eXXpedition North Pacific crew member Michelle Byle reflects on the plastic the crew are finding as they sail through the North Pacific gyre:
“We took a small sample of the ocean water today. We poured it through a series of screens to filter out its contents. This is what we found: over 1000 pieces of plastic. One of the densest samples eXXpedition has ever recorded.
We haven’t seen land in a week. We’ve been sailing away from Oahu for over 900 miles. We are about as far away from civilization as one can get.
Yet here, all around us, is evidence of our daily lives on land. Our choices. Our purchases. This is your old toothbrush, my empty shampoo bottle, the lid to his coffee cup. This is where they end up. This is the “away” it goes to when we throw our trash away.
What can we do to avoid this? Choose to use less plastic. Forego that straw. Stop for a minute to drink your coffee from a proper mug. Bring your own bag to the store. Ask for alternatives to single use plastics. Because a trillion small decisions add up to big solutions. And it takes us all.”
This update from Sea Dragon is made possible by Iridium Communications, the only mobile voice and data satellite communications network that spans the entire globe.
The North Pacific Crew will be sending us daily updates from Sea Dragon, which will be posted here on the eXXpedition website. You will also be able to see updates from the crew and ground team throughout North Pacific on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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