the clockwise
flow of currents.
This area is believed to be caused by shifting ocean currents, most likely due to
alterations in ocean currents caused by climate change. The “dead zone” was first
observed in 2002, and has grown each year. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has
grown tenfold every decade since the 1950s.
The rubbish pile could double in size over the next decade if people do not cut
back on their use of plastics. Already more than a million seabirds and 100,000
marine mammals die every year as a result of plastic rubbish. The quantities of
trash have increased dramatically- more than doubling in the last five years. In
2001, the average American used a total of 223 pounds of plastic per year; the
plastic industries expect plastic usage to increase to 326 pounds by the end of this
decade.
The best possible solution is to prevent the plastic from getting there in the first
place. The best way to do that is to limit the use of plastic or recycle it. Stopping
the garbage patch from growing may be the best approach, which also may
prevent other ocean dumps from forming. Beach cleanups could also help. Make
sure trash bins are securely closed and keep all trash in closed bags. People should
use a reusable bag or canvas bags when shopping and buy food that is not wrapped
in plastic.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is also a hazard to birds and marine life. Sea
turtles can mistake clear plastic bags for jellyfish. Birds can swoop down and
swallow shards of plastic. Non-biodegradable plastics can take decades to break
down, and as long as they float on the ocean's surface, they can be transmitted into
the food chain. So far at least 267 marine species have suffered from digesting the
plastic or getting tangled in it. Animals are dying because the plastic fills there
stomachs and there is no way of getting it out. The volume of trash in their
stomach leaves little room for food and liquid.
Marcus Eriksen, a research director of the Algalita Marine Research
Foundation, said "What goes into the ocean goes into these animals and onto your
dinner plate. It's that simple." It is: as the tiny pieces of plastic are consumed by
various creatures, the plastic travels its way up the food chain to us. This goes to
show that though some people don’t think the Great Pacific Garbage Patch has
anything to do with them, it actually does. Humans affect the future of our planet.
We can make a difference. We can make a choice. Mr. President we, the 6th grade
GATE class are asking you to make a choice. Chose to make this environmental
hazard a priority of the EPA.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Gaelyn Walche
Jessie Wang
Cara Yi
Toni Rizzo
Coleen Sharp
Aditya Tuladhar
Sydney Maguire
Jade Miller
Zachary Moffatt
Linda Li
Seth Lipson
Evan Loy
Louise Jensen
Zoe Juanitas
Krystal Lau
Sophia Hernandez
Gwen Hsu
Roy Hwang
Sarah Garrett
Zoe Gettelman
Bryn Goodwin
Dominic Fannjiang
Davi Gabriel
Richard Gao
Dylan Aptekar-Cassels
William Butler