Tracking Trash

Tracking trash: flotsam, jetsam, and the science of ocean motion by Loree Griffin Burns is an interesting book. It talks about Curt Ebbesmeyer’s study of ocean motion by tracking trash that washes up on beaches. He got started in the unusual study when his mother asked him why there were so many sneakers washing up on the shores of the ocean around her hometown of Seattle. Curt discovers that a ocean tanker had lost 5 containers of Nike tennis shoes—that’s 33,000 pairs of shoes lost in the ocean. Since shoes float, Curt was able to track the path of the shoes by seeing where they ended up on shore. He did the same thing later with the path of plastic bath toys that were lost from a ship. He uses this information to explain ocean currents and motion.

Besides how fascinating the tracking of the trash was, the idea that so much stuff is lost off of ships transporting goods from Asia to North America is staggering. No wonder we have a problem with ocean pollution. There is one point where the book shows the trash that has washed up on the shores of uninhabited islands. This book really brings home how important it is to recycle and reuse what we can to protect our natural resources.

This is another very short book with lots of pictures, but it has a powerful message to all who read it. It is interesting and has great information for reports.