Synaptic Snaps, Crackles & Pops

Storage Plastic / Pacific Garbage Patch [J. Intentions Rd 8]

I've never seen 'the' Pacific Garbage Patch, but I've seen videos from National Geographic and other reputable sources. According to those sources, there are actually two patches: a Western one off the coast of Japan, and an Eastern one between Hawaii and California. While there are larger pieces of plastic in these patches—shoes, synthetic fishing nets, etc.—the majority of the pollutants consist of very small pieces as the larger pieces are broken down by wave action and sunlight. This can give the area the appearance of a cloudy soup. The part that isn't visible—up to 70% of the marine debris—is at the bottom of the ocean.

Oddly enough, about 80% of the marine debris is from land-based sources, with the rest coming from boats of various kinds. There are laws in place to guard against this type of pollution, and companies have been fined multiple millions of dollars for violations. Unfortunately, those laws only cover a small distance from a given country's shoreline, leaving the vast majority of the ocean uncovered by laws for which enforcement would be problematic at best.

Like I said, I've never actually seen one of the patches. I have, however, participated in a beach cleanup effort along the Central California coast. It was amazing how much trash was actually on the beach, just waiting for the tide to drag it out to sea. It was a very good morning's work, and we were proud of the contribution we were able to make to a cleaner beach and, by extension, a cleaner ocean.