The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

[AAbsolute]

My son brought home his homework tonight about the Eastern Garbage Patch and the Western Garbage Patch. They are two patches of floating plastic garbage each reportedly measuring twice the size of Texas and weighing an estimated 200,000,000,000 pounds. It said they will continue to revolve in the North Pacific Sub-Tropical Gyre indefinately and are growing continuously.

I had heard stories of *****Island, but never believed it. Should we switch to incinerators? What's the plan?

 

[Matt J]

Perhaps an entrepenuer (sp?) will go out and start harvesting them. Seems like there would be tons of recyclables out there.

 

[jack S]

A good place to start is at surfrider foundation rise above plastics pledge

http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/rap_pledge

You can also get more info there.

http://www.surfrider.org/

 

[dgsevier]

Each twice the size of TX? I'm not doubting you, but it seems like you'd easily be able to see them from satellite images Has anyone seen a pic? Please post if available.

 

[aggieb]

Each twice the size of TX? I'm not doubting you, but it seems like you'd easily be able to see them from satellite images Has anyone seen a pic? Please post if available.

i would like to see this as well.

 

[greenroomsurfer]

Any thing larger than a cardboard box is considered a hazard to navigation. If it is reported it will be picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard or the Navy. I agree there is a ton of sheet out there but Texas, come on. I try and find the pictures of the outer islands of Hawaii---- Midway, French Frigate Shoals and Kuri Island.

 

[greenroomsurfer]

This must have been what he found. http://images.search.yahoo.com/imag...&sigi=11g4oi8oq&sigb=13dkuc4hn&sigh=11aq1uian

 

[ASH]

The garbage isn't visible from space because it is all decaying and all the pieces are maybe a couple inches square. You can maybe scoop it up in dip nets, but it is very small stuff. Probably being ingested by whales thinking they found the mother of all krill patches. Probably lots of things eating it and dying.
:shock:

 

[aggieb]

Probably being ingested by whales thinking they found the mother of all krill patches. Probably lots of things eating it and dying.

 

[ASH]

This must have been what he found.

The image you sent I could not see