A continent of trash floating in the Pacific Ocean

[Sean Renaud]

Great point.

What exactly are you doing about the problem...

...besides feeling, I mean?

Voting for politicians who want stricter regulations. If a politician makes a promise to so much as make an official study of the island, I don't even need a solution just stage one "scouting" and they've got my vote. That's what I'm doing.

 

[unregistered]

 

[unregistered]

 

[warrior queen]

I see currents but I don't see any trash, show me the "continent" of trash.

Hello???
The water is that mucky green colour due to the trash.
You want pics of the individual pieces viewed from space? That will just be a few bits in a bit of water, and there's loads of pics like that already.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Just show me some fucking evidence that we have a "continent" of trash out in the fucking ocean. Not being on mushrooms, I gotta have proof.

Hey who eats the eyes?

Okay. So your point is that you believe it's grossly exaggerated and want to see it. I got no problem with that.

You know what? That was funny as fuck and while I'd love to hear more of your opinion I'm simply going to say good show. Unless someone sweeps me up in the next three hours you are awarded the official Sean Renaud smile of the day. Even if I forget to throw out the trophy each day this goes out to the person who made me smile till my cheeks hurt.

Don't think you're totally off the hook but for tonight I shall leave you with a simple thank you.

 

[unregistered]

 

[unregistered]

 

[Sean Renaud]

The truth about the "continent" of trash can be found here children, you can sleep tonight:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110104151146.htm

Okay having read your article it doesn't deny there is a lot of plastic in the ocean and that it's a troubling amount. It's mostly arguing that the media is telling you that Godzilla is trouncing around in your backyard like it's a big playground and the reality is that there is a twenty foot crocodile in your pool. There is still a problem and maybe we should at least be discussing possible solutions instead of pretending it's okay to have a twenty foot croc in the yard?

My point being that I feel like (and for the moment I'm specifically not talking about the right) that if screaming Godzilla doesn't get a reaction from the average person that obviously tempering the message to be more accurate and less radical would just lead to the same shrug the average person is already doing. Seriously between paper bags or possibly cloth bags that consumers reuse, or returning to the "old" days where milk came in a glass bottle and who knows what other solutions we could come up with if we could stop bickering over if it's a problem and start figuring out how to solve it, is defending the croc in your backyard?

Hello???
The water is that mucky green colour due to the trash.
You want pics of the individual pieces viewed from space? That will just be a few bits in a bit of water, and there's loads of pics like that already.

With all due respect...bull hockey.

The water is murky because of the plankton Queen. Have you never seen a natural body of water before cus. . .I don't get to say this often but you're either ignorant of why water is colored as it is or Vette's right and it's bull shit.

 

[pointless]

i had no idea that plankton had a queen. learn something everyday.

 

[warrior queen]

Okay having read your article it doesn't deny there is a lot of plastic in the ocean and that it's a troubling amount. It's mostly arguing that the media is telling you that Godzilla is trouncing around in your backyard like it's a big playground and the reality is that there is a twenty foot crocodile in your pool. There is still a problem and maybe we should at least be discussing possible solutions instead of pretending it's okay to have a twenty foot croc in the yard?

My point being that I feel like (and for the moment I'm specifically not talking about the right) that if screaming Godzilla doesn't get a reaction from the average person that obviously tempering the message to be more accurate and less radical would just lead to the same shrug the average person is already doing. Seriously between paper bags or possibly cloth bags that consumers reuse, or returning to the "old" days where milk came in a glass bottle and who knows what other solutions we could come up with if we could stop bickering over if it's a problem and start figuring out how to solve it, is defending the croc in your backyard?




The water is murky because of the plankton Queen. Have you never seen a natural body of water before cus. . .I don't get to say this often but you're either ignorant of why water is colored as it is or Vette's right and it's bull shit.

You don't often get plankton in the middle of turbulant ocean that is visible from space.

 

[eyer]

"3 to 7 Spains, and its growing!"...

..."twice the size of the continental U.S."?

Sounds like how they describe my penis...

...and about as true.

 

[Sean Renaud]

You don't often get plankton in the middle of turbulant ocean that is visible from space.

Show your work.

Last I checked yeah you do, and that's why the ocean and most lakes are green or at least greenish. That's not polution that's algae the stuff that blue whales eat.

 

[warrior queen]

"3 to 7 Spains, and its growing!"...

..."twice the size of the continental U.S."?

Sounds like how they describe my penis...

...and about as true.

I don't agree with how they are describing the gyre.
It's not like that at all.
There are pockets of visible debris as you sail through (twice we had to clean shit that got tangled around the prop and rudder) but for the most part it's just small bits of plastic debris, maybe the size of a 50c piece and smaller.
And loads and loads of plastic shopping bags.

 

[bronzeage]

No, just show me there is a problem. Show me the aerial pics.

It's not quite the level of evidence needed to prove Obama spent $20 million a day on a trip to India, but there are pics. If someone couldn't find it, they weren't trying.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_xg5E_ZW60c/TVbWUccQX_I/AAAAAAAAAFI/PJE8-yOXZOk/s400/20090804_065455_garbage_400.jpg

http://images.tribe.net/tribe/upload/photo/e3c/e5c/e3ce5c15-22e8-4cfe-ae7a-0f5942dd5631

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h7i3bhX2b-4/Spk_RkLNHMI/AAAAAAAABDY/MU01zavC8Yc/s320/garbage-gyre.jpeg

 

[warrior queen]

Show your work.

Last I checked yeah you do, and that's why the ocean and most lakes are green or at least greenish. That's not polution that's algae the stuff that blue whales eat.

Plankton blooms do not cover areas the size shown on that pic.
For the most part, they are localised, and sometimes cover areas the size of say, Britain.
But not over great swathes of ocean like that pic shows.
If you know otherwise, show 'plankton/algal bloom' pics as proof.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Plankton blooms do not cover areas the size shown on that pic.
For the most part, they are localised, and sometimes cover areas the size of say, Britain.
But not over great swathes of ocean like that pic shows.
If you know otherwise, show 'plankton/algal bloom' pics as proof.

Show your work. Tell me why the ocean is green rather than clear for example. What is it in the water that makes it that color if not algae.

 

[warrior queen]

Show your work. Tell me why the ocean is green rather than clear for example. What is it in the water that makes it that color if not algae.

Duh.... pollution.
Of all types.
Including the plastic trash we're talking about.

 

[eyer]

1. "3 to 7 Spains, and its growing!"

2. "twice the size of the continental U.S."

Now we have a new entry:

3. "twice the size of Texas"

Any more?

Half as big as warrior queen's butt?

Anyone?

 

[Sean Renaud]

Duh.... pollution.
Of all types.
Including the plastic trash we're talking about.

Show your work. Convince me that plankton and algae isn't green. I've seen enough pools and spas turn green that I'm pretty convinced that plankton can change the color of water.

What do you think is the natural color of the ocean?

 

[SuprSalor]

Been there and seen it.. No, it's not a huge solid mass of garbage. There are large masses of trash and the area it occupies is huge. Millions of tons of trash spread out over an area nearly the size of Alaska doesn't necessarily show up on satellite pics.
the amount of garbage in the ocean is pretty staggering. Crossing the Pacific not a day goes by where I don't see trash. Mostly Fishing nets and floats. Plastic bottles and shopping bags. Vette is mostly right about one thing, a good chunk of it comes from Asia. Most ships dump their garbage overboard and you'd be surprised of the amount of garbage generated by a ship every day. At least American ships are regulated to limit what can go over the side. Mostly just food waste. Unfortunately, not much one can do about cleaning it up. Would cost an astounding amount of money and would take a very long time and still wouldn't get most of it.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Are we limited? The one time I was traveling across the ocean it seemed like the only limitation was how close to land we were. Otherwise we could dump what we wanted.

Also dolphins are small when you see them from a boat.

 

[SuprSalor]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/MARPOL_73-78_Instructions.png/424px-MARPOL_73-78_Instructions.png

There are the regulations on what can be dumped and where. Most American Flagged ships are further regulated or have stricter standards.

 

[eyer]

A new entry has arrived:

4. "nearly the size of Alaska"

3. "twice the size of Texas
2. "twice the size of the continental U.S."
1. "3 to 7 Spains, and its growing!"

 

[warrior queen]

Been there and seen it.. No, it's not a huge solid mass of garbage. There are large masses of trash and the area it occupies is huge. Millions of tons of trash spread out over an area nearly the size of Alaska doesn't necessarily show up on satellite pics.
the amount of garbage in the ocean is pretty staggering. Crossing the Pacific not a day goes by where I don't see trash. Mostly Fishing nets and floats. Plastic bottles and shopping bags. Vette is mostly right about one thing, a good chunk of it comes from Asia. Most ships dump their garbage overboard and you'd be surprised of the amount of garbage generated by a ship every day. At least American ships are regulated to limit what can go over the side. Mostly just food waste. Unfortunately, not much one can do about cleaning it up. Would cost an astounding amount of money and would take a very long time and still wouldn't get most of it.

I've seen it first-hand too.
Ignorant landlubbers want to see a great mass of plastic you can walk on, but it isn't like that.
Pockets of visible debris, and the rest is small pieces of plastic... as far as ou can see, and for a couple of feet down.

But you cannot convince the ignorant

 

[Liar]

I've seen it first-hand too.
Ignorant landlubbers want to see a great mass of plastic you can walk on, but it isn't like that.
Pockets of visible debris, and the rest is small pieces of plastic... as far as ou can see, and for a couple of feet down.

But you cannot convince the ignorant

The best description I heard for it is "plastic slush". There are smaller patches of similar crap in the Mediterranean that have all but eliminated fishing in places. It's really weird to look at. Barely visible from a boat unless the light hits it right, but it dampens all small waves, just like an oil slick.