ABC News: Under the Sea: A Garbage Dumping Ground — I’m thinking “tourist attraction.” No?
There is a floating garbage dump about the size of Africa created by Pacific currents now carrying refuse from North America, Asia and the islands, concentrating it into a swirl of flotsam estimated to contain 3.5 million tons of junk, 80 percent of which is plastic.
Charles Moore, founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, is an independently wealthy man who decided to spend his life studying the ocean. Ten years ago he was credited with discovering The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the oceanic dump of the Pacific Rim.
I reported here that it was only the size of Texas. Now it is said to be the size of 2 Texas’s or perhaps one Africa. How about dropping an H-bomb on it?
I have been reading these stories for a while now. I have always wanted to actually see this garbage pile. I figured someone would fly over or something to get a pic. I can never find one.
I’m not sure if I buy it. The whole thing could be bogus.
This is just crazy, i feel bad for my kids.
It’s now the size of Jupiter.
I agree Julieb, this would definitely get more attention and make me a believer if there was actual picture(s) of this newly formed mass of garbage.
If it’s so big, how come we can’t get a picture of it on one of the many satellites crisscrossing the globe? Or like mentioned above, a simple picture from a plane or better yet, a boat stuck in this mess. You would think a freighter or cruise ship with at least one person with a camera on board would have snapped a couple Kodak moments.
Only them will it gain the traction it deserves, unless its not entirely true.. the size that is.
I wouldn’t doubt that there is a lot of garbage dumped in the Pacific and that it’s endangering the echo systems there but, if it’s so big, why are there no pictures of this catastrophe?
I can’t stand litterers. It pisses me off enough to have to pick up a can of soda or cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee or plastic bag every morning before I pull out of my drive way. I can’t imagine the filth that’s building up in the Pacific. There’s far too many filthy, irresponsible, inconsiderate assholes in this world — including Governments for allowing this to continue.
BBC America News ran a multi-part peice a couple of weeks ago on plastic and other garbage washing ashore on Midway Island.
While I didn’t catch all the parts of the feature they pretty much blamed China.
Nat geo or some such tv show had a 10 minute segment on a guy sampling the affected area==showed him trolling a net behind his boat in the water and such. Most of the garbage is below the surface just continuously getting broken down into smaller and smaller pieces.
Real concern about what might happen to the food chain when these plastic particles possibly interfere with protozoa reproduction.
So–not as dramatic as we might like==after all, look at the worlds concern when an ice shelf the size of Vermont breaks off.- – – – – – nevermind.
I’d like to see a picture or 3 of this. The thing that gets me though is that it states it’s the size of Africa. The continent of Africa is over 30 million square kilometers…the state of Texas under 700 thousand square kilometers.
Do they edit this out when satellite pictures of the earth are shown?
Maybe #3 is right it’s the size of Jupiter.
There’s no pic of it because the plastic isn’t on the surface. It floats, but does not necessarily pop up to the top. On the other hand, why not a map of the area? Then we’d know if it is “twice the size of Texas” (huge) or “the size of Africa” (much much more huge).
I’ve heard that in Ireland they have a tax of something like 25 cents per plastic bag : everybody uses something more sturdy to carry their shopping. It’s but a “drop in the ocean”, but it is a start.
all that plastic gives the algae something to grow on
and its now the size of the Sun. Really!
Ah, the morning starts off with the usual chickenshit – people afraid of accepting responsibility. The easiest way to do that is utilize the Bush defense – claim that there’s no problem in the first place.
Cowards.
we need some plankton that eats plastic
Plastic… that’s the word touted as the future in “The Graduate” about forty years ago. Tomorrow became today. Plastic made the petroleum industry obscenely wealthy while the imperiling the planet. The truly pathetic aspect is the public perceives progress as purchasing evermore disposable plastic. We are all playing with plastic bags pulled tight across our face. Blinded we are beginning to have a problem breathing, yet we buy more of the poison. Amazingly the species self destructs while walking out of WalMart with a smile.
Hey, Don’t Worry !!! The human race is like a Fungus in a Petri Dish – It will spread out, consuming all the growth media until there is no more, and then the DIE OFF WILL BEGIN !!! And then the Earth will begin to take out the human detritus and cleanse itself !!! So much for humans being “Intelligent Creatures” !!!
We keep hearing about this so called Garbage Island floating in the Pacific, but where’s the proof? You’d expect to be able to see on it a satellite if it’s the size of Africa, but then we get the excuse that it’s now under water so you can’t see it. Uh huh.
First it was the size of Texas
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=14358
now its the size of Africa?!
Next you will be able to walk/drive from S.F. to Tokyo with out getting wet.
Easy, it will show up in google earth…NOT!
If you see the video you realize it’not like there’s bottles and stuff… it’s small pellets of plastic in suspension. Serious stuff, but not that mediatic, sorry…
It probably changes the color of the water a little from orbit, like the feds look for sick trees, bug infestations, and pot farms.
Whoever put the article together needed to see if anyone had tried it.
#12, I control my garbage to the extent I can. Do you?
Intense UV light and ozone, which is naturally generated in salt water in the tropics, breaks down plastic. I left a new plastic bucket outside the beach house one summer, and it fell apart after 3 months in the sun. It became brittle and fell apart under it’s own weight.
John I drive way too fast to worry about this, or cholesterol, margarine, sugar and the 100’s of other things that are killing me….smile…If I dwelled on it too long I would get depressed….Can’t afford that…I am busy trying to be optimistic…
thanks for the great share.
cjEureka