It’s a growing problem in the northern Pacific
Ocean and one that could change life on our planet within the next 20 years.
“I remember the first time I
felt it; I was paddling out on my surfboard and noticed a mushy, PLASTIC-like
substance sliding through my fingers. That’s what started my obsession with the
Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” says charity fundraiser and environmentalist
Veronica Grey. “The patch is located between Hawaii and California in the
northern Pacific Ocean, where millions of small bits of PLASTIC have gathered
in a vortex of ocean currents known as a gyre.”
As someone with ample
experience raising awareness for worthy causes, Grey paired her professional
skills with her personal passion for the ocean, creating the award-winning
documentary “Aqua Seafoam Shame,” which spotlights the mess in the ocean that
has garnered precious little media attention, she says.
“Fifteen years ago The Patch
was the size Texas, but now it’s the size of the continental United States,”
says Grey, who used her iPhone to shoot the documentary, which features
renowned scientists, journalists and environmentalists.
PLASTIC in the ocean has
far-reaching implications that, if not addressed within 20 years, could change
life on this planet, she says. To date, 177 species of sea life are known to
ingest PLASTIC; other species feed on those creatures, extending the chain of
damage.
“People eat the seafood that
eats PLASTIC, and the planet gets its rain from the oceans, which are being
polluted at an exponential rate,” she says. “We use significantly more of our
planet’s surface as a dump than for growing food; this has to change.”
To begin addressing PLASTICs
pollution, Grey encourages people to use alternatives: Americans buy 2 million
bottles of water every five minutes; ditch PLASTIC bottles and use glass or
recyclable cans.
Carry a cost-effective
canvas bag instead getting disposable PLASTIC bags at the grocery store. We
waste 10 billion PLASTIC bags every week!
Do not line your trash
cans with PLASTIC bags. Use paper bags or nothing.
Skip the lid on your
to-go drinks. The paper cup is normally recyclable but the lid usually isn't.
Remember that each and
every time you flush; it all ends up in the ocean. Be mindful of what you toss
in your toilet!
About Veronica Grey
Veronica Grey is an
award-winning author and filmmaker. A graduate of UCLA, she is a regular contributor
to TV stations across the country and is the recipient of the 2011 New Media
award from the Pare Lorentz Film Festival. “Aqua Seafoam Shame” is a critically
acclaimed documentary that explores the diagnosis that 25 percent of our
planet's surface is now a landfill, due to the Pacific garbage patch and PLASTICs.
The movie also explores the process by which conscientious companies, some
because of her encouragement, switched from PLASTIC to a more sustainable
alternative. Grey was born on PI (3.14) in PI (Philippines Island) and she is
recognized as a numbers savant.