Great Pacific Garbage Patch

  That's the Pacific Ocean, I'm talking about.  It is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, because that's exactly what it is.  It is also called the Pacific trash vortex.  It was discovered between 1985 and 1988.  It is a gyre of marine debris particles in central North Pacific Ocean.  The area contains high concentrations of plastic, chemical sludge and other debris, most of which is not detected by satellite imagery.  That's because most of the waste is microscopic pieces, almost invisible to the naked eye.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch formed gradually, as a result of ocean or marine pollution and by ocean currents.  Improper waste disposal or poor management of trash has literally made our oceans a garbage can.  A 2017 study concluded that of the over 9 billion tons of plastic that has been produced since 1950, 5.5 billion tons of plastic was is now littering our oceans and land.  Less that 5% of plastic has been recycled and about 10% has been re-purposed.  I think everyone knows what all this waste is doing to sea life.  It is killing both fish and plants.

Plastic is ingested by sea life.  It is also fed to young creatures.  Many species are dying from malnutrition, being fed plastic instead of plants or microscopic animals.  Plastic is also strangling some sea life, getting wrapped around their necks or beaks, from which they are unable to break free.  It's a terrible situation.  We also have the North Atlantic Garbage Patch, so the problem is widespread.  Please, please, please, dispose of waste properly so that it is not dumped into drains that go to the ocean.  This is one of the important areas related to climate where we MUST have government regulations that prevent companies from dumping waste in the oceans.  I don't know what the Trump administration has done on this issue.  If controls are removed, the problem will become worse, our sea life will disappear at an alarming rate, and who knows if the problem could ever be fixed?  Let's hope our leaders are not stupid enough to let this happen.

Just for your information, here are the environmental rules that the Trump administration has removed, or is planning to remove.

Already removed

• Flood building standards
• Proposed ban on a potentially harmful pesticide
• Freeze on new coal leases on public lands
• Methane reporting requirement
• Anti-dumping rule for coal companies
• Decision on Keystone XL pipeline
• Decision on Dakota Access pipeline
• Third-party settlement funds
• Offshore drilling ban in the Atlantic and Arctic
• Ban on seismic air gun testing in the Atlantic
• Northern Bering Sea climate resilience plan
• Royalty regulations for oil, gas and coal
• Inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions in environmental reviews
• Permit-issuing process for new infrastructure projects
• Green Climate Fund contributions
• Endangered species listings
• Hunting ban on wolves and grizzly bears in Alaska
• Protections for whales and sea turtles
• Reusable water bottles rule for national parks
• National parks climate order
• Environmental mitigation for federal projects
• Calculation for “social cost” of carbon
• Planning rule for public lands
• Copper filter cake listing as hazardous waste
• Mine cleanup rule
• Sewage treatment pollution regulations
• Ban on use of lead ammunition on federal lands
• Restrictions on fishing
• Fracking regulations on public lands
• Migratory bird protections
• Department of Interior climate policies
• Rule regulating industrial polluters
• Safety standards for “high hazard” trains

24 rollbacks are
in progress

• Clean Power Plan
• Paris climate agreement
• Car and truck fuel-efficiency standards
• Offshore oil and gas leasing
• Status of 10 national monuments
• Status of 12 marine areas
• Limits on toxic discharge from power plants
• Coal ash discharge regulations
• Emissions standards for new, modified and reconstructed power plants
• Emissions rules for power plant start-up and shutdown
• Sage grouse habitat protections
• Regulations on oil and gas drilling in some national parks
• Oil rig safety regulations
• Regulations for offshore oil and gas exploration by floating vessels
• Drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge
• Hunting method regulations in Alaska
• Requirement for tracking emissions on federal highways
• Emissions standards for trailers and glider kits
• Limits on methane emissions on public lands
• Permitting process for air-polluting plants
• Use of birds in subsistence handicrafts
• Coal dust rule
• Haze rule for national parks
• Review process for forest restoration projects

10 rollbacks are
in limbo

• Wetland and tributary protections
• Methane emission limits at new oil and gas wells
• Limits on landfill emissions
• Mercury emission limits for power plants
• Hazardous chemical facility regulations
• Groundwater protections for uranium mines
• Efficiency standards for appliances
• Efficiency standards for federal buildings
• Rule helping consumers buy fuel-efficient tires
• Aircraft emissions standards