Continents of Garbage

If you haven't yet heard about the massive floating garbage islands in the Pacific, check it out. They are estimated in size anywhere from twice Texas to the size of the entire lower 48. They are not so much islands as a thick soup of plastic, which is killing animals both above (who can't digest the shiny stuff they swallow) and below, from interference with sunlight and other natural processes. They also are the ultimate tragedy of the commons, with no one in the world anxious to take responsibility for them, and no one with a realistic plan for removing them.