The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Have you ever heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?  No?  It's in the middle of the ocean, so most of us will never see it, but it's one of the largest man-made environmental disasters in the world.  It is the world's largest landfill and it's getting larger every year!

The ocean is constantly moving.  Ocean currents move the water in different directions depending on wind, temperature and other factors.  The North Pacific Gyre is a  place in the Pacific Ocean between California and Japan where many currents come together to form a giant, clockwise moving area of water.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also known as the Pacific Trash Vortex, is located here in the North Pacific Gyre.  It is literally a giant, floating patch of garbage twice the size of Texas and made up of millions of pounds of plastic, chemical sludge and other debris.  Greenpeace has said that 10% of all plastic manufactured each year ends up in the ocean!

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch presents hazards to marine life.  Plastic can end up in the stomachs of marine birds, sea turtles and fish.  These toxic plastic pieces can also be eaten by jellyfish, which are then eaten by larger fish.  When the larger fish are eaten by humans, these toxins can enter our bodies!  All life on Earth is connected.  Our abuse of the environment comes back to us full circle.

Be aware of your waste!  Throw garbage in the trash, not on the ground!  Recycle plastic disposable products when you can or avoid buying them altogether!  The next time you see a piece of garbage about to blow into a sewer, a river or a stream, pick it up and throw it away.  How big will the Garbage Patch get before we start to act?

THE TOILET TANK TRICK!

Most toilets in the United States use between 5 and 7 gallons per flush, way more than is needed.  Newer toilets are more efficient and some only use 2 or 3 gallons per flush.  Here's a simple way to conserve water in the bathroom without buying a brand new toilet!

[NOTE:  Be sure to get permission from your parents before performing the "toilet tank trick" and ask for assistance if you need help removing and replacing the toilet tank lid.]

Step 1: Remove the lid from your toilet tank cover and set it aside.

Step 2: Put a small amount of sand or pebbles in the bottom of an old water bottle, then fill the rest of the bottle with water.

Step 3: Replace the cap on the water bottle and place it in the tank.  (Be sure that the bottle doesn't touch any of the moving parts!)

Step 4: Replace the lid and presto!  You've completed the toilet tank trick!

WHAT DOES IT DO?

Placing a bottle, jar or other container in the tank displaces the water and allows you to flush the toilet without using as much H2O.  The amount of water in the bottle is the amount of water you save with each flush!  This simple trick can save you up to 10 gallons of water waste per day!

WILL A BRICK DO THE SAME THING?

Some people have tried this trick using a brick instead of a bottle, but that's not really recommended.  A brick can break apart over time and leave debris in your tank that may harm your septic system.

IS WATER A RENEWABLE RESOURCE?

The answer to this question is not as simple as you might think.  Yes, water evaporates and then returns to earth as precipitation (rain, fog, snow, etc.) and the same water animals drank 6 million years ago is the same water we drink today!  But this doesn't mean that wasting water is okay.  Water conservation is becoming an increasingly important issue! 

Did you know though that only 3% of the earth's water is freshwater?  The other 97% is ocean water, which is undrinkable.  Of all the water in the world, almost half of it is polluted in some way.  Polluted water can lead to disease and death and cause things like acid rain.

Did you know that over 1 billion people on the planet do not have access to clean drinking water?  As the population of the planet grows, this problem will increase since the amount of freshwater we have will always remain the same.  Groundwater cannot replenish itself at the rate we remove it from the earth.  Global climate change has also contributed to water shortages in places where lack of precipitation has caused drought and too much precipitation has caused flooding which makes the water unsuitable for consumption.

Another reason to be mindful of water conservation is energy consumption.  Heating the water you need for a shower or bath takes energy and every drop of water that goes down the drain must be cleaned at a water treatment plant, which also takes energy.

Like all issues having to do with the environment, we often don't seem to be concerned with a resource as long as it seems abundant.  In the United States, we have an ample amount of freshwater because of the number of lakes and streams.  In other parts of the world however, the amount of water we would use to take one 2-3 minute shower is the same amount of water an entire family uses to cook, clean, and drink for an entire week.

Think twice before you waste water and learn what can be done to keep water from becoming polluted!

WATER CONSERVATION - SHOWER OR BATH?

Rub-a-dub-dub!  What do we do in the tub?

Which uses less water?  Taking a shower or taking a bath?

Here’s a simple experiment you can try at home:  The next time you take a shower, plug the drain and let the water collect.  When your shower is over, see how much water is in the tub.  Compare it to how much water you would use to take a bath.  Which uses more water?  A bath or a 2-3 minute shower?

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT BIOFUELS?

A “biofuel” is any fuel created from plant or animal materials.  For example, wood is one of the simplest biofuels.  Modern biofuels include bioethanol, made from sugar or starch crops.  Biodiesel on the other hand is made from vegetable oils or animal fats.

ADVANTAGES

·      Reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

·      More environmentally friendly.

·      Varied source material (can be made from a wide range of materials).

·      Cheaper.

·      May help to tackle poverty (poor countries without oil reserves may have land available for biofuel farming).

·      Biodegradability (spills are easier to clean up and MUCH less hazardous).

DISADVANTAGES

·      Lower Energy Output (great quantities consumed to get the same energy).

·      Adapting more land to produce crops for biofuels means more loss of habitats and decreased biodiversity.

·      Food vs. Fuel Debate (farmers make more money selling crops for fuel, which may cause higher food prices).

·      Not Carbon Neutral (it still takes energy to grow crops and then convert them into fuel).

·      Water Use (massive amounts of water are needed to grow crops and manufacture the fuel).

Here we go again!  Another energy source that has just as many bad sides as good sides.  But there may be hope in the future with 2^nd and 3^rd generation biofuels.  What do you know about these?  How are they different from 1^st generation biofuels?