Rubbish Pacific Ocean twice size of America

[Buzz Mills]

Simply shocking and lamentable and a grave danger for now and the future, IMO.

Rubbish dump found floating in Pacific Ocean is twice the size of America

A rubbish dump twice the size of the United States has been discovered floating in the Pacific Ocean.
The vast expanse of debris, made up of plastic junk including footballs, kayaks, Lego blocks and carrier bags, is kept together by swirling underwater currents.

It stretches from 500 nautical miles off the Californian coast, across the northern Pacific, past Hawaii and almost as far as Japan.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/li...ews.html?in_article_id=512424&in_page_id=1811

Thanks for posting this information Floh. We should all be very concerned about this, and be willing to do something about it.

 

[philamena]

This mass of garbage was first discovered in 1997.
Why in heaven's name has it been ignored for 11 years.
Unbelievable.

 

[Buzz Mills]

This mass of garbage was first discovered in 1997.
Why in heaven's name has it been ignored for 11 years.
Unbelievable.

Seems to me, someone could build a recycling plant on some remote island within its path, and tow the mass in over time, recycling it. Free raw materials, and make the recycled material, import free, in all countries

A little history......I traveled out to Kawjalein (Marshall Islands) on a project I was working on, in the late 80's, early 90's. It's a long way from nowhere, and the plane I was on, stopped halfway from Hawaii, at Johns(t?)on Island. Johnson Island is where the U.S. Army destroys all of the chemical weapons it has produced over time. They issue gas masks if you need to leave the terminal. It was a reality check.

and then in the Marshall Islands, the site of some of the atomic tests, the natives were still giving birth to jelly babies, up until a decade before that. I'll let you figure out what jelly babies are/were.

 

[philamena]

Buzz,
That is an excellent idea.

 

[mammasweets]

Seems to me, someone could build a recycling plant on some remote island within its path, and tow the mass in over time, recycling it. Free raw materials, and make the recycled material, import free, in all countries

A little history......I traveled out to Kawjalein (Marshall Islands) on a project I was working on, in the late 80's, early 90's. It's a long way from nowhere, and the plane I was on, stopped halfway from Hawaii, at Johns(t?)on Island. Johnson Island is where the U.S. Army destroys all of the chemical weapons it has produced over time. They issue gas masks if you need to leave the terminal. It was a reality check.

and then in the Marshall Islands, the site of some of the atomic tests, the natives were still giving birth to jelly babies, up until a decade before that. I'll let you figure out what jelly babies are/were.

Your story reminds me of the documentary called The Children of Chernobyl. It's so hard for me to watch. Especially when they talk about the surrounding area and Belarus.

It only takes a little from everyone to change things. I don't use paper plates and plastic only if I know I can recycle it. I use recycled reusable grocery bags and recycle bags if they come into my house. This isn't the same as Chernobyl but it's man made and regardless of who made the mess it has to be taken care of. How can something of this magnitude be left to grow and grow?

I preach to my children that just because it's out of the house on the curb doesn't mean it ceases to exist. It has to go somewhere. Donate, recycle or find another use for it.(whatever it is) OR just don't buy it! It's that simple.

Has anyone found any organizations that are making an effort to clean this mess? They have tv advertisements for everything...religion, hunger, psychic hot lines. WHY NOT THIS?

 

[MeoW333]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]"Lijon Eknilang, a Marshall Islander who as a child witnessed the American nuclear bomb tests near her home, offered moving testimony to the horrifying effects of nuclear radiation on the island population. She described her own seven miscarriages and told of dozens of women who, after the tests gave birth to "jelly babies" with no bones and other massive deformities never known in the history of the region. She explained that her parents, sisters and brothers had all died of cancers and leukemias. "I have come here to plead with the court not to allow this to happen to any other community in the world," she said. "
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/discus/messages/6/1152.html?1167694901
(i found it on a message board)
That's horrible, we need to not allow anymore nuclear testing or use of nonbiodegradable plastics!
[/FONT]