Pacific Trash Vortex! Wow! I had no idea it was this bad!

[scubadrewvideo]

Nicely put reefraff!

 

[mikerault]

They make artificial wood beams out of this stuff, why not buy out the whalers and convert them to harvest this stuff and convert it to artificial wood for use on the various Ispands that are starved for building material?

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

I just clipped all the tags off my new cloth grocery bags and had to laugh when I noticed the tag inside said it was Made in China of 90% recycled material. Even our recycled items aren't made here!

 

[mikerault]

Oh yes, those Asians are great recyclers:

Recycled Hair Bands | shamelesslysassy.com

Mike

 

[skypierce]

Mike has the idea... Outfit a barge with a factory on it which can melt down the plastic and make it into those boards. Being twice the size of texas, and up to 100 feet deep should provide a lot of "lumber". Then they sell that lumber to recoup some of their costs. There must be some government and private grants available for such a massive cleanup effort too. They could me making profit before they finish, and then they move on to the other one off the coast of Japan. The enterprising company makes money, the ocean gets cleaned up, and the world gets to build their houses from the most important recycling project ever. So, whose got an extra barge lying around?

 

[mikerault]

We should apply for some of that stimulous money...

I'll be CTO!

Mike

 

[scangadah]

Wow ReefRaff

A very articulate and thought out reply.
Well done Sir!

(I will leave it at that)

 

[sea nmf]

I agree with you. To all whom I offended, please accept my sincere apologies. I was trying to be funny regarding additional taxes. This is not the place for it. It came across, when re-reading it after your post, as arrogant and derogatory.

Again, I apologize.

Words matter. The first step in getting someone to listen to you is to be careful what you say. People find it difficult to hear you when you are insulting them - humans are funny that way.

If we are going to fix this revolting mess, we need the "we" to be as big as possible. Turning it into an "us" versus "them" thing diminishes the size of the "we" and is counter-productive. If you want to reach out to those around you, don't start the conversation by disrespecting half of the audience.

If we are to succeed, we must learn to be inclusive, not divisive. We can get more done by looking inside ourselves to find ways of expanding our idea of who "we" are instead of getting angry that "they" don't always agree with "us." Many conservatives are, by nature, inclined to be conservationists. They get turned off by neo-pagan Mother Nature babble and they tend to recoil from statist "tragedy of the commons interventionism but they are willing to have an adult conversation about the costs (there are many) and benefits (there are more) of positive environmental stewardship. We will get more done if we keep the message on topic and devote as much energy to listening and learning as we do to speaking.

Passion is good, hysteria and anger aren't. If you want to reach out to those who don't agree with you remember that the first step to extending your hand is to unclench your fist.

Kumbaya, and all that.

 

[scubadrewvideo]

Here is an update for those interested in this problem.
I have been accepted as Videographer/Crew/Corespondent for the scheduled Aug/September Voyages to the Trash vortex. I will be on the boat creating a documentary scheduled to be aired on Pacific Network along with Facebook and any other media outlets that are interested in covering this story.
The research group (Algalita Marine Research Foundation) is seeking funding for the voyage, and I am also seeking funding for my documentary.
We hope to set up direct reporting to Good Morning America since they have been covering this story over the last 2 yrs.
Mahalo to all for your interest in this issue and great suggestions as to how we can all pitch in and help, but honestly right now we need to get connected with business and organizations that want to help, and are in a position to help fund the trip.
Mahalo again....if you want to stay more directly involved then the easiest way is to sign up for facebook and become a friend of either Andrew ScubaDrew Wheeler or Algalita Marine Research Foundation.

 

[scubadrewvideo]

Mike has the idea... Outfit a barge with a factory on it which can melt down the plastic and make it into those boards. Being twice the size of texas, and up to 100 feet deep should provide a lot of "lumber". Then they sell that lumber to recoup some of their costs. There must be some government and private grants available for such a massive cleanup effort too. They could me making profit before they finish, and then they move on to the other one off the coast of Japan. The enterprising company makes money, the ocean gets cleaned up, and the world gets to build their houses from the most important recycling project ever. So, whose got an extra barge lying around?

This sound like a good idea, but there is one aspect that must be looked at. This idea is similar to strip mining or drag net fishing. You may collect all the intended material but the process will destroy more and do more damage than good. There is no way for a collection net to differentiate between plastic an plankton. The plastic has broken into almost microscopic size pieces and drifts at variable depths due to density. The best solution is to reduce the demand of plastic by reducing the moral acceptance of saving a buck in production by making a bag or bottle that lasts 500 yrs yet is used just once. There is technology out there to produce plastic that actually has a biodegradable element, but it increases cost of production so it will be hard to implement. Public awareness and outcry has been the best tool for problems like this in the past.