Review of Garbology by Edward Humes Chapter 5

In this chapter, Humes shifts on a new topic in which he gives an overview of plastic and what it has done to our ocean. In the beginning of the chapter, he mentions Kaisei which is this ship that has sailed off coasts of California and Hawaii in order to pursue a research voyage. It is hard enough to believe what our trash epidemic has caused on land, but the ocean is way worse. Our trash has caused many marine mammals and seabirds to be in danger. For instance, lantern fish end up eating these plastic pellets and because they are part of the food chain, they are eaten by other marine mammals and fish we eat. Doesn't it remind you how Humes mentioned in the last few chapters, how pigs were used to eat our trash? It's kind of the same situation. Humes also makes mention of Mary Crowley and Project Kaisei. The purpose of this project, Crowley's goal, was to combine research on garbage-patch and methods of extracting plastic from the seas. Nurdles are found along many beaches and are nicknamed "mermaid's tears". It was interesting to find out that plastic items such as floaties, toys, etc., end up still floating in the ocean. I use to think if our trash would end in the ocean, it would somehow dissolve, but I was completely wrong. Our trash that ends up in the ocean, continues to be around for several of years. Going into this chapter, it has helped me realize that we do have a serious trash epidemic. Hopefully, America can just wake up and realize that not only are we putting our lives in danger, but also marine animals' lives.