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Sure, you've heard of the Cabbage Patch, but what in the world in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? Well, it just happens to be the planet's largest landfill...and it's floating in the North Pacific Ocean (to be exact roughly in an area between 135° to 155°W and 35° to 42°N). Thanks to swirling ocean currents, much of the world's trash has accumulated into this part of the Pacific Ocean. How much trash? According to HowStuffWorks.com, every square mile of ocean hosts 46,000 pieces of floating plastic and plastic constitutes 90 percent of all trash floating in the world's oceans.
Greenpeace adds: "The larger items, however, are consumed by seabirds and other animals which mistake them for prey. Many seabirds and their chicks have been found dead, their stomachs filled with medium sized plastic items such as bottle tops, lighters and balloons. A turtle found dead in Hawaii had over a thousand pieces of plastic in its stomach and intestines. It has been estimated that over a million sea birds and one hundred thousand marine mammals and sea turtles are killed each year by ingestion of plastics or entanglement."
Perhaps Greenpeace is a good place to get yourself started in the fight the save marine life.
Want to see new-to-green rap star Ludacris and rock star Tommy Lee battle out who can be greener? Check out the newest eco tour on Planet Green TV's Battleground Earth.
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