Motion for our Oceans
My entire life I was always told that oceans
made up most of the world and more than 95% of it
was still un-touched and un-discovered by humans
(We Need Your Help); I believed this was true until I
was 18 years old. The more I educate myself the more
I knew this statement was false. In 1997, when I was
only three years old, a man named Captain Charles
Moore discovered a plastic cesspool building in
plastic cesspool building in the North Pacific Ocean. After this discovery he knew he had to go back and
investigate what we now call “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch” (Captain Charles Moore). Charles Moore
formed the group Algalita and since 1999 they have been studying plastic pollution, cleaning up our
oceans, and educating others on how they can reduce the usage of plastic. Plastic was originally created
to replace Ivory and became huge success overtime; it was the greatest of creations because it is durable,
easy to shape, and could last forever. When World War II came around the need for plastic was dire if
America was to win, because of this plastic production grew by 300% and is growing even more today.
Captain Charles Moore was the first person to ever study plastic pollution in "The Eastern Garbage
Patch" and is also a world-renowned investigator in this field. Because of his great work and caring heart
he has documented the findings of 150,000 miles of ocean. In 2014 he won the Peter Benchley Ocean
Award "Hero of the Seas" along with many others awards throughout the years. He has been on day and
night time television talk shows where he told many stories of his adventures. He really has changed the
the way people see plastic and he did so by starting a plastic revolution (Captin Charles Moore). In 2009
Charles Moore did a Ted Talks presentation called Seas of Plastic. He talked to the audience about how
plastic may be convenient, but it takes up a lot of space and does not biodegrade; "it is unfortunate that
humans are the only creatures that make waste nature cannot digest". Since plastic cannot biodegrade,
the only way to break it down is by melting it and turning it into something else; unfortunately, less than
5% of plastic is actually recycled and that is not enough to fix the problem when 100 billion pounds are
being produced every year. His research has inspired the world to reassess the nature of plastic. He is
currently trying to find alternatives to plastic, it may be hard but if anyone can make it successful it can
be him (Moore, Charles).
Even though plastic is harmful, it is critical for our modern life. Without plastic we would not
have the luxury of cell phones, laptops, and modern medicine. It also has made many daily materials easy
for everyone to possess, without plastic only the richest of people would be able to afford items that are
normally made out of plastic (All History of Plastics). The day I usually go grocery shopping I decided to
look around for everything made out of plastic. I also made it a goal to try and buy products that did not
contain it, which in the end was nearly impossible. Plastic is literally everywhere. Plastic is in forks,
spoons, plates, cups, gum wrappers, bottles (by the hundreds), lids, make-up containers, and many more
items. I tried desperately to find another alternative to my plastic wrapped food, but my only alternative
was to not buy the food at all.
Charles Moore is the creator and founder of the Algalita Marine Research and Education which
can be found in Long Beach, California. Charles Moore currently works as the head researcher on the
Alguita boat. In early 2008 they organized a Junk Raft project that would start that comping April. The
boat sailed from Long Beach, California all the way to Honolulu, Hawaii and then to the "Great Pacific
Garbage Patch”. Prior to this, no one has ever conducted an expedition to study plastic like this. One of
the greatest benefits the Alguita has is that it serves as a way for graduate students, scientists, and
researchers to study when they do not have enough funds to go by themselves. Although garbage and
plastic is everywhere in the ocean, it can be very difficult to gain access to the Garbage Patch and if you
aren’t well known it can be very expensive (Algalita Research Expeditions).
The last voyage Captain Charles Moore went on was in 2014. He explains that even though this
his 10th voyage, it was heartbreaking to see the new, current results. The problems with plastic since his
last trip in 2009 have grown exponentially. There were plastics of every kind, from toothbrushes to car
tires to pieces of plastic that were so broken up they couldn’t tell what it was anymore. They found so
much plastic around Aguita ship for hundreds of miles. Charles Moore describes that if we keep going at
this rate, plastic will outnumber the amount of sea creatures living in the ocean within a few years. They
did a test on plastic found on the beaches of California and then in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and
estimated that 2.3 billion pieces had flown from the shores of California to where they were in just three
days (Algalita Research Expeditions).
Captain Charles Moore explains the effects of our plastic footprint are showing greatly now. We
now. We are killing off most of the fish we eat such as tuna, salmon, and the bait fish, which is what the
other two fish live off of. If bait fish die out then so will our two main sources of fish. Plastic is poisoning
our oceans and it is estimated that more sea creatures die from plastic than by climate change and
causes. Even with our fancy, sophisticated technology there is no way of cleaning up our garbage gyes
the only thing we can do is try and stop while we are already so far ahead. If we do not shut off this great
current of plastic flowing into our oceans it will very quickly become our newest global threat (Algalita
Research Expeditions).
My entire life I was always told that oceans made up most of the world and more than 95% of it
was still un-touched and un-discovered by humans. I no longer believe this to be true because of the
quantity of plastic produced every year and how easy it is for plastic to travel around the world. While
Captain Charles Moore was researching, he went places no other researchers have gone before and found
plastic floating in the ocean. From the great populations of Hawaii to the uninhibited places in the
Antarctic, thousands of pounds of plastic and garbage have been found. We may have not physically been
been to 95% of our oceans but it doesn't mean our plastic footprint hasn't
Works Cited
"Algalita Research Expeditions." Algalita. Algalita Marine Research and Education, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016
<http://www.algalita.org/research/expeditions/>.
"All-History-of-Plastics | Chemical Heritage Foundation." All-History-of-Plastics | Chemical Heritage Foundation. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2016
"Captain Charles Moore, Founder - Algalita | Marine Research and Education." Algalita Marine Research and Education.
N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.
Moore, Charles. "Transcript of "Seas of Plastic"" Charles Moore: Seas of Plastic. Ted Talks, Feb. 2009. Web. 05 Feb. 2016
"We Need Your Help!" NOAA. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.
