QUESTIONS

There are indeed questions that need answering for my project, here they are;

KEY:
abc= Questions
abc= Answers
Questions with * are linked.

What is the issue?
The global issue is the pollution in the Pacific Ocean. How we/I can help, why and how it has happend/is happening, and more on the subject.

Who does it affect?
This global issue affects all countries around the Pacific Ocean, including Australia, Some New Zealand Waters, Hawaii, and its surrounding islands, and more.

What communities are involved?


What is the history of the issue?


When did it begin?


Who created the issue?
This issue was created by humans. It has been happening for hundreds of years, humans dropping rubbish. Over and over again. It wouldn't matter if you dropped one thing, or five! Because so many others would of just dropped something on the ground within a minute of that. All garbage that was dropped on the ground was washed through gutters that were only ment for water to go into the oceans. This rubbish was collected by currents and taken to one area. You would think all this rubbish would spread, but it is kept together by circulating water, connected to the currents.It wasn't until 1998 that Captain Charles Moore was pushed off-coarse from the currents and taken to the sea garbage patch, that the pollution collect was discovered. Since then, he has been trying to promote awareness of the issue, as I am also trying to do.

How did this issue evolve over time?
This issue has evolved, and is still evolving, because there hasn't been any major decrease in the ammount of garbage dropped. So it all keeps driftong over to where the other garbage is in the ocean, and the trash vortex is getting bigger, and bigger, and BIGGER!!!

What are the consequences of this issue?
There are so many consequences if this issue isn't stopped soon. Some consequential situations could be that all natural water attractions bordering countries or islands on the Pacific are destroyed, including the Great Barrier Reaf. Another Situation is that the collect gets so big that it overlaps on beaches with strong currents from the collect. Another, is that yet more marine life becomes vulnerable, (as some already are)then endangered, and yes, extinct.

*Is there any person or group who has worked on or is working on this issue?
The WWF have a segment on their website about a saving the Turtles campaign. The reason these turtles are effected is because of what I am researching. The vulnerable marine turtles are; Green, Leatherback, Loggerhead, Hawksbill, and Olive Ridley turtles. SIX of the Seven species in the world. Greenpeace is a huge society, and extremely well-known. Greenpeace has countless issues on their hands, so the Pacifc Garbage Patch isn't getting enough attention. But There ARE other blogs promoting awareness; http://Adelaidegreenporridgecafe.blogspot.com
*What is their mission or statement?


*Does it support your own values? *How?


*Are they doing what they state in their mission statement?


*What are some challenges that organisation faces?


*What are some of the major events they have been involved in or organised in the past?


What action do you think is necessary?
Most unfortunately, I feel that if nothing or little is done within the next 10+ years, the Pacific Ocean will be damaged beyond repair. I say there must be a world-wide fundraiser to assist funding for huge ships or helicopters to collect all the pollution to clean up the ocean. I also feel that we need smart inventors to think up a way of ridding the Pacific of all this un-neaded acidity. I also feel this global issue is one of the most important, Because this one will turn out to be extremely devastating if nothing is done soon.

Rubbish Chart/Graph

As you can see, this is a graph of the ammount of different kinds of littered things, including glass, papers and plastics.

My Global Issue Paper

Ellen .M. - Global Issue

I have decided to do my Global Issue project on the mass of drifting pollution such as plastics and nets in the Pacific Ocean. Combined, the two "islands" of rubbish are more than equivalent to the area of australia, and all together, the mass of rubbish clustered by circulating water is estimated (by Charles Moore) to be around 100 000 000 tonnes!

I feal this issue is important to me, because very few are aware of the damage this is doing to our fragile reefs, marine life, and health of humans that consume fish that have made this area their home. The rubbish collected from the currents is expected to expand, so immediate action is needed to help stop this Plastic Soup going too far.

This global issue really affects me, and it worries me aswell, becasue nothing is being done about it, an in the future, my children won't be able to enjoy seeing marine life in it's natural habitat.

This issue will influence my life in so many waysas it will change the way I dispose of rubbish, so recycling will be a big part of my contribution to the environment. It has already influenced my life, in a way that I need to tell people about it, so something can be done.

I have been snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef, and I have already seen the damage done. This has inspired me to look further into the Trash Vortex of the Pacificm so I will be more enthusiastic about researching the issue.



That was the paper I handed in, about what I'm going to do. So that will give you an idea of what sort of things I'm going to do to help out, and in what areas of the pollution I will research about.

Pollution in the Pacific

Hello everyone, I am doing a project on Pollution in the Pacific.

Here is an online article from http://au.messages.yahoo.com/news/top-stories/989611?p=last

A rubbish dump twice the size of the United States has been discovered floating in the Pacific Ocean. 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. It stretches from 500 nautical miles off the Californian coast, across the northern Pacific, past Hawaii and almost as far as Japan. Because the rubbish, which has been called a �plastic soup� and a �trash vortex�, is translucent and lies just below the water's surface it cannot be seen in satellite photographs. Syringes, cigarette lighters and toothbrushes have all been found inside the stomachs of dead seabirds. The rubbish can also be dangerous for humans, because tiny plastic pellets in the sea can attract man-made chemicals which then enter the food chain. Research director Dr Marcus Eriksen said: �What goes into the ocean goes into these animals and onto your dinner plate. It's that simple.�

I have my own notes for a kick start;

So far, I have researched on many websites, including another blog on blogger, an address of http://www.adelaidegreenporridgecafe.blogspot.com/, this contains comments AND information on the subject. There is also http://wwf.org.au/ourwork.oceans/ and http://kp.cqu.edu.au/undergrad/nkieec_assignments/env_village/4%20.html, which has a table of different litter and how long it stays in the ocean. I have found so many things that will help me with the project, including comments from university students, scientists and teachers, and all kinds of ways and opportunities to help. On futuremakers, it says that you can make a video and post it on http://www.flickr.com/ and http://www.youtube.com/, I have made a video and have a shared account on youtube, and the video is of me picking up rubbish and doing a little mathematics on the trash vortex. I will be working on an informative poster for school, make it as different and creative as possible, and I am also working on a diorama.

The polliution in the Pacific has been given so many names! Including 'Rubbish Superhighway', 'Trash Vortex', 'Plastic Soup', and a lot more. I am focusing on how to make a difference, how this issue came about, how people ARE making a difference now, and how this issue affects the sea, marine life, and humans.

Quotes from Charles Moore, FOUNDER of this heart-breaking issue.
*It is estimated to weigh around 100,000,000 tonnes
*It is twice the size of america, making it larger than the area of Australia
*It is kept together by circulating water
*Its home is between Hawaii and San Francisco
*If you had 1kg of rubbish, you would have to multiply that by 100,000,000,000 (one hundred thousand million) to be equivalent to what is in our oceans, MINIMUM.

"It's certainly true that all the countries bordering the Pacific contribue to this garbage patch"
He says.

Please take your time to watch this heart-breaking video;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxNqzAHGXvs&feature=related