Captain Charles Moore on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch On June 10, the Save The Albatross Coalition (a program of Zero Waste USA and a host of aligned nonprofits and institutions) hosted Captain Charles Moore for a morning with the man who found the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. He discovered it in 1997, almost by…
For decades, scientists tracking plastic pollution ran into the same problem. They could calculate how much plastic had been produced, estimate how much had been discarded, and measure what was visible in the ocean. The numbers never added up. A significant share of the plastic was simply missing. Two studies published in the last year…
170 countries couldn’t agree. The fifth round of United Nations negotiations to create a global plastic pollution treaty ended in disappointment in Busan, South Korea in December 2024, with no agreement reached after two years of talks. The summit brought together over 3,300 participants from more than 170 nations, all working toward what would have…
Scientists just named the stomach scarring that’s killing our seabirds worldwide. The disease is called plasticosis, and it represents a milestone we never wanted to reach in the plastic pollution crisis. Researchers studying Flesh-footed Shearwaters on Lord Howe Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site 360 miles off the coast of Australia, discovered something alarming. These…
Author: Captain Charles J. Moore In 1974, a member of the Council of the British Plastics Federation and a fellow of the Plastics Institute, stated that “Plastics litter is a very small proportion of all litter and causes no harm to the environment except as an eyesore”(Derraik, 2002). It has taken less than fifty years…
Video Synopsis This video features insights from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography on the critical connection between scientific research and environmental responsibility. Through their comprehensive study of ocean, land, and atmospheric systems, Scripps researchers have gained profound understanding of humanity’s significant environmental impact on Earth. Key Messages Scientific Understanding Drives ActionScripps’ oceanographic research has revealed…
Ann R. Thryft, Senior Technical Editor, Design News, 4/22/2016 The amount of plastic in the ocean just keeps growing. If things don’t change, by 2025 the oceans will contain one metric ton of plastic for every three metric tons of fish. By 2050 plastic will outweigh fish entirely. That’s the conclusion of a report by…
Aquatic Trash Prevention Great Practices Compendium – The Mid-Atlantic States https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-11/documents/trash_free_waters_great_practices_mid-atlantic_final_10-30-15.pdf Ocean Dumping Management The Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA), also known as the Ocean Dumping Act, regulates the transportation and dumping of any material into ocean waters. The MPRSA prohibits or restricts ocean dumping that would adversely affect human health, welfare, amenities,…
Plastic Ocean is a pivotal work co-authored by Captain Charles Moore and Cassandra Phillips, first published in 2011. It chronicles Moore’s groundbreaking discovery in 1997 of the vast plastic accumulation in the North Pacific Gyre, an area now commonly known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The book delves into Moore’s subsequent expeditions aboard his…
S.E.A. Change – Science. Education. Activism. We have led the effort to research aquatic plastic pollution and to find solutions for regaining a plastic-free ocean. Our mission is to empower people to become leaders in combating the global health crisis of plastic pollution. http://www.5gyres.org/
