clipped from: www.alternet.org   

The Pacific Isn't the Only Ocean Turning into a Trash Heap

A swirling 'soup' of plastic has been found in the Atlantic, and something similar may be present in other ocean areas.

When Sylvia Earle began diving in 1952, the ocean was pristine. These days, things are different. "For the past 30 years I have never been on a dive anytime, anywhere, from the surface to 2-1/2 miles deep, without seeing a piece of trash," says the renowned oceanographer and former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "There's life from the surface to the greatest depths -- and there's also trash from the surface to the greatest depths."

while the Pacific Ocean has garnered much attention for what some call the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" -- a vast expanse of floating plastic deposited in the middle of the ocean by circulating currents -- the problem doesn't stop there.
New research shows that plastic has collected in a region of the Atlantic as well,