Invisible Plastic in Our Oceans!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120425192843.htm

When I hear of the problem of plastic in the ocean, I immediately think of, what has been appropriately titled, the Giant Pacific Garbage Patch- the land mass sized island of plastic debris that has collected in the Pacific Ocean. This plastic island and plastic collected around it may effect a size twice that of Hawaii. While this huge plastic mass is a very visible, daunting reminder of the detrimental effects of our manufactured waste. The terrifying reality is that this is only the "tip of the ice berg, "for according to oceanographer, Giora Proskurowski, there is much more to be accounted for that our eyes cannot see. She has discovered that there exist tiny plastic particles beneath the surface of the sand that are made invisible by high winds. This new information has huge impacts on previous studies conducted to measure the amount of plastic in our oceans because we know know that there is a huge amount that has not been accounted for. The implications of this new discovery are that the methods used to collect plastic waste are now going to take wind into account. This has impacts on environmental policies at the governmental level.

Plastic in our oceans is not only unsightly, but extremely harmful to the ecosystems that thrive within them. These miniscule pieces of plastic are easily ingested by fish and wreak havoc on their digestive systems. What actions can we take to remedy this problem? The problem is already too massive for prevention to do much good, although measures should absolutely be taken to prevent further waste, there needs to be a very aggressive cleanup operation. Where should could this waste be relocated? Do you see this problem ever being remedied?