"Away is not a place anymore. There is no 'away'." That statement comes from Charles Moore, founder of Algalita Marine Research Foundation. Moore's words really seemed profound as you put them with pictures.
Moore also points out that the ocean is downhill from everywhere. Something to consider when we throw out a plastic straw or bottle. Moore writes about his travels across the Pacific Ocean.
"It seemed unbelievable, but I never found a clear spot. In the week it took to cross the subtropical high, no matter what time of day I looked, plastic debris was floating everywhere: bottles, bottle caps, wrappers, fragments. Months later, after I discussed what I had seen with the oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer, perhaps the world's leading expert on flotsam, he began referring to the area as the "eastern garbage patch." But "patch" doesn't begin to convey the reality. Ebbesmeyer has estimated that the area, nearly covered with floating plastic debris, is roughly the size of Texas."
I became more aware of my own trash that I create as I traveled to Lake of the Ozarks over the holiday. Debris floated on a blackish, green lake. It was sad and uncomfortable to swim in. I kept telling my daughter and her friend, "don't swallow any water, it will make you sick." That was partly because of the e-coli warnings put out over the news, but also because of how dark and dirty it all seemed.
There is no "away" anymore and our lakes, rivers and oceans are all downhill from us and in some cases...just around the corner.