Thriving Oceans

The plastic kick continues…Once in a while it is great to just sit back and relax after a full day of outside chores.   How about a host of new species and a little ocean education with National Geographic’s “Into the Abyss”? All was going well as the cameras catapulted me to a world of darkness filled with sea creatures many of us only imagine would appear on the SciFi Channel.  And with only 10 minutes remaining in the show’s hour allotment I was eagerly awaiting the climax as the ROV (remotely operated vehicle) descended to a depth of 9200 feet in the Celebes Sea, just off the Philippines.  What kind of giant fish or incredible invertebrates were we going to witness for the first time as the ROV scooted along the bottom?  And there it was, humankind once again setting a precedence, a huge pile of plastic and other trash littering the ocean depths.  ‘Twas not the  ending I had expected, but a finale easily predicted with so much garbage entering our seas.

Check it out for yourself!

I received a tip from a Sea Turtle List Serve that I am on regarding the mounting problem of trash entering our oceans.  If you are new to the problem of trash in our oceans and the incredible amount of harm it does to the ecosystem and wildlife then have your eyes opened.  Even those well versed in the issue should take a peak as this video:

You can hear the power of these whales as one surfaces for air!

What an idea! Today is “A Day Without A Plastic Bag” and although it is coming to a close I hope this great notion continues the plight of an ever increasing crisis, which by the way was the size of Texas back in 2007. This grassroots movement got me thinking about the vast garbage heap floating in the ocean and with a few simple clicks was reminded that this accumulation of marine debris consisted of 80% plastic and weighed over 3 million tons.

http://adaywithoutplastic.blogspot.com/

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/30/MNT5T1NER.DTL&hw=plastic+size+of+texas&sn=007&sc=669