What is Digg?238 Comments
- Seaseme, on 04/24/2009, -22/+196If it's so big why do these articles never post pictures of it?
- Bigfork, on 04/24/2009, -7/+159Because "46,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometre" is one piece of plastic every ~80ft. If you were close enough to take a picture that showed the plastic it'd just show one piece of plastic. Take the picture from further away and it looks like blue ocean. It's not a single floating pile of garbage like they imply.
- TheBogie, on 04/24/2009, -19/+160Twice the size of France, but half the smell.
- Pattyo13, on 05/14/2009, -5/+68if it's anywhere near as big as that article, we're hosed
- carbonetc, on 04/24/2009, -23/+70It's a very strange experience to observe the materialization of a dystopia that we've been warned of in literature and film for decades. It's easy to think, "That's just an exaggeration. Real life is never that interesting. It won't really happen." And here it is. We've passed the point of no return. Visible environmental damage trails human activity, so we have yet to see most of the consequences of the past couple decades.
I'm starting to think that environmental collapse is this generation's WW2. The people back then found themselves faced with actual death camps and actual nuclear war, the dystopias they were warned of but never thought they'd really see. They had faith that humanity would never go to quite those lengths. That we'd muster up just enough self-restraint before it ever came to that. That things would never swing that far out of balance.
And they had to find ways to survive through humanity letting them down. I'm sure many of them considered their era and their generation to be a failure, and could only hope that future generations would be a little wiser. - kolobcreek, on 04/24/2009, -5/+48The solution is clear. Take all the garbage and stack it in France twice as high.
- K4Lic0, on 04/24/2009, -12/+53I've always seen people talk of this huge island of garbage the size of Texas, twice the size of France, whatever the size may be. Can someone please show a picture of it on Google Earth or something? I have yet to see a proper image of it..
- Enterres, on 04/24/2009, -9/+42Sounds like it's time to re-write the maps. Imagine every time you look at a globe from now on seeing big black splotches in the ocean to represent the new lands of Plastikana.
The article mentions that there's no bacteria that eat plastics, but this can actually be cultured. It's on of the new and exciting sciences which through careful cultivation you can create populations that can break down even incredibly toxic substances like airplane paint and glue.
The problem, as is said here, is that the funding to do this on a large scale just doesn't exist. - Memnochxx, on 04/24/2009, -1/+25Do you know what a paradox is?
- buckrogers1965, on 04/24/2009, -0/+24The problem with microbes that eat plastic is how do you keep them from eating the plastic inside the insulation in the wiring in your house?
- monkiboi, on 04/24/2009, -1/+25Great documentary about "Garbage Island".
http://www.vbs.tv/shows.php?show=1154
It is in 12 parts, but well worth the watch. I live in Hawaii and this ***** scares me. - inactive, on 04/24/2009, -5/+26I imagine pictures wouldn't be that impressive: a picture of soda bottle floating next to a ship, a picture of some tiny pellets. By themselves that would be no big deal. The big deal is that you constantly run across garbage for hundreds of miles in the middle of the pacific.
- lsocoee, on 04/24/2009, -5/+26I bet the garbage patch would be harder to take over than France.
- UselessTrivia, on 04/24/2009, -1/+18Would rather not have bacteria that eats plastic, thanks.
Recycling > World-destroying bacteria scourge - inactive, on 04/24/2009, -4/+20Did you read the article? "On Kamilo Beach in Hawaii there are now more plastic particles than sand particles until you dig a foot down. On Pagan Island [between Hawaii and the Philippines] they have what they call the "shopping beach". If the islanders need a cigarette lighter, or some flip-flops, or a toy, or a ball for their kids"
That sounds noticeble to me. I've always been a fairly skeptical person, but sometimes skepticim is people sticking thier fingers in thier ears and going "LALALALALALA" - jayhawk88, on 04/24/2009, -2/+17"There's no such thing as a pristine sandy beach any more,' Charles Moore says. 'The ones that look pristine are usually groomed, and if you look closely you can always find plastic particles. On Kamilo Beach in Hawaii there are now more plastic particles than sand particles until you dig a foot down. On Pagan Island [between Hawaii and the Philippines] they have what they call the "shopping beach". If the islanders need a cigarette lighter, or some flip-flops, or a toy, or a ball for their kids, they go down to the shopping beach and pick it out of all the plastic trash that's washed up there from thousands of miles away.' "
OK if this doesn't scare the ***** out of you there is something very wrong with your thinking. - inactive, on 04/24/2009, -4/+19"That would mean it is shrinking... at last report, it was twice the size of Texas, which is bigger than France."
Texas is only 3.2% bigger than france. I doubt they can pin down the size of the garbage patch to within the accuracy of 3%. - 13letterslong, on 04/24/2009, -10/+24Mainly because it's not actually there... it's just an area with more waster than average, because the currents tend to bring it there. Interesting sidenote: Hawaii is smack in the middle of where this "garbage island" would be. Strange how no-one noticed it forming around them.
http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4132 - 13letterslong, on 04/24/2009, -3/+16Please be realistic; there may be an area of ocean with currents that help bring together an above-average concentration of floating plastic, but we're not going to be seeing new land-masses.
- PoleCatz, on 04/24/2009, -5/+18You can't see it - the stuff is mainly bobbing along just under the surface. It's not as if it's piled to the ocean floor and now jutting out of the water like a volcano.
- downneck, on 04/24/2009, -1/+13that would be awesome
- cyberdork, on 04/24/2009, -0/+12Ehm, currently nanotechnology has almost nothing to do with "nano-scale electronics devices" or "nanobots". It's mostly about chemistry and surface-properties.
- theCreator79, on 04/24/2009, -1/+13Because all the trash is spread out not 1 large mass clumped together...
- alexacastrato, on 04/25/2009, -1/+12Bacteria that eats plastic? God damn. Sounds like a recipe for the start of a zombie outbreak.
- mugicha, on 04/24/2009, -2/+13If we're in the the nanotechnology age, then we're only at the beginning. Sure, we build nano-scale electronics devices, but we haven't begun to see the full potential of widely adopted nanotechnology such as nanobots. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but I think that nanotechnology is actually what is going to get us out of this mess. It's just going to take a few more decades. Check out Ray Kurzweil.
- priegog, on 04/24/2009, -2/+13You should propose that as the new slogan for science:
"It seems hard to do... so let's NOT try it!" - lordzelo, on 04/24/2009, -0/+10We would end up pushing all of our recyclable resources out into space until nothing is left on the Earth to use. Why not find a way to deal with them and reuse the stuff?
- desuexmachina, on 04/24/2009, -0/+10A documentary about the garbage patch ( http://www.vbs.tv/shows/toxic/garbage-island/ )
I noticed that even in the middle of where they thought the patch was there were definitely some pieces but I didn't really see it as an island, it might clog your boat motor but you certainly couldn't walk on it. - termerjur, on 04/24/2009, -3/+13How about video?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLrVCI4N67M
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/23/oprah-shi ...
a couple pics:
http://gliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/plas ...
http://wangertest.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/unde ...
I would hope that at some point we can figure out how to harvest it all. - JakeBC, on 04/24/2009, -0/+9Not being American, I have a better idea of how big France is than Texas.
- CaptainChad, on 04/25/2009, -0/+9It's one piece of garbage per 234 square feet, on average.
- Quisquis, on 04/24/2009, -4/+13So it's the same size it's been is what you're saying?
BREAKING NEWS: THINGS ARE THE SAME! Full story at 11. - theutopian, on 04/24/2009, -3/+12Pics or it didn't happen, right?
- doctechnical, on 04/24/2009, -3/+121) Start with some organism that can only live in the seas
2) Make it delicious to plankton or some other small sea creature. Two birds, one stone. - inactive, on 04/24/2009, -5/+13It's been about a month since the last time this news hit front page. Sound about right?
- cherwilco, on 04/25/2009, -1/+9didn't they solve this problem in an episode of Futurama? lets just do what they did
- IUAndar, on 04/25/2009, -1/+9I think you'll find yourself putting the new toad in Australia if you catch my drift.
- carbonetc, on 04/24/2009, -0/+8Being at the top of the food chain means all the toxins you saturate the lower links with come right back to you. That's a major problem.
I also wouldn't be so quick to assume those animals can be lost without consequence. Lose the honeybee, for example, and human civilization grinds to a halt. And that's just one of the species we know we can't live without; what if there are species who don't reveal just how important they are to the system until they're gone?
The fact that we live under the delusion that we're self-sufficient is part of the reason we're in this mess. - lordzelo, on 04/24/2009, -0/+8 Agreed. Why not find ways to reuse/recycle our trash instead of make something that could itself evolve and screw things up more.
- inactive, on 04/24/2009, -0/+8This is a story from the UK, the country right next to France. So France is actually much more relevant.
- Willie6, on 04/24/2009, -0/+7But then we'd need to construct an equally sized ball of garbage to redirect it in a few hundred years.
- theutopian, on 04/24/2009, -2/+9There was a report in National Geographic a few years ago that had pictures of albatross's with burst stomachs that were FULL of plastic crap.
I don't think you're understanding the scale of the problem.
Actually, I just found a picture. What do you think killed this bird? http://www.sanrafaelvolunteers.org/Clean/litter_hu ...
or this one: http://www.tripdance.org/IMAGES%20Web/Poisoning%20 ...
I could go on. - inactive, on 04/24/2009, -0/+7Living systems on Earth have been recycling successfully for a few billion years now. Modern humans just haven't got the hang of it yet.
- inactive, on 04/24/2009, -5/+12I still like France better.
- Quisquis, on 04/24/2009, -0/+6It very well could shrink. If for some reason pieces were to become more dense, they would sink and it would shrink, or if some of it floated off it would shrink.
- rationalhead, on 04/24/2009, -0/+6For those of you who think there is an actual island of garbage floating around,you have got it al wrong.
It breaks down in to such tiny pieces that you would hardly notice it on the surface.
Be sure it is there,and almost all of it comes from the shore.
Watch this 12 part documentary called garbage island and you will see for your self.
http://www.vbs.tv/shows.php?show=1154 - ProfessorRiffs, on 04/24/2009, -0/+6In other words, let's play Katamari with the world's garbage. I'm in.
- inactive, on 04/24/2009, -1/+7Is this a guess, or do you have a source? It would stand to reason that most of it comes from developing nations since sanitation infrastructure is usually lacking, which means much of their garbage ends up in rivers, and thus the sea. A friend who did some research in Myanmar told me there are huge piles of plastic garbage all over the place in poor areas (which is most areas there).
- inactive, on 04/24/2009, -0/+6You got me. I don't know what the reference is. :(
- frequentFlyer, on 04/24/2009, -2/+7Jesus! What have we done?
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