There is a growing environmental problem that is notoriously under-reported in the media. Much of the general population is not even aware that a soup of plastic trash exists right now in the North Pacific. This area of the North Pacific is know as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch", and is located within the North Pacific Gyre. The area is located between California and Hawaii, and between Hawaii and Japan. There are similar patches of trash in the South Pacific, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Indian oceans.
The trash has been traveling to these areas since World War ll when people began manufacturing, using, and throwing out plastics on a large scale. Sources of the trash include sea vessels like cruise ships, freighters, and fishing boats. The garbage also comes from shorelines and waterways that feed into the ocean. Although the United States does contribute a big portion of the waste, the ocean currents pick up items from all over the world. Once in the ocean, a piece of garbage travels along the currents until it reaches the gyre. Some of the items eash up on shores around the world leading to trash covered beaches.
Plastics do not biodegrade in the ocean. Instead they break down into smaller and smaller pieces and degrade in other ways while releasing chemicals into the water. The marine animals mistake the pieces of plastic for food causing the animals to die after ingestion when their digestive system is compromised by the pieces. Other suffer from reproductive disruptions due to the chemicals. The chemicals also enter the food chain through marine animals and eventually make their way to our plates.
