There’s a great feeling in sailing across an expanse of ocean that stretches farther than you can see, rolling along beneath you and the color of blue you can only imagine when you don’t actually have it there in front of you. Anyone who’s ever studied the Greek classics still has to recall that ‘wine dark sea’ was the cliché of the century when literature had its beginnings. In our best moments, that incredibly clear deep color needs recognition as a heritage we never earned but were born into.

Yes, of course, we heedlessly threw something into it at one time or another. ("J’ai quelque jour dans l’ocean/Jeté comme offrand au neant…") And as a society, we used it for wastes when it seemed limitless and part of our world that was bigger than us and beyond our capacity to ruin.

Now we have that increasing garbage patch formed by the myriad plastic wrappings that our goodies come encased in. No, I haven’t seen a lot of garbage while I was sailing in the Atlantic. One of the wonderful characteristics of most of the islands and ports I’ve been in is the cleanliness there, roadsides that are free of clutter and full of flowers and loveliness. From the worst of our society, though, we’ve gotten to the point that the oceans are not big enough for the trash we’re creating.

Since it was first documented in 1997, the level of garbage has been increasing at an exponential rate, despite worldwide policies that prohibit ocean dumping. Evidence has shown that man made floating garbage now inundates every square mile of the world’s oceans.

It’s also widely documented that manmade plastic is killing wildlife everywhere. The Internet is loaded with photos of albatross stomachs full of plastic, mammals strangled by 6-pack rings, jellyfish speckled with plastic bits and California rivers, bays and beaches overflowing with garbage. The term "albatross plastic" will generate hundreds of photos on Google Images of these endangered birds killed by plastic ingestion.

Whale pollution

One of several dead whales found in the Puget Sound near Seattle this month was found to have eaten a shocking amount of manufactured waste. Researchers from the Cascadia Research Collective performed a
necropsy to determine the cause of death.

"The animal had more than 50 gallons of largely undigested stomach contents consisting mostly of algae but also a surprising amount of human debris including more than 20 plastic bags, small towels, surgical gloves, sweat pants, plastic pieces, duct tape, and a golf ball," their report states. "The debris, while numerous, made up only 1 to 2 percent of the stomach contents and there was no clear indication it had caused the death of the animal." It also had propeller marks on its head that researchers believed did not cause its death.

"The 37 foot near-adult male was found to be in better nutritional condition than some of the other gray whales that have died in recent weeks and starvation was not considered a major contributor to the cause of death," Cascadia’s Website reads. Testing results may show the exact cause of death but will not be available for several weeks.

Some interpretations of the report assumed the whale had been "feeding in an industrial area," but several other whales have contained similar matter. In 2008, Chris Callahan, a researcher at Humboldt State University, and HSU Marine Mammologist Jeff Jacobsen, found 50 to 60 pounds of fishing net material in the stomach of a whale that washed ashore near crescent City. Callahan said in separating the material, researchers believe it to came from as many as 17 independent nets.

What wouldn’t I give to see just one whale. But I can do something for my unseen companions here on the ocean. I can carry re-usable bags with me, and avoid creating more of the trash they’re swimming in, that our world is swimming in.

Incidentally, the Royal Caribbean cruise line is very environmentally conscious, uses many waste savers and constantly asks us to be responsible about our own uses. Favoring environmentally responsible firms is another course we can take to keep our world safe from our worst effects.

If you haven’t seen the ocean lately, I recommend you go now, though. Later, I will be putting up some great pictures, but taking your own is good for you, and good for your commitment to our environment.