The Things We Do To Our Mother

The 'mother' I am talking about is one that each and everyone of shares, it is Mother Earth, and we are doing terrible things to Her.  Not everyone is responsible but bets are everyone of us is at least indirectly responsible.  While I could list any number of ills, we have caused her, in this case I am talking very specifically about a big problem.  A very Big problem, twice the size of the continental United States!  It is a 'new' island called the Plastic Island, and it is floating in OUR ocean between  from Hawaii to Japan.

What is being touted as the earth's largest garbage dump, extends from about 500 miles off the coast of California, past Hawaii and on towards Japan.  The 'plastic soup' as it is often referred is held in place by swirling underwater currents.   It is estimated the flotsam weighs approximately 100 million tons and is comprised of debris, such as crates, chemicals and plastic.  Most of the plastic the size of pencil erasers due to the decomposition of larger plastic items.  Very 'human' waste has also been found such as disposable diapers and water bottles with most of the debris coming from passing ships and oil well rigs.

You know I often wondered where all the trash we dumped over the side of the ship would end up!  The idea, or concept belayed was that it would float to the bottom of the ocean and 'disappear.'  Being young and foolish as the time, I didn't give it a second thought, until just a few years ago.  Since the 'island' is dependent on currents, the currents sometime head towards land masses and 'burp' resulting in a coating of debris on the land mass.  How nice to think about going for a vacation and seeing this.  Worse yet, walking on the beach and absorbing it into the body!


We all need to be good stewards of the earth, the home provided to us and ensure that is it kept 'pure' and not made into a giant refuge dump.  So next time you think about buying some convenience, think about the packaging it comes in and where it is going to end up and how long it takes to decompose.