Trash Vortex off Hawaii

After 11 months traveling around the world, the Esperanza pulled into port last week in Honolulu. Its crew and I will be celebrating the recent creation of the world's largest marine protected area - right here in the Hawaiian Islands.

Unfortunately, the world's largest marine protected area ALSO sits next to one of the world's largest floating garbage dumps. This garbage dump is the size of Texas, where ocean trash, particularly plastic trash, is brought by currents from around the world and gathers in what we call "the Trash Vortex". Because plastic doesn't break down it chokes and tangles marine wildlife like turtles and feeding birds such as Albatrosses, while impacting on every level of the food chain. To learn more about this garbage dump or "trash vortex", http://www.email.greenpeace.org/lwzdws_hdwpjss.html click here.