Great garbage patch in the Pacific Gyre - where it comes from

Local connections - Chollas Creek and local beaches

1. Where does the garbage in Chollas Creek originate?
2. What are the sources and how much comes from each source?
3. What kinds of garbage and pollutants are less visible? Silt? Copper? Pharmaceuticals?
4. Does any of this garbage pollute our beaches?
5. What kinds of materials are longer-lasting and more visible?
6. How far away will the garbage go?
7. How can we reduce the amount of garbage that gets away by source?
8. What is already being done?

Garbage at sea

1. Garbage in our local streams, rivers and beaches
2. The local water cycle - runoff to the ocean
3. Stormwater runoff vs. sewage
4. Individuals as sources of garbage and pollutants - awareness
5. Industrial sources - plastic pellets
6. How are environmental practices coordinated between the U.S. and Mexico?
7. Changes in practice
8. Related careers - Environmental Compliance Manager, Civil Engineer,

Shipping containers

1. What's a shipping container?
2. How many containers does a typical container ship hold?
3. How many containers are typically lost at sea each year?
4. How many containers and ships move through the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach each year?
5. How many trips and containers move around the world each year?
6. What percentage of total containers moved are lost each year?

Distance impacts

1. Where is Midway Island?
2. How much garbage piles up on the beaches at Midway?
3. Is this garbage from the people of Midway?
4. Where does Midway sit with respect to the major ocean gyres of the world?
5. How does garbage get to Midway and why does it accumulate near there?
6. What kinds of garbage get to Midway?
7. What are possible solutions?

Impacts on seabirds

1. Where do albatross live most of the year?
2. Why do albatross go to Midway?
3. What was found in the stomach contents of dead albatross chicks on Midway?
4. How productive are the waters around Midway?
5. Why might albatross eat all those things?
6. What had been the advantages of going to Midway?
7. Learn more about seabird migration. Do albatross face dangers during other times of the year?
8. How can declining seabird populations be reversed?

Related resources

• SEAPLEX
  Follow the "SEAPLEX: Scripps Environmental Accumulation of Plastic Expedition - Seeking the Science of the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch."
  Scripps Institution of Oceanography
• Trashed: Across the Pacific Ocean, Plastics, Plastics, Everywhere
  Personal account of encountering garbage everywhere - even in the middle of the ocean.
  Natural History
• Plague of Plastic Chokes the Seas
  Check out the video and photos under “Altered Oceans” on the right-hand side of the page. One video shows the amounts of garbage on Midway Island and the L.A. River in southern California.
  Altered Oceans, LA Times
  
• The Box That Makes the World Go Round
  About container shipping.
  Spiegel Online
  
• Ports
  •  The Port of Los Angeles
  •  The Port of Long Beach
  •  Unified Port of San Diego
  •  Port of Ensenada
  
• L.A. Ports Authority: West Coast Giants see Baja Bay Project as Safety Valve, Not Competitor
  Introduces the difficult question of how to find the right balance between protecting community health and commerce, and the difficult task of predicting future growth. Even since this article was written, economic winds have changed drastically.
  San Diego Union Tribune
  
• Longest Animal Migration Measured, Bird Flies 40,000 Miles a Year
  In order for Sooty Shearwaters to do well, where do they need habitat to be maintained?
  National Geographic
  
• Tracking the Movements and Trans-Pacific Migration of Sooty Shearwaters Captured Off California
  Scroll down to get to the article.
  Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
  
• The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
  A scary poem by Coleridge. An updated version anyone? Source of sayings about having an albatross around one’s neck, and more.
  University of Virginia Library
  

Related topics

• Ocean circulation
  Migrating animals