Great Pacific Garbage Patch Discovered
1997 CE • Pacific Ocean
"In the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii, hundreds of miles from any major city, plastic bottles, children’s toys, broken electronics, abandoned fishing nets and millions more fragments of debris are floating in the water — at least 87,000 tons’ worth." Originally discovered in 1997, "this notorious mess has become known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a swirling oceanic graveyard where everyday objects get deposited by the currents. The plastics eventually disintegrate into tiny particles that often get eaten by fish and may ultimately enter our food chain."
Livia Albeck-Ripka, "The ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ Is Ballooning, 87,000 Tons of Plastic and Counting," The New York Times, March 22, 2018.
Image: Justin Dolske from Cupertino, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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