Fancy a bowl of “Plastic Soup†for you? by Grace Yeo Kim Keo
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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.