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GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH
So I’m sure you all know someone who thinks
littering is OK, right? Maybe you’ve even done it a
couple times. “What difference does one paper gum
wrapper make?” you might think, when the ground is
already covered in random garbage…
 Well,
Greenies have I got news for you! Have you ever
heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? (and no, I
didn’t just make that up). The Great Pacific Garbage
Patch is a mass of bottles, cans, bags, and every
different type of plastic imaginable floating out in
the middle of the ocean. The floating mass is
actually bigger than the size of the UNITED STATES!
The garbage weighs over 100 million tones and over
80% of it floated hundreds of miles out to sea,
carried by underwater currents from the land!!
 So
what does all this floating plastic do to our
environment? Well for starters, after spending some
time in the ocean, the garbage eventually breaks
down into smaller pieces that are then mistaken for
food by fish and birds. Once ingested, the garbage
can then make them sick, and many times even kill
them.
 So
considering that SO MUCH of this garbage comes from
the land and floats out to sea, think twice next
time you think about dropping some garbage on the
ground. Be a responsible Greenie by asking others
not to litter as well, because chances are that the
litter will end up adding to the already massive
Great Pacific Garbage Patch!
For more information on the Great Pacific Garbage
Patch check out this link: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23156399-2,00.html |
