Air Pollution Global climate change Stratospheric ozone depletion Urban air pollution Acid deposition Outdoor pollutants Indoor pollutants Noise

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1 Alaska! Natascha Varona Patricia Lieberg-Clark Cabrillo Oceanography Class in the Field with The Clean Oceans Project TCOP! (2013) Air Pollution Global climate change Stratospheric ozone depletion Urban air pollution Acid deposition Outdoor pollutants Indoor pollutants Noise Water Pollution Sediment Nutrient overload Toxic chemicals Infectious agents Oxygen depletion Pesticides Oil spills Excess heat Biodiversity Depletion Habitat destruction Habitat degradation Extinction Introduced Species Major Environmental Problems Waste Production Solid waste Hazardous waste Plastic and debris in the world s oceans Geologic Hazards / Natural Disasters Earthquakes Tsunamis Mass Wasting Volcanism Hurricanes Flooding Coastal Erosion / Sea Level Rise Wetland loss Erosion / soil loss Fires SOME COMMON TYPES OF WATER POLLUTION 1. Infectious Agents 2. Organic Chemicals Study examples of each 3. Inorganic Chemicals of these. 4. Radioactive Materials Also focus on their source 5. Sediment and harmful effects. 6. Plant Nutrients 7. Oxygen Demanding Waste 8. Thermal 9. Genetic 10. Ocean Debris, Plastic, Styrofoam, Garbage MIGRATE FROM TO MARINE LIFE HUMAN ABSORBS MARINE and DEBRIS WATERSHEDS ENVIRONMENTAL 1

2 Throwaway Living Life Magazine, 1955 Nine-fold increase of plastic in municipal waste in the U.S. between (USEPA, 2003) billion pounds (ACC, 2005) billion pounds (EPA,1992) In the 1960 s, plastic made up 1% of municipal waste (EPA) Here is Away In 2012 plastic made up 12% of municipal waste (EPA) Worldwide over 280 million tons of plastic are produced per year HAWAI I United States Hawai i Litter Venezuel left by Venezuel tourists a a Canad Canad a Antarctic a England, UK d Floating plastic Tanzania bag Tanzania Swede n Philippine s Japa n Philippine New Beach s cleanup Zealand Chin a and WATERSHEDS Meta-analysis of literature on marine litter reports 60-80% of marine debris worldwide is plastic. (Derraik, 2002) An estimated 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic weighing 268,940 tons pollute Where does the trash global ocean. come from? 20% from sea activities Storm Drains 80% from land activities 60-80% of marine debris worldwide is plastic. (Derraik, 2002) 80% Runoff from land 20% Ships, boaters, fishing industry Source: The United Nations Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Pollution (GESAMP) (Sheavly 2005) (United Nations Report) 2

3 North Pacific Current California Current and WATERSHEDS ENVIRONMENTAL North Equatorial Current What does plastic do, once it gets into the ocean? Entanglement: drowning, strangulation, ghost nets Mae West Ingestion: plastic as a food mimic Benthic Interference: Gas exchange inhibited Organisms smothered 3

4 Substrate for invasive species: non-biodegradable products cross oceans, WATER and ECONOMIC SORBS ENVIRONMENTAL Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) sorb onto plastic marine debris Plastics Absorb Persistent Organic Pollutants POPs in high concentrations SORBS One plastic pellet can have up to 1 million times higher concentration of POPs than an equal volume of seawater. (Takada, 2001) MIGRATE FROM TO MARINE LIFE, WATER and ECONOMIC SORBS ENVIRONMENTAL 4

5 HUMAN HUMAN MIGRATE FROM TO MARINE LIFE SORBS ENVIRONMENTAL, WATER and ECONOMIC The POPs that we have been discussing, and many others, are presently a serious health concern for humans, as we are at the highest trophic level of the food web! HUMAN Research Questions: Are toxins in humanconsumed marine life derived from POPs on plastic marine debris? Are humans affected by toxins consumed when eating marine life? Bisphenol A Imitates female hormone: estrogen Cancer Diabetes pekohtxf4xw Solutions? Educating the general public. Plastics don t litter, people litter Getting involved with consumer activisim Structural controls for local systems: ie. river booms, catch basins, screens Beach Clean-ups: great, but not the complete answer Reduce the amount of packaging that you buy! Bring your own water re-usable water bottle! Get involved with local & regional organizations: -Save Our Shores (SOS) -The Clean Oceans Project (TCOP) The Clean Oceans Project (TCOP) [=Clean Oceans International (COI)] 5

6 Sustainable Packaging Trends Beach Clean-ups! Sustainable Packaging Coalition Timbuk2 Bags - the packaging IS the packaging Patagonia Products 32nd Corcoran Lagoon & Coastal Cleanup: May 3rd, People Participated. 1,040lbs of trash was collected in ~3 hours! The Clean Oceans Project / Clean Oceans International BIO S BENEFITS: -Plant based -Don t leach toxic chemicals into foods -Public education - demonstrate alternatives -Lower greenhouse gas emissions, lower carbon footprint CHALLENGES: -Require hot, microbe-rich environment -Degrade slowly in cold, marine environments -More expensive than petroleum plastics -Doesn t address our disposable mentality Marine Debris Clean-up Expedition: Alaska 27 May- 10 June 2014 A Collaborative Effort with The Clean Oceans Project, Gulf of Alaska Keepers, and Cabrillo College 6

7 Slide 35 2 that's fine, i didnt get all the way through the pictures, ill do some more later varona.n, 2 Hey Natascha! I love photos you added, and the order you put them in. It occurs to me that we ran out of time before we looked at the second half of what I was going to up load on to the GoogleDocs. I guess that should be the first thing we look at when we meet tomorrow. Hopefully it would make you feel like you have duplicated any of your efforts of this evening! Thank you so much! Patricia Clark,

8 The Team The Pacific Ocean Gyre System Zaikof Bay, Montague Island Montague Island miles km

9 The Debris: What does GoAK do with the debris after it is collected? 8

10 Super Sacks! 9