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An Ocean of Plastic

Ecological Disaster

A Plastic Ocean

Good living has gotten worse for many!

A surprising fact I found in a broadcast on National Public Radio (NPR), shared by the founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, Captain Charles Moore, is there actually exists millions of miles of floating plastic waste in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

By mere accident, Captain Moore and his crew found the floating waste returning from a yacht race through mostly uncharted waters in the mid-Pacific. If it were not for the El Nino winds Captain Moore may not have discovered this human made floating disaster in the making.

Good Living Becomes Crisis Driven

People who are living good and healthy lives become “crisis driven.”  For instance, when Captain Moore spoke to the viewing public on the CBS’s Late Night with David Letterman  show he expressed his concern that we as a public are “crisis-driven;” however, maybe if we “…learn how to take actions to stem situations before they become crisis” we can avoid causing harm to the environment and the biosphere.

Further research found on the Algalita Marine Research Foundation’s website explains how we can help promote the quest for a more sustainable environment by informing the public and purchasing consumables from Eco-friendly companies.

Another program, Tell Me More from NPR News with Michel Martin, points out the dangers of disposing consumables made from plastics and components that adhere to plastic material.

The program entitled, Environmentalists Teach Dos and Don’ts of E-Waste warns the listening public of the health dangers of unorthodox methods of electronic waste disposal. Though some may be living good, amazingly, within the confines of a year, according to recycling data, over 400 million items considered to be of electronic nature are disposed of in the United States.

Ironically, after local recyclers scavenge the profitable pieces of e-waste; many companies ship the unusable debris to foreign countries with less environmental protection standards for them to dispose of in unsafe, unethical, and unhealthy environmental ways.

Claim for Good and Healthy Living

Though many substantiate Captain Moore’s claim that it would be futile to attempt to clean up the plastic garbage patch in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyrea region in their environmental article published April 24, 2009, we can make changes in our lifestyle to lessen our ecological footprint’s impact in our quest to acquire or maintain a good living and healthy lives.

As consumers, we can take heed of their advise and curtail, or abstain from unethical, unhealthy, and non-renewable lifestyles by cutting down on our consumption, use what we have, buy locally, recycle, reuse, and utilize the biggest prerequisite to sustainability—care.


About the author: George Zapo is certified in Public Health Promotion and Education (Kent State University). George provides informative articles promoting healthy behavior and lifestyles.

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