clipped from www.moremarin.com

Project Kaisei has launched. 

The group of scientists, environmentalists and ocean lovers left the SF Bay yesterday on an expedition to study a gigantic floating 'plastic vortex' of trash that floats in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  The group--led by Marinite Mary Crowley--is trying to figure out what type of trash is there, how it got there and ways to remove and recycle it.

The gigantic trash heap has been growing for years--the result of our consumption of non-recyclable materials--and contributes to death of marine life and pollution of the oceans. 

Because the floating garbage pile is constantly in flux, nobody really knows how big it is, but some estimates suggest its mass is double the size of Texas.

You can follow the action on the Project Kaisei website where they've set up a special Google Earth link to track the project's progress.

(photo of boat courtesy of Ocean Voyages Institute; photo of trash courtesy of Whole Travel Blog)