I like calling IT the “trash superhighway” and after digesting repulsive statistics  and then hearing politicians pushing to make historical changes, well, I applaud. Assemblywoman Lori Saldana, D-San Diego, who is trying to build on the 1970s success story of replacing the dangerous, sharp-edged, aluminum-can pull tab with one that remains attached to the beverage can.

She said it is time to attach the plastic bottle to its lid. Nice work, Lori! It may not be a hazard to people, but it definitely has a serious impact on marine life —- birds and mammals

What in the heck is this patch of ocean called the infamous “Plastic Pacific Garbage Patch”?

It’s described as an oceanic trash dump, a giant bowl of plastic soup, a place where sea turtles and albatrosses fill their stomachs with lighters and bottle caps.

A mass of plastic in the Pacific, increasing tenfold each decade since 1945, is now the size of Texas and killing everything in its wake

First, they said it was a “large area” the size of Texas. Then it was two Texases. Then, a continent.  They call it the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the Trash Island, The North Pacific Gyre, or the Pacific Trash Vortex.

Some researchers believe that more than 5 million square miles of the Pacific Ocean has become a soup of plastic confetti.

It was discovered in 1997 by a Californian sailor, surfer, volunteer environmentalist, and early-retired furniture restorer named Charles Moore, who was heading home with his crew from a sailing race in Hawaii, at the helm of a 50ft catamaran that he had built himself.

Some say it’s not a “patch” of garbage, nor a trash island. It’s more like a huge bowl of diluted plastic soup, from California to Japan.

Imagine a handful of plastic cornflakes sprinkled over a football field…. Now imagine 9 million football fields in the Pacific Ocean.

12 years ago, Captain Charles Moore accidentally “discovered” the plastic debris debacle in the North Pacific while sailing an infrequently traveled route from Hawaii to Los Angeles.  Stunned by the endless river of plastic junk he found – toothbrushes, bottle caps, wrappers, fragments –- Moore decided to return with research tools and scientific sampling methods to better understand what he saw.

In 1999, Moore et al. published the groundbreaking study, 4,200 miles across the Pacific, collecting surface samples the entire way.

What we found this year: the problem has gotten much, much worse. Though our samples are still being processed, Captain Moore guesstimates a 5-fold increase in ten years, bumping plastic to plankton ratios up to 30:1.

And still, we tear through plastic bags and bottles like they’re going out of style…..

Two researchers set sail on a raft of junk from Long Beach to Hawaii, along with messages in bottles which will eventually be delivered to legislators in DC.  Cool Video about this journey

“This is the most shocking thing I have seen,” Oprah says.

In some places, the floating debris—estimated to be about 90 percent plastic—goes 90 feet deep. Elsewhere, there are six times more pieces of plastic than plankton, the main food source for many sea animals.

Worse still, there seems to be nothing we can do to clean it up, so how do we turn the tide?

Four bills that aim to slash the amount of plastic waste headed for the Pacific Ocean would phase out foam food containers, force manufacturers to attach caps to beverage bottles and charge a fee for throwaway bags used to bag groceries.

It’s all part of what has become a perennial campaign by state lawmakers and environmental activists to target the plastic that accounts for an estimated two-thirds of all trash in the ocean and 90 percent of its floating debris —- and poses a serious threat to marine life.

Typically, a trickle of the introduced legislation becomes law. And the unsuccessful bills either get discarded or recycled into new bills.

Two of this year’s bills —- the ones that address plastic bags and foam containers —- are repackaged legislation from the last couple of years.

If you liked this post, here’s two green eyegasm plastic bottle posts that are scandalous
How can canned tomatoes and water be certified organic when the lining of the can contains BPA?
SFBAY GREENFAIR on Saturday at the Cow Palace was life changing by Jerry Hart

• Are we being duped by polished photos of salacious waterfalls and streams of the Rockies? by Jerry Hart We've all heard the ol' Bring your own Beer right? Now, we have bring your own water bottle to the party. This is one of San Francisco's biggest party on the streets called the Bay to Breaker footrace.  Have you noticed how little we think about what's in the bottle,......
• "recyclable", "biodegradable" and "natural" don't always translate into sustainable by Jerry Hart So many topics to discuss. Brad Pitt's biodegrable body lotion, Tiger Woods is now like the rest of us, a real human being. America's dollar is weaker, China is building huge solar plants in Arizona and India will not buy our bonds, rather they buy more gold. Most of what I just said is not that......
• Cell Phones can turn people into idiots by Jerry Hart I was sitting in an outdoor patio cafe for lunch and picked up the cell phone to answer a call. Within 30 seconds, the waitress plopped down a note saying, "As a courtesy to other diners, please take cell phone calls outside the restaurant. Thank you" The waitress swung by......
• Big solar panel sitting on a long steel rod by Jerry Hart Posting options for today Most powerful guy in Iran is tweeting everyday. Wow! If he's turned on to tweet, maybe we should be too? A Diesel Volkswagen is much more green than a Prius. I have proof. Write about a big solar panel sitting on a long steel rod in......
• How can canned tomatoes and water be certified organic when the lining of the can contains BPA? by Jerry Hart Let's cover packaging of water first before we get into those scandalous tomatoes. Myth: Since bottled water is regulated by the FDA, it is safer to drink than tap water. Fact: A study by the National Resources Defense Council found that 25% of bottled water is actually just packaged tap......

• Greening Your Consumption Habits: A Simple Guide photo by Elsie esq. We are all going to continue to buy stuff. I am not one of those environmentalists that think everyone should sit at home and just read a used book and watch the paint slowly yellow; it's just not in my nature to be like that. Regardless......
• Hauling My Own Trash: Month One. Some of you may remember that a month ago I canceled trash pickup at my house. This was for several reasons, two of which are the price of pickup and the lack of maintenance/pollution from the Waste Management trucks. When we did have trash pickup, we were disposing of between......
• Do One Thing: How To Recycle Plastic Bottle Caps. Did you know that most recycling facilities won't or cannot recycle plastic caps from soda, shampoo, or milk bottles? Me neither. However, instead of throwing them in the trash, you now have a much better option - Aveda salons will recycle those plastic caps. Join Aveda's caps recycling initiative that......
• If You Need To Buy, Buy Green For Back To School Time. While I am all about reusing and buying used when you need something, sometimes that just doesn't work out the way that you want it to. So if you find yourself in need of a few eco-friendly things for your kids for the upcoming school year, you might want to......
• EarthTalk: Turning Recycled Materials Into Bags And Purses. EarthTalk is a weekly installment from E/The Environmental Magazine. Dear EarthTalk: I’ve been hearing a lot about all the recycled materials being turned into handbags and purses. Are these bags actually fashionable? Eco fashion, especially in the world of bags, purses and carriers, has proven to be an inventive outlet......