OCEANS: GCA Position Paper

This month, we draw your attention to the GCA Position Paper on Oceans.  As with each Position Paper, this is only one page long and is laid out in simple bullet points in four categories:  Pollution Reduction, Funding, Sustainable Resource Use, and Ecosystem Protection, Conservation, and Biodiversity.  Read it here.

Marine life is in steep decline far a variety of reasons, and climate change has wrought havoc on ocean ecology.  There are currently five supporting articles on the National Affairs and Legislation Committee’s page on the GCA website, should you like to read more on the subject.  Go to https://www.gcamerica.org/members/nal and drop down to the heading “oceans” to find them.

One literally huge subject that has gained a great deal of public interest in recent months is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  In fact there are 3 large flotsam patches in the Pacific, the largest of which covers more area than twice the state of Texas.  These are made up of vast amounts of floating plastic waste, which endangers marine life in a multitude of ways.  Now that China no longer accepts plastic waste from the United States, we are stuck with no means to recycle the vast majority of plastic waste we generate.  This is the reason so many organizations, even including our little club, have set out to reverse the proliferation of single-use plastics in our lives.  There is simply nowhere to put them, and no means to recycle them.  This is why we ask you to Break a Bad Habit and Make a Good Habit each month!