Plastic trash has been accumulating in the Pacific Ocean at an alarming rate and its effects are reverberating throughout the ecosystem, according to a new study by researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

Oceanographers may be severely undercounting the true amount of plastic waste that finds its way into the oceans after a happenstance discovery of how the plastic is actually distributed.

Cleanup found enough discarded clothing to outfit entire audience of the 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony WASHINGTON, March 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With

Debris from the tsunami that devastated Japan in March could reach the United States as early as this winter, according to predictions by NOAA scientists. However, they warn there is still a large amount of uncertainty over exactly what is still floating, where it's located, where it will go, and when it will arrive.

The latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) award-winning "Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions" podcast series discusses the discovery that household washing machines seem to be a major source of so-called "microplastic" pollution -- bits of polyester and acrylic smaller than the head of a pin -- that researchers now have detected on ocean shorelines worldwide.