In 1907 Monaco's Prince Albert was making his fourth and final expedition to study the Arctic Ocean. It is sadly ironic at the same time in New York, chemist Leo Baekeland was inventing a material that would impact the Ocean forever. It was called Baekelite, which is now known as plastic.
All over the Ocean, there are huge collections of mostly plastic debris known as patches. These massive accumulations are caused by complex interactions of the Earth's spin and Ocean currents, which give the garbage patch the alternative name trash vortex. This is the biggest patch of them all, located in the Pacific Ocean, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Because it is partially submerged and always moving with the water, it is hard to know it's size exactly. But common estimates are twice the size of Texas three times the size of France.
Marine organisms produce over half of the oxygen that land animals, including people, need to breathe.
Oceans cover about 71% of the earth's surface and contains an estimated 97% of the planet's water. The ocean is in deep trouble and that presents an existential threat to us all. Two Thousand Four Hundred miles away from Hawaii, in the central Pacific Ocean, lies the tiny republic of Kiribati. For thousands of years, the people of these remote islands have enjoyed a lifelong relationship with the sea, but now the ocean seems to be turning against them and may soon cause this island nation its ultimate destruction. Kiribati is expected to be the first country to be completely swallowed up because of climate change. In 2022, the land lost is 1.5 meters this year. The first nation to actually disappear. Yes, scientists predict that in the near future, Kiribati will be totally underwater.
In far too many ways, the impending disaster faced by Kiribati is a microcosmic example of the emergency facing the ocean and the entire planet. And it's not just the rising water that presents a danger. In Kiribati, a much less obvious threat exists inside the water, the fish and even in the bodies of the people who live there. And like the rising sea levels, it has the potential to affect millions of people around the world.