THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH

There is apparently an area of the Pacific Ocean called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It is larger than the state of Texas, and perhaps even larger, that is filled with rubbish. The area is in the North Pacific Gyre, one of the world's five major circular oceanic flows, bounded by the west coast of the United States and East Asia.

Garbage patch is a bit of a misnomer, since this implies to the layperson a mass of flotsam and jetsam floating along on the surface of the sea. Although there is some of that, much of the garbage consists of small particles of plastic, chemical sludge and even toxic materials that have not broken down, but are suspended in the upper water column just below the surface. The debris is often not visible with the naked eye, but water samples show concentrations of these things which are well above normal. The small bits are dangerous for birds and fish that feed in the water, and so on up the food chain (including, eventually, us humans).

Although there is disagreement about the size of the patch, everyone agrees that it is getting bigger. The banking heir and environmentalist David de Rothschild has been trying to draw attention to the problem by starting a trans-Pacific voyage on a catamaran made from reclaimed plastic bottles. My attention has been duly drawn, and I wish him every success.

Walter Blotscher