First of all let me be clear about something - I've never seen the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and I'm not a scientist. But even with my lack of experience and credentials on the subject I firmly believe that this Garbage Patch exists and that the reports of it are not overstated. I also believe that we need to do something about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch fast.

If you haven't heard about this, there's a few facts about the Garbage Patch you should know:

• It's size is estimated to be between 700,000 square kilometres (270,000 sq mi) to more than 15,000,000 square kilometres (5,800,000 sq mi).
• About 80% of the garbage in the patch comes from land based sources and the other 20% from ships.
• The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is potentially made up of over 100 million tons of garbage.

If you're finding it hard to believe you should watch Charles Moore's Video about it.

Obviously this is an enormous ecological problem, an ecological disaster, and we're literally suffocating the oceans with plastic debris.

What adds to the problem is our inability as human beings to agree on and concentrate on one goal - like trying not to add to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

This problem is so big, it encompasses so many variables and people that it will never be under control if it's just you, me and my neighbor as concerned people. This problem will never be under control if it's just the USA, Canada and Mexico as the concerned continent of North America. All the world's human inhabitants have to work on this problem together because without full cooperation of almost every nation in the world this problem will never be under control.

My experience on the ferry rides I've taken between the island of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia show me that everyone must work together on this ecological disaster for the solution to be a success. On the ferry rides I remember seeing a river of garbage between Java and Sumatra. It was hard to tell from the deck of the ship but this river of garbage must have been 40 or 50 meters wide. I have no idea how long or how deep it was but I can tell you that it extended in either direction as far as I could see. I was in awe, it was as if there was a slipstream or current between the two islands that was pushing all the garbage together. The concentration of garbage became a plastic highway in the ocean.

So if North America, Australia, Japan and say Chile all decide that it would be a good idea to work together on this problem what would the outcome be if Indonesia and the other 180 or so countries of the world kept on adding to it?

In all likeliness the outcome would be negligible and insufficient.

It's for solving problems like this - problems that need the attention of the world as a whole - that the organization called the United Nations was formed.

The world's leaders will be meeting in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change Conference between Dec 7th and 18th, 2009 and I really hope that they can all agree on some solutions to the worlds problems.

If you want to make sure that you're represented by someone who is actually concerned about Climate Change then take a second and sign the petition at Hopenhagen.org and give them the support they need to represent you and your Climate Change concerns.