SOMETHING SMELLS!
By Gigi M. Campos
Sounds gross but this may be a reality that will happen if we remain indifferent what is happening around us.
Stories have started surfacing again more recently, now that environmental issues are taking the forefront. Are there really ‘continents’, or massive floating garbage patches residing in the Pacific Ocean? I did some research on this and discovered that this garbage island exists and has been growing tenfold each decade since the 1950’s, and this garbage patch consists of 80% plastic. Unfortunately the rumors are true, and these unsightly patches are reportedly killing marine life at an alarming rate and releasing poisons that enter the human food chain, as well.
Yes, studies have confirmed a little-known island continent of floating toxic plastic garbage, TWICE the size of Texas, growing in the Pacific between California and Hawaii. Officially known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, yet U.S. officials will continue to ignore it. The trash collects in this remote area, known as the North Pacific Gyre, due to a clockwise trade wind that encircles the Pacific Rim. This sounds pretty close to home since our 7,107 islands are bounded by the South China Sea on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other side. Ocean currents have collected massive amounts of garbage into a sort of plastic “soup” where countless bits of discarded plastic float intertwined just beneath the surface. Indeed, the human race has really made its mark.
But if there is an unfathomably massive collection of plastic junk out there, we wonder why still not too many know about it, and why isn’t anyone doing something about it? Several reasons. First, no one is keen to claim responsibility for these monstrosities, which exists in one of the most remote spots on the planet. It’s easier to ignore this reality than to deal with it, at least in the short term.
Reminds us of our own situation in this city of smiles or should we say ‘city of smells.’ Look around you because there are still many small open dumpsites littering our once green and clean city. Not to mention the huge dumpsite in Barangay Felisa the city continues to use as an open dumpsite. RA 9003 also known as the Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 has provided that all open dumpsites such as the Felisa Open Dumpsite should cease to exist by February 2004, and all controlled dumpsites by February 2006. Yet there was no compliance, no planning. It seems easier for our city officials to ignore these problems in the hope that we the residents of this city will someday learn to live with these monstrosities.
Now back to the island of plastic... Most of the plastic is floating just below the surface where explorers, researchers, and scientists can get a good close-up view, but it is nearly impossible to see the massive quantities of submerged trash in photographs taken from great distances. Clean up seems nearly impossible at this point. According to environmentalists, trash in the ocean accumulates the same way bubbles clump at the center of a hot tub. The garbage is just too much, and the ocean is just too large. The island of plastic is made up of things like furniture, fridges, plastic containers, cigarette lighters, plastic bottles, light globes, televisions and fishing nets. And sad to say this polluted, chemical filled junk is finding it’s way onto our dining tables. Trash, particularly non-degradable plastic, floats in the ocean where it chokes and kills fish and other wildlife. Plastic crumbles into tiny particles, which are consumed by fish and other sea life creating unhealthy ecosystems. Plastic is a transport medium for toxic pollutants. Looks like we will eventually be eating our own trash if nothing is done about this problem real quick.
While parts of our oceans have now become inhospitable soups of plastic and plankton, we can at least mitigate the future consequences by making smart individual choices.
In my past columns I wrote about garbage and the negative effects of plastics. Our group, the Bacolod Anti-Baha Alliance, through this column, will continue to sound the alarm on the dangers of the unrelenting use of plastics and the wanton disposal of garbage particularly in waterways and creeks. Here are some ways we can help to limit this ever-growing patch of garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean:
1. Limit our use of plastics when possible. Plastic does not easily degrade and can kill sea life.
2. Use a reusable bag when shopping. Throwaway bags can easily blow into the ocean.
3. Take our trash with us when we leave the beach.
In the words of Gaylord Nelson, a co-founder of Earth Day, “The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.”
For more information on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch you may watch videos of this on the internet in YouTube:
No comments:
Post a Comment