Over a thousand miles off the coast of California lays a vast expanse of open Pacific Ocean,
an area where four ocean currents come together to form a swirling vortex of waters.
The North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone, or as it's commonly known, the North Pacific Gaia,
is one of the most remote and untraveled parts of the globe.
Yet in recent years, humanity has shifted more attention to this inaccessible area.
The primary motivation instigating humanity's focus on this land, this realm, is quite simple.
Human trash.
We call it the oceanic air ball because those things seem to gather all kinds of nets somehow
and put them together. It's pretty strange, over.
The impact of these materials is not altogether clear.
Toxins such as DDT and PCBs are known to be present interacting with synthetic and organic matter.
Evidence has indicated these materials are being ingested by sea life,
ultimately affecting the health of fish, birds, and other species,
while at the same time giving us warning that the materials and toxins may be entering into our human food chain.
How much trash is out there? This is mere speculation,
but what is known is the debris problem has been escalating the past 25 years,
and it is pervasive, complicated, and very real.
You know, we're heading towards catastrophe right now.
Literally everyone on the planet Earth is dependent upon a healthy ocean environment.
The problems are big. We're not solving them fast enough, so we all got to get on it.
We're either going to deal with this stuff or we're going to drown and blast it.
I am very committed to finding solutions to this marine debris problem in the Pacific.
We are out here to try to accomplish really good science
and to really seek solutions for picking up the debris.
I've unfortunately started to see some terrible changes in the ocean.
I thought, if nobody is taking on cleaning this up, I better do it.
You know, this all happened on my watch, so to speak.
So here in this sample that we got from our nitrile, we're seeing lots of sail jellies,
and within one of the sail jellies right on top, we found a piece of foam.
We're starting to get more plastic in our samples as we go.
What you couldn't see from the boat and what you could see when they brought it up
was very disturbing. All of what you bring up, you can't even see unless you're staring right down at it.
I was surprised. It wasn't quite what I expected.
It was worse in a lot of ways than what I expected.
One of the dramatic manta trolls pulled up lots of jellyfish and lots of pieces of plastic.
And you could see pieces of plastic inside the jellyfish, outside the jellyfish,
and you could see the jellyfish ingesting the plastic.
And it just makes one realize that a lot of sea life may be ingesting plastic.
And this is very bad for the whole ecosystem.
There's nothing like an eight congenit or anything like that,
but it's even more striking to see the small plastic debris everywhere we look,
even with the first troll just only, I believe, 400 miles off the coast of California.
The ocean is our life source.
Not only is it a place where we see enjoyment and where we have fun and love it,
but it is where we get our life and where we get our breath from.
If we ruin it, that's the end of us.
The ocean and the earth, they'll survive, but we may not.
It's quite amazing to think of how many things are plastic
and how they end up here in the middle of the ocean.
It's not like people are intentionally throwing things into the water all the time.
I'm sure there are people who really don't care about that,
and they just pitch it over a side of the ship or leave it out in their yard
or have it in the back of their truck and it blows off in the highway,
goes in the waterways, and then it's up here.
So a lot of it's just carelessness.
People really are paying attention, and this is where the forgotten things go.
I feel that the success of this expedition will be measured
on how well we're able to spread the message of what is happening
and create changes in people's behaviors and in the way cities and states
and countries handle their garbage and find solutions for cleanup.
And it's incumbent upon us all to really focus our resources to deal with this problem
because it's getting worse.
We believe we can stop it and can turn things around,
but time is of the essence and our decision-makers,
whether it's in industries or governments, really have to lessen
and make a difference, and we can do it.
Thank you.
