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