Great Pacific Garbage Patch
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- dbloc0
"You see these quotes that it's the size of Texas, then it's the size of France, and I even heard one description of it as a continent," she says. "That alone should lend some concern that there's not consistency in our idea of its size. It's these hot spots, not one big mass. Maybe if you added them all up it's the size of Texas, but we still don't know. It could be bigger than Texas."
- DrBombay0
Somehow Panacea thinks this is a good thing.
- lowimpakt0
"On Midway Atoll, a remote cluster of islands more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent, the detritus of our mass consumption surfaces in an astonishing place: inside the stomachs of thousands of dead baby albatrosses. The nesting chicks are fed lethal quantities of plastic by their parents, who mistake the floating trash for food as they forage over the vast polluted Pacific Ocean.
For me, kneeling over their carcasses is like looking into a macabre mirror. These birds reflect back an appallingly emblematic result of the collective trance of our consumerism and runaway industrial growth. Like the albatross, we first-world humans find ourselves lacking the ability to discern anymore what is nourishing from what is toxic to our lives and our spirits. Choked to death on our waste, the mythical albatross calls upon us to recognize that our greatest challenge lies not out there, but in here."
- lowimpakt0
"On Midway Atoll, a remote cluster of islands more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent, the detritus of our mass consumption surfaces in an astonishing place: inside the stomachs of thousands of dead baby albatrosses. The nesting chicks are fed lethal quantities of plastic by their parents, who mistake the floating trash for food as they forage over the vast polluted Pacific Ocean.
For me, kneeling over their carcasses is like looking into a macabre mirror. These birds reflect back an appallingly emblematic result of the collective trance of our consumerism and runaway industrial growth. Like the albatross, we first-world humans find ourselves lacking the ability to discern anymore what is nourishing from what is toxic to our lives and our spirits. Choked to death on our waste, the mythical albatross calls upon us to recognize that our greatest challenge lies not out there, but in here."
- detritus0
As much as I might be disgusted by the ideas of oceanic rubbish gyres, the image you've posted (and, to a degree, the ones in the article) are NOT representative of the reality.
That kind of reality would be relatively easily to deal with - get some fishing boats out, scoop it all up - hey presto.
Sadly, the bulk of pastic in these gyres isatomised into so many tiny particulate pieces that the horrorifying reality is that we can do fuck all to upt the genie back in the bottle.
- < avec le post originaldetritus
- fucking hell, I really need to start checking my posts... 'horrorifying'? Great word, but total nonsense.detritus
- There is tons of shit floating too so the photo does represent a piece of the problem.dbloc
- I agree though...the problem is a lot deeper than just some shit floating on top of the water.dbloc
- Aye, don't get me wrong - i entertain a fantasy of staying on the Marshal Isl. to help clean up - even if it is a ...detritus
- ..relatively useless drop in the ocean, so to speak.detritus
- johnny_wobble0
We can put 13000 Americans on it and apply for statehood.
- ideaist0
“Human kind cannot bear much reality.” ~ T.S. Eliot
- detritus0
Looking on the positive side - when creatures evolve to incorporate plastics into their body, we might see a whole new flourishing divergence in life.
They might out-compete us yet - we might find ourselves waging war against chitinplastic composite humungofish, bearing thin poly veil sales which they can use to fly high and swoop down, ripping us haples fleshies asunder.
Face it, we're fucked whatever happens.
- CALLES0
we will be the detritus
- Fax_Benson0
It's incredible just how much junk these birds can consume. Those adolescent albatross probably died from lack of nutrients in their diet, rather than too many lighters (which I suppose is the same thing). The parents probably thought; why bother fishing - junior seems to love this shiny plastic stuff that just floats about.
- not suggesting it's ENTIRELY the birds' fault.Fax_Benson
- zoozoo0
indistrialized countries (corporations) should be completely held responsible to fix this asap. penalized for non-compliance.
- sine0
maybe surf brands can put their money where their marketing is and spend some of their profits on this.
- mikotondria30
Similarly,
- instrmntl0
they should ban plastic.
- I think cleaning up the trash would be an easier task.dbloc
- lol @ ban plastic,
wooden keyboards here I come ;PGeorgesII - plastic packaging seems to be the biggest problem. that shit ends up in the trash by the tons every day.sine
- maybe plastic bags at the leastali
- WTF am I going to put my lunch in then? Fuck that.CygnusZero4
- yeah wood tiresmoldero