18. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Outdoors sports are a wonderful way to enjoy the beauty of nature. Whether riding a motorbike or sailing on the ocean, we gain respect and love for our fragile planet.

I was shocked when I first heard about THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH and now finally somebody is doing something about it.

New York Times
After nearly four years of development, eco-adventurer David de Rothschild has launched his most ambitious expedition yet. The Plastiki, an innovative catamaran made from 12,000 post-consumer plastic bottles, is sailing a 100-day voyage from San Francisco to Sydney. Their mission is to witness some of the most devastating waste accumulation on our planet, including the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Taking inspiration from Thor Heyerdal's 1947 Kon-tiki expedition, the Plastiki's crew includes of David de Rothschild, accomplished skipper Jo Royle, and Olav Heyerdahl, Thor's grandson.
Follow their blog at http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/plastiki/.

Its two hulls are also ringed by about 12,000 whole and highly pressurized two-liter bottles, some with their labels still clinging to their sides. It may be the only boat in the world that you could redeem at your local deli.

Power is provided by a small array of solar panels and windmills, and exercise is provided by a stationary bike. Asked how he and his five-member crew might entertain themselves for the planned three-month journey, Mr. de Rothschild said, “sunbathing.” (He later added chess, dominos and, yes, live blogging.)

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also described as the Pacific Trash Vortex, extends over a very wide area, with estimates ranging from an area the size of the state of Texas to one larger than the continental United States.

The Patch is characterized by exceptionally high concentrations of pelagic plastic, chemical sludge and other debris, that have been trapped by the currents of the North Pacific.

Despite its size and density, the patch is not visible from satellite photography. Since plastics break down to ever smaller polymers, concentrations of submerged particles are not visible from space, nor do they appear as a continuous debris field. Instead, the patch is defined as an area in which the mass of plastic debris in the upper water column is significantly higher than average.

WHAT ARE WE DOING TO OUR PLANET??

JEAN, THE RIDING DUTCHMAN