A New Continent Forming in the Pacific

[saltandsand]

http://www.propeller.com/viewstory/2008/02/03/floating-rubbish-dump-bigger-than-us/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.com.au%2Fstory%2F0%2C23599%2C23156399-2%2C00.html&frame=true

Not a very appealing thought, so why does it continue?

[JJ42]

http://www.propeller.com/viewstory/2008/02/03/floating-rubbish-dump-bigger-than-us/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.com.au%2Fstory%2F0%2C23599%2C23156399-2%2C00.html&frame=true

Not a very appealing thought, so why does it continue?Because people have no respect for nature ,just toss it in it will disapear.:mad::mad:

[Lip Ripper]

im going to go out on a limb, and say its not as bad as there describing. i seriously doubt there is a continent of trash bigger than the u.s. floating around in the pacific. i do think dumping trash in the ocean is bad, but until we make it illegal, i guess its going to keep on growing.

[Chugg'n & plug'n]

ahem...bol-logne! lip ripper is right. they are only leading you into believing that it is that bad. true, you can dump any trash you want once you are 12 miles off the coast. all trash BUT plastic. you are NEVER allowed to dump plastic....period. the west coast is notorious for being "trashy" but that is only because of the highly trafficked routes running from the far east and india to california. also, there is a circular motion to the currents much like every other ocean in the world. this motion keeps a "vortex" of debris in the center but all paper and metal dissolves quickly. plastic is the only thing that doesn't and that is exactly why you aren't allowed to dump it. if you get caught even throwing a bottle overboard you get fined out the tail. and don't think no one is watching because if you report it to the uscg or epa you get 1/2 of the fine as a reward. oh, and those fines, by the way, are huge! the shipping industry is doing whatever it can to keep the oceans. it is constantly upgrading environmental policies due to concerns. the general public, however, is doing its best to bring it down. just look at the valdez spill. only the 14th largest oil spill ever. wait, 14th? that's right, but it was the #1 most publicly covered. it was actually considered a smaller spill but the problem was that you only saw pictures of black gulls and dead seals. marad then followed up with opa 90. they do what they can to make things right. i'd rather concentrate on cleaning the trash at the spit. that bottleneck in the bay is a problem we should deal with immediately! well that and the new flounder regs.

[Lip Ripper]

another thing that could contribute to the debris is container ships sinking. ship sinks, containers rust out, contense float away?

[rattler]

ever had a plastic grocery bag get away from you and get into the water?...looks like a big jellyfish to a turtle...it kills them...I've seen it happen...ever seen a bird with a 6pack ring on its neck?...I smoke and don't throw butts in the water...just trying to do my part...

[bcssux]

it may be an exagerration, but it does make a good point. i freak out whenever im on the beach or pier and see somebody just lob there empties into the water, not to mention all their trash from new fishing stuff. i am by NO MEANS any type of enviromentalists, just a common sensist. trust me, ive got a jacked up tahoe that gets 7-8mpg, and aint changin it, but you wont see me throwin anything into anything but a trashcan.

[Sea2aeS]

I carry a large garbagge bag and when im at the beach pick up any trash within my area and take it to the dumpster where it belongs. if im fishing a stretch & find trash, i pick it up & take it out with mine to the local opentop.

[saltandsand]

Take away more trash than you bring in...it's a small yet needed contribution. I don't like this opinion on Propeller and, like others, question it's legitmacy.

[Carolina Rebel]

Another thought: The plastic sticks out as a problem, as its buoyant nature gives us something to look at. If all that crap's floating around out there (and there's alot of it, whether its actually a continent or just a big conglomeration), imagine what else is being dumped at sea in giant quantities.
Not a good thought.

[Chugg'n & plug'n]

i checked it out with an extremely reliable resource. this area of converging currents has a name. i just can't remember what it is. anyway, it is about the size of texas. not the trash, just the whirlpool of current. like we said earlier, it is not a mobile island of trash but only an area that the trash gets pulled to. yes, if you go there you will find MUCH more trash than open ocean, but by no means can you define it as a sole mass of waste. that would be like comparing a salt block to salt water. if you think about it, you would be able to see it through google earth if it were that solid right? regardless, it just gave me an idea adam: Maratime Admini$tration (MARAD), some fishing nets, a barge, and the 270LC? scuttle anything that isn't plastic and recycle the rest!

[Hurricane44]

I've been to some of the outer islands of the Bahamas and saw some of the same type of environmental damage as in the northern pacific ocean gyres described in the article. On San Salvador Island on the eastern and northeastern side, the beach is referred to as "trash beach" because so much plastic, glass, and ordinary trash washes up on the beach.

Every ocean liner or Cruise ship that passes by dumps some quantity of solid waste into the tropical Atlantic, which ends up hitting the outer islands of the Bahamas. I've got a picture somewhere, I'll have to post it if I can find it.

If the Northern Pacific trash pile is that bad, why doesn't someone collect all the mess and either recycle it or dispose of it on land? Thats what C&P was suggesting and I agree with it. We should do something about it, I'm not a tree-hugging hippy, but the environment should matter more to us than it does currently.

[saltandsand]

We should do something about it, I'm not a tree-hugging hippy, but the environment should matter more to us than it does currently.


I agree with your views and that the environment should not be the domain of tree hugging hippies. There needs to be a balance between the economy and ecology. It seems that today green currency is yeilding to the needs of the ecology I just hope that greed can give in soon enough that we do not cross that line to irreversible damage. In my humble opinion money is not the most important thing and we should not rely on mother nature as always being of a foregiving personality.

[rattler]

look everyone, if you are not helping you are hurting...lets police ourselves first, then try to fix the BIG MONEY that does the real damage...VOTE...thats the big thing...make your voice known...wright letters...the US NAVY pollutes...my great grand kids will have nowhere to fish...think about it?...

[LEADDRAFT]

Great Pacific Garbage Patch
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Pacific_Gyre

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/05/28/coolsc.oceansecrets/

Recommended reading #1
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/oceans/la-oceans-series,0,7842752.special

[saltandsand]

Dumping iron into the ocean to decrease CO2... fishing will never be the same... http://www.propeller.com/viewstory/2008/02/10/how-six-degrees-could-change-the-world/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchannel.nationalgeographic.com%2Fchannel%2Fsixdegrees%2Fmitigation.html&frame=true See the fifth slide.

[saltandsand]

Great Pacific Garbage Patch
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Pacific_Gyre

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/05/28/coolsc.oceansecrets/

Recommended reading #1
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/oceans/la-oceans-series,0,7842752.special

Good links, nice read.