63I knewsolittleabouttheoceanwhenI accepteda jobasa
writingteacherwithSemesteratSeaandsetoutwestacross
thePacific.MostlyI cravedanepicjourney,andourfour-
monthitinerarythrougha smatteringofportsinAsiaand
Africareadtomelikea guarantee.Inbetweencitieslike
BeijingandYangon,theseawouldserveasa palatecleanser.
It wasearly2015.MynewcolleagueSal,ourfacultymarine
biologist,hadspentmuchofhislifeontheoceanbutwas
stillwaryofourtrip’sfirstlegbetweenSanDiegoand
Yokohama.“Don’tbelieveanyonewhotells
youtheycan’tgetseasick,”hecau-
tioned.“They’relikepeoplewho
tell youtheycanswallow any
hotsauce.Theyjusthaven’tmet
theirmatch.”
Nobodyisa matchforthe
Pacific.EvenondayswhenI
hadthreeclassestoteachand
50 essaystograde,theocean
neverrecededtoa backdrop.
Itwastheimptossingwater
glassesoffmycabinshelves
andhurlingshampoobottles
acrosstheshowerfloor.It was
theinvisibledancepartnerI
balancedagainstwhilelectur-
ingonRachelCarson—quads
bracedandtoespressedagainstthe
keelingfloor.It wasthetwangandcreakinmymattress,the
slowandbeautifulglideofmylampshade’sshadowdown
mycabinwall.
Onenight,duringa stormasdeafeningascannonfire,I
stumbleddownthehallwaytoa nearbydeckandsawthe
Pacific’smightintheraw.I watchedit buckourseven-story
cruiserupintheair,andwhentheprowfellandsmacked
thesea’ssurface,thespumewassoastonishing—likean
uproarofbillowingclouds—thatI hadtoturnmyhead.It
feltlikenaturewassmashinghercymbalsrightinmyface.
I didknowenoughabouttheoceantorealize,a week
intoourvoyage,thatwemustbenearingtheGreatPacific
ILLUSTRATION BY AGNES LEEGarbagePatch:aninfamousgyreoffloatingrubbishthat
TRAVEL BloombergPursuits June 29, 2020bysomeestimatesstretches over 600,000 square miles.
I wincedinanticipationof seeing that undulating band of
blueoutmyportholewindow sullied with jugs of bleach
andkelp-gnarledcarbumpers, and for the first time in my
life,I caredforsomething in nature as tenderly as I might
a dearfriend.
Butwhenwereachedthe shores of Hilo, Hawaii, without
myspottinga singlebobbing soda bottle—let alone a moun-
tainofrubbishlargerthan the state of Texas—I asked Ann,
ourfacultyoceanographer, where it was. Her answer baf-
fledmeevenmore:We’dsailed right through it.
Plastic,I quicklylearned, photodegrades over time, but
onlytoa point.A bottlecast out to sea will break down into
tinypieces,somesmallerthan5 millimeters,thenhangsus-
pendedlikeconfettirightbeneaththesea’ssurface.Inour
pristine-lookingpathtoHawaii, it was all there—87,000 tons
ofelectronics,toothbrushes, fishing nets, yogurt containers,
andCDcases—churnedinto a thick soup that was invisible
tomeyetcomprisesthree-quarters of some turtles’ diets.
Ourshipwouldplytwo more oceans, but the Pacific was
whereI wokeuptoa cruel paradox that for all its staggering
force,natureisa passivereceptor of our toxins. If the sea
hadbecomea beingto me, comprehending the damage
donewas like learning this dear friend
had an infection running through
her bloodstream. Microscopic
cancers likely beyond retrieval
now. Tiny poisons I was culpa-
ble in creating.
Experts still don’t know
how long it takes for plas-
tic to fully break down; the
prevailing thought is about
500 years, though the answer
may as well be never. A bold
endeavor by the nonprofit
organizationOceanCleanup
isunderwaytofilter trash out
of the patch, but no one knows
whetherit willsucceed.
The Great Pacific Garbage
Patch washesup in mymemory
inbanalmoments.Receivingtakeoutwithplasticcutlery
I don’tneed,rinsinga yogurtcontainerforrecycling,or
weighingthecostofeco-friendlydiapers—Ican’thearthe
term“single-use”without thinking “eternal impact.”
Soasgeekyasit feelsto bring Tupperware on dinner
dateswhenI knowI’llwant leftovers boxed up, I only need
toimaginetherestaurant’s plastic packaging breaking down
intoedibleshards,joining the toxic soup that whales swal-
lowandbirdsunknowingly feed their newborns. I need only
sendmyimaginationback out to sea, to that very spot I
“missed”andcan’tshake, and let the blunt truth of ocean-
ographerSylviaEarlering hard through me: “There’s no
‘away’” to throw to. <BW>While environmental disaster
lurks right below the surface
By Colleen KinderIN AWE OF THE
PACIFIC’S
POWER