A Good Reason to Be Careful of What You Eat

PCBs, DDT and other toxic chemicals cannot dissolve in water, but the plastic [that is floating in the ocean] absorbs them like a sponge. Fish that feed on plankton ingest the tiny plastic particles. Scientists from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation say that fish tissues contain some of the same chemicals as the plastic. The scientists speculate that toxic chemicals are leaching into fish tissue from the plastic they eat.

The researchers say that when a predator — a larger fish or a person — eats the fish that eats the plastic, that predator may be transferring toxins to its own tissues, and in greater concentrations since toxins from multiple food sources can accumulate in the body.

- taken from yesterday's New York Times article Afloat in the Ocean, Expanding Islands of Trash by Lindsey Howshaw


UPDATE: 11/12/09 -- Speaking of fish ...

A new EPA study shows concentrations of toxic chemicals in fish tissue from lakes and reservoirs in nearly all 50 U.S. states.

For the first time, EPA is able to estimate the percentage of lakes and reservoirs nationwide that have fish containing potentially harmful levels of chemicals such as mercury and PCBs. ...The data showed mercury concentrations in game fish exceeding EPA's recommended levels at 49 percent of lakes and reservoirs nationwide, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in game fish at levels of potential concern at 17 percent of lakes and reservoirs.

- excerpt from the Environmental Protection Agency's weekly newsletter Water Headlines for the week of November 9, 2009.

Well-Known Photographer Chris Jordan Explores Plastics in the Ocean

Photographer Chris Jordan and friends recently traveled to the US territory the Midway Atoll (also known as the Midway Islands) in order to document the effects of marine debris on the Laysan Albatross.

The Laysan Albatross is one of 21 albatross species. The IUCN has identified 19 of these 21 species as threatened or endangered. The large seabirds make their home on remote oceanic islands; the Laysan Albatross calls the Midway Atoll home.

The Midway Atoll is a 2.4 mile large stretch of coral and sand, located near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu and Tokyo.


photo: The white dot in the center indicates the location of the Midway Atoll.

The Midway Atoll, located in the Pacific Ocean, is not far from the site of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.


photo: prepared by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch has received a lot of media coverage in the last year, and was even featured on Oprah. (Watch her segment on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch here.)

While some say that the mass of plastic is twice the size of Texas, NOAA has reported that the size of the mass is unknown. Additionally, the highly-regarded Captain Charles Moore has reported that there are floating garbage patches in NINE of the planet's ocean gyres - the Great Pacific Garbage patch is not the only one.

The world's plastic waste (which when found in the ocean is referred to as "marine debris") is having disastrous effects on the Laysan Albatross. Since the Laysan Albatross is a scavenger that feeds both on land and at sea (by surface seizing and diving) they mistakenly pick up bits of marine debris that resemble squid, fish, and krill, and bring these items back to their nests on the Midway Atoll to feed to their chicks.



The plastics that the parents feed to their young obstruct the chicks' digestive systems, making the birds feel full yet providing no nutrition, thereby causing the birds to starve to death. (This happens to the adult birds too; not just their chicks.)

Chris Jordan took these photos to show the world what is happening to the Laysan Albatross.

To document what is happening to the albatrosses as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world's most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2,000 miles from the nearest continent.





To view the rest of Chris' photos and to read the group's blog, go here. To view the photos in a fullscreen slideshow format, go here.

For more information about Chris Jordan and his other work, check out my previous blog post on Chris.

For more information about marine debris and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch check out Captain Charles Moore's organization the Algalita Marine Research Foundation's free resources for educators here.

This brief summary about marine debris is fantastic - everyone should read it.



photo: This was not done by Chris Jordan, but it's a good resource - the photo depicts the stomach contents of ONE Laysan Albatross chick that starved to death as a result of marine debris.

Postcards from a (Plastic-Strewn) Beach

On An Adventure And Inspired To Act: A Letter From A Reader.
posted March 7th, 2009 on the Wend website, by Stiv (a fellow Surfrider member)

Adventure. Inspiration. Activism— yeah, that’s what we’re all about. And I love it when I hear from our readers that our message is well received. I can’t express how satisfying it is to sit at my desk at Wend HQ and get letters like this one, from a Wend reader, Paul Corn:

Thank you for Anna Cummins’ excellent piece on the North Pacific Gyre. Coincidentally, I read it on a beach while down in the Yucatan. It certainly focused my attention on the plastic trash strewn across the shoreline on Akin beach near Tulum. On my final day at the beach my kids and I picked up the trash in the immediate area, likely no more than 100 square metres. It really took us no time to pull together more than a kilo of items ranging from bottle caps to flipflops, a syringe chamber, kids toys, building materials and on and on.

We tried to think of a way to sensitize the tourists to the impact of plastics, so we built a few sculptures, a happy face, a meal setting, complete with ketchup bottle and salt shaker. As the sun began to fade on our beach day we arranged the plastics into the the word “TULUM” and took the attached shot, which we have now turned into a postcard. We thought if everyone took 30 minutes at their favourite beach to pick up the plastic turn it into a postcard (attached) and send it to local tourism officials, local government reps, hotels and others maybe we could motivate others to get out and practice greater stewardship of our oceans and adjoining beaches.

Keep up the good work WEND, good information can create positive responses which may help to change the world.

Best wishes,

Paul Corns
Saskatchewan, Canada

Thanks to Paul for making our day over here at Wend HQ!

Learn more about Wend Magazine, here.

From SF to Sydney on a Plastic Bottle Boat

In March, 30-year-old environmentalist David de Rothschild, heir to one of the world’s great banking fortunes, intrepid polar explorer, children’s book author, and celebrity tabloid target, plans to sail from San Francisco to Sydney in a 60-foot vessel constructed entirely of recycled materials, mostly plastic water bottles.

de Rothschild's organization, Adventure Ecology, organizes expeditions to environmentally sensitive areas to raise awareness, particularly among children. He is the youngest Brit to have visited both geographic poles, and has crossed the Greenland Ice Sheet in record time. This particular expedition will demonstrate what people can do when they recycle their junk, and what happens when they don't recycle.

The boat will navigate through the Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating landfill, twice the size of Texas, that's located between California and Hawaii. "Along the way, he’ll highlight other environmental problems, schlepping a crew of filmmakers and scientists (maybe even musician Jack Johnson) to places like Bikini Atoll to examine nuclear fallout, and the sinking island of Tuvalu to investigate global warming."

One of de Rothschild's crew members spoke at the November Surfrider San Francisco meeting. The boat is under construction at Pier 31 in Fisherman's Wharf, and the crew would like us to set up educational displays, to encourage the public and school children to come visit, before they depart for Sydney in March. Being a big fan of Captain Michael Moore's own awareness-raising journey on a plastic bottle boat, I am excited about the opportunity to get involved with this adventure!

I just read about 2 artists who've made similar journeys. You can read more about them here, in this Good Magazine blog post.

CAKE's blog

The band CAKE has installed solar panels on the studio roof, and their upcoming album is being recorded on 100% solar energy. The band's t-shirts are American Apparel (sweatshop free), and their website encourages fans to rideshare to shows.

On 0ct. 18th, the band performed at a benefit concert for Volunteer Company 61 of Butte county, who tirelessly fought the massive CA wildfires this past summer. The benefit raised funds for a badly needed emergency response vehicle.

But even cooler, CAKE has a very active blog, dating as far back as Nov 2007, that addresses social and environmental political issues. It's not just a rant; it contains links to tons of informative articles.

My favorite example:

Newsflash for October 28, 2008
In light of recent events in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where a huge, floating island of everyone's garbage has formed called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, CAKE has now decided to sell our new compact shopping bags for a paltry $5 each. Never use plastic bags again.

And I really love this one -- CAKE holds contests at their shows, where the prizes are trees, to be planted in fans' yards! I've seen a lot of musicians make environmental statements, but this is a first for me:)


Here is Lynne, of Louisville, KY, with her cherry tree that she won at the June 4th CAKE concert in Elizabeth, Indiana.