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this "New Continent". The convenience of plastic in the modern world has created thousands of products that are not bio-degradable carbon based items. These modern plastic products only break down into smaller pieces of plastic that are still synthetic polymers which can not be digested by living organisms.

Did you know that Americans toss 100,000 aluminum cans every minute? Can you guess how many plastic grocery bags are used each hour across America? (1.14 million per hour...Woolridge) And over 400,000 cell phones are discraded daily and what about batteries? and disposable diapers? and disposable plastic ink pens and lighters? Trace your steps daily and see what you recycle daily versus what you throw into a trash can. The Sierra Club reports that Americans use 90 billion plastic bags per year and many of these end up in the Pacific Ocean dump. Recent environmental reports state "more than 46,000 pieces of plastic debris float on each square mile of ocean". (UN, 2008)

Many birds are eating from the "Garbage Patch" along with sea turtles, fish and various other ocean species. Their stomachs are full of plastic products and other disposable human waste never intended to be eaten by any creature (lighters,straws,plastic cup lids,diapers,pellets and much more). World environmentalists and conservation activists, state over 267 species of animals have eaten from or been caught on the floating "Garbage Patch".

Birds, fish and other animals eventually die from the consumption of this indigestible garbage filling their stomachs, stopping the normal passage of food through their system and causing them to starve to death. It is alarming to know toxic chemical contaminants absorbed from various pieces of trash on the floating mass are making their way up the food chain onto our dining-room tables, in the fish we eat. These chemicals include DDT and PCP's, which attach to the plastic as if it were a sponge.

Will this be another legacy our disposable world and consumer driven society leaves to the next generations? The alarming truth is that our oceans everywhere are becoming deluged with plastic with environmental reports estimating 25% of the world ocean waters are becoming "accumulators of floating plastic debris" (Charles Moore, Natural History, V 112, N.9,Nov 02). It is said that over 10% (a low estimate) of the worlds 250 billion tons of manufactured plastic products end up in the ocean (Greenpeace).

Our priorities are out of alignment when the CEO's in America spend

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