The seafaring activist discovered a sea of plastic in the Pacific Ocean


TACOMA, Wash. – Capt. Charles Moore, scientist and activist, will discuss his book Plastic Ocean, which describes the alarming presence of plastics in our oceans, at a free event at 5:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 23 at University of Puget Sound.

His presentation, “The Great Infection of the Sea,” is open to all and will be held in Murray Boardroom in Wheelock Student Center on campus. The event is sponsored by the Sierra Club Tatoosh Group and University of Puget Sound’s Sound Policy Institute. See below for a map of campus.

Moore, a prominent seafaring environmentalist and researcher, will share his discovery of what he calls the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” in the Pacific Ocean. The area, roughly two million square miles in size, is estimated to hold an estimated three million tons of plastic debris.

Moore says this morass of plastic threatens our marine ecosystems, ocean environments, and ultimately all life on earth. He calls for a fundamental rethinking of the “Plastic Age” and urgent measures to solve a growing global health crisis.

In the summer of 1997, Moore set sail from Honolulu with the sole intention of returning home after competing in a transpacific race. To get to California, he and his crew took a shortcut through the seldom-traversed North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, a vast “oceanic desert” where winds are slack and sailing ships languish.

Once there, Moore realized his catamaran was surrounded by a “plastic soup.” He had stumbled upon the largest garbage dump on the planet—a spiraling nebula where plastic outweighs zooplankton, the ocean’s food base, by a ratio of 6-to-1.

In his presentation Moore will discuss these observations, what they mean to our planet, and his book Plastic Ocean.

His call to action has been compared to Rachel Carson's seminal 1962 book Silent Spring, which inspired wide public concern about pesticides and provided one of the spurs to the environmental movement. Signed copies of Plastic Ocean: How a Sea Captain’s Chance Discovery Launched a Determined Quest to Save the Oceans (Avery Books, October, 2011), authored by Capt. Charles Moore with Cassandra Phillips, will be available for purchase.

Moore, founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, has appeared widely in the media, including on The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, The Today Show, National Geographic Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery, The New York Times Magazine, and Los Angeles Times.

Moore also will be speaking in Bellingham, Olympia, Port Angeles, and Seattle. Read more about Plastic Ocean in this book review: www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/Book-Review-Plastic-Ocean-How-a-Sea-Captain-s-2293587.php.

For more information contact Dorothy Walker at dorothyw@centurylink.net or Bliss Moore at blissmoore2004@yahoo.com.

For directions and a map of the campus: www.pugetsound.edu/directions.xml

Press photos of Charles Moore are available upon request.

The Sound Policy Institute builds the capacity of individuals and groups, both on the University of Puget Sound campus and in the regional community, to effectively engage in environmental decision making. It is one of several initiatives at University of Puget Sound that harness the resources and expertise of the university and work in partnership with community partners to improve the lives of the people of Tacoma and the Puget Sound region. For more about the Sound Policy Institute visit:  www.pugetsound.edu/soundpolicy.

Photos on page: Top right: Albatross parent and chick on Eastern Island, Midway Atoll, by David Weeshoff. Top left: Capt. Charles Moore. Above right: Debris on Kamilo Beach, Hawaii, 2006. All photos courtesy of Algalita Marine Research Foundation.

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