Have you ever heard about “plastic soup”? Do you know
what it is? Is it any latest cuisine being offered in some
restaurant downtown? Sadly, the answer is no.
With alarming statistics, vivid pictures and videos
being flashed on the screen, I was fortunate to be able to attend
this very educational environmental protection talk conducted by
Tzu Chi volunteer, Brother Cai Rong Fu, which was also being
attended by more than 60 medical staff, in this very meaningful
afternoon session on 29th Feb 2008 at Gleneagles Hospital.
In his presentation, Brother Cai shared with us what
“plastic soup” is, and how it was formed and why we should continue
to practice environmental protection for the benefits of our
children and future generations.
The Pacific “plastic soup”, or the great Pacific
garbage patch, is the world’s largest rubbish dump which is formed
by two massive, linked areas of circulating rubbish. Discovered in
1997 by American sailor Charles Moore, it is a vast area of plastic
debris and other flotsam drifting in the northern Pacific Ocean,
held there by swirling ocean currents (see footnotes 1 &
2).
As the “plastic soup” is now twice the size of
continental United States, scientists are very alarmed by its
ever-growing size since it was first discovered and the possible
impacts on human health.
How is “plastic soup” formed? Historically, flotsam in
the gyres has biodegraded. But modern plastics do not break down
like other oceanic debris, meaning objects half a century old have
been found in the North Pacific Gyre. Instead the plastic slowly
photodegrades (i.e. the process of breaking down into smaller
pieces due to being exposed to sunlight), becoming brittle and
disintegrating into smaller and smaller pieces which enter the food
chain and end up in the stomachs of birds and other animals.
Hearing Brother Cai’s sharing on the topic of “plastic
soup” and how important it is for us to start on environmental
protection for the betterment of our children’s future, it sent
shivers down my spine.
Have I ever unknowingly, ate or drank some “plastic
soup” before? Was this one of the reasons why the number of cancer
patients had increased tremendously in recent years? From now
onwards, what can I do to prevent this “plastic soup” from growing
larger in size? Will I ever be able to leave this world in peace
knowing that I am one of the “culprits” who had contributed towards
the pollution of our one and only one, precious mother Earth?
After attending this talk, the very thought of “plastic
soup” kept appearing in my mind. I began to feel that I am a very
blessed person, to be able to live in modern day comforts and
enjoying high standard of living. However, what price am I paying
for my present lifestyle? Now then I can fully appreciate why our
Master Cheng Yen has been appealing to everyone, for almost twenty
years, to do recycling and take part in environmental protection
activities.
I promised myself, for the sake of my children and our
future generations, I will be more proactive in the area of
environmental protection, will continue to contribute my tiny
efforts in leading a greener lifestyle, and will strive to become a
happy environmental protection volunteer!
Footnotes:
1)Refer to
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23156399-2,00.html,
reported on February 04, 2008 12:31pm by Xavier La Canna. This page
was retrieved on 8th March 2008.
2)Below picture is taken from
http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Ocean/Moore-Trashed-PacificNov03.htm,
retrieved on 8th March 2008.