The second of two research ships bound for a huge “island” of plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean leaves San Francisco today.

Ocean currents have pushed the refuse together in an area estimated to be larger than the State of Texas.

The expedition, named Project Kaisei, will study the impact of the waste on marine life.

Ultimately the organisers hope to clear the plastic and recycle it for use as fuel and new products.

Speaking from the quayside in San Francisco, waiting for the second ship to leave, Ryan Yerkey, the project’s chief of operations, told BBC News: “Every piece of trash that is left on a beach or ends up in our rivers or estuaries and washes out to the sea is an addition to the problem, so we need people to be the solution.”

“Twenty years from now we can’t be harvesting the ocean for trash. We need to get it out but we need to also have people make those changes in their lives to stop the problem from growing and hopefully reverse the course.”

Five-day journey

The two ships, Kaisei – which left today – and New Horizon from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography – which left on 2 August – will take five days to reach the debris.

They will return at the end of the month.

The vortex of currents which pushes the debris together is known as the North Pacific Gyre.

Ryan Yerkey has sailed across the Pacific twice and has watched the problem build up since the 1980s. He blames our increased use of disposable products.

The Texas Society of Sculptors exhibit debuts this spring with an installment of 38 pieces. The sculptures will be on display Tuesday, March 3 through end of May. Winners of a juried competition will be announced Sunday, March 15 at 2:30 p.m. as part of a public reception with the artists from 1 to 4 p.m. that day. Sculpting demonstrations in various media will occur April 18 and May 16, from 1 to 4 p.m. on both Saturdays. The exhibit will be displayed at the Gardens of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, 4801 La Crosse Ave, Austin, TX, 78739. Reception and sculpture demonstrations will be in the center’s courtyard.

The Wildflower Center features a wide-ranging exhibit of sculptures nestled throughout the center’s grounds. Eighteen Texas artists crafted the works depicting humans, birds, lizards and other subjects from stone, wood, resin, steel and other materials. Among them are serene, stone abstracts of human faces by Michael Epps, whimsical, colorful elfin-like figurines by Dar Richardson, and detailed bronze statues. The latter are among the offerings from Gregory Beck, who is influenced by classical realism in his creation of lifelike works that include larger-than-life human figurines.
The public is invited to meet several participating artists at the reception on Sunday afternoon, March 15, and to learn about sculpting with various materials at the April and May demonstrations.
Admission: $7 adults, $6 seniors and students, $3 children and free for members and children under 5. For more information, call 512.232.0100