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buzzstar · 08-05-2018, 13:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by boatman61

A immediate ban on the production of single use plastic's would be a start.. but that's the problem with Globalism.. it can't be done without upsetting Big Money and we've seen what happens to individual countries when they try that.
I mean.. WTF is it this encasing a cucumber in plastic sealed wrap.. or anything else come to that..
How did the world manage with just paper bags in the past.. or glass bottles and china cups..
Naah.. its easier to keep going as is and get the chattering masses to pay an extra 10cents a coffee or whatever for something that'll never happen.
Anyway.. its not my problem.. don't use Starbucks, Mac'D's or any other fast food outlets that use single use.. its for the youth who do and leave their evidence on the streets to worry about.. I'll be dead and gone by them time they wake up.. if ever.!!!

I am sure you do not mean GRP. There'd be little for youto deliver. I also wonder about micro plastic contamination. It cannot be good for critters or people. How about a return to wood? Maybe wooden computers (the abacus or similar) to go with wooden boats. Are my ashes going to be a contaminant? Can't a government (mine) that can spend zillions on nonsense, send, say an LST, to mid Pacific to see what patches can be found, collected, and measured, if indeed they (or it) exist)?

Luckyknot · 08-05-2018, 13:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzzstar

I am sure you do not mean GRP. There'd be little for youto deliver. I also wonder about micro plastic contamination. It cannot be good for critters or people. How about a return to wood? Maybe wooden computers (the abacus or similar) to go with wooden boats. Are my ashes going to be a contaminant? Can't a government (mine) that can spend zillions on nonsense, send, say an LST, to mid Pacific to see what patches can be found, collected, and measured, if indeed they (or it) exist)?

A reference to using some items from our past doesn't really warrant an extreme view of wooden computers and what not. Plastic has it's place...for now. Wrapping single cucumbers and every single other thing we consume in it should not be accepted as plastics place anymore. Technology and progress are great but not unchecked. Somethings work and somethings don't. Somethings work for a long time and then are realized to be far worse than whatever problem was trying to be resolved to begin with.

This is a case of too much being a bad thing. It isn't a call for some sort of twisted dark age. What would be the harm of going back to glass bottles? Does that mean we need to abandon the modern computer? I don't think so. Do we maybe need to reconsider how quickly we replace our computers and how we dispose of them? Yeah, probably.

Whether or not a huge patch of trash exists is somewhat inconsequential. In fact, it'd be rather convenient if that's how it all worked. There is plenty of evidence though to show that we are not disposing of our waste properly and it is having a deleterious affect on the natural world. The best way to fix that is to create less waste that can be improperly disposed of.

**boatman61** · 08-05-2018, 13:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzzstar

I am sure you do not mean GRP. There'd be little for youto deliver. I also wonder about micro plastic contamination. It cannot be good for critters or people. How about a return to wood? Maybe wooden computers (the abacus or similar) to go with wooden boats. Are my ashes going to be a contaminant? Can't a government (mine) that can spend zillions on nonsense, send, say an LST, to mid Pacific to see what patches can be found, collected, and measured, if indeed they (or it) exist)?

Likely more to deliver.. paranoia would cover not just containers, logs and keels falling off.. there'd be Toredo Worm, springing planks et al.. more reason to pay someone to take the risks and the storms.
Yet to see a laptop float past the boat.. straws, bottles, cooking oil and engine oil containers galore tho'..

Cadence · 08-05-2018, 13:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by boatman61

A immediate ban on the production of single use plastic's would be a start.. but that's the problem with Globalism.. it can't be done without upsetting Big Money and we've seen what happens to individual countries when they try that.
I mean.. WTF is it this encasing a cucumber in plastic sealed wrap.. or anything else come to that..
How did the world manage with just paper bags in the past.. or glass bottles and china cups..
Naah.. its easier to keep going as is and get the chattering masses to pay an extra 10cents a coffee or whatever for something that'll never happen.
Anyway.. its not my problem.. don't use Starbucks, Mac'D's or any other fast food outlets that use single use.. its for the youth who do and leave their evidence on the streets to worry about.. I'll be dead and gone by them time they wake up.. if ever.!!!

My sentiments exactly. I wish i could feel like I was leaving better than I received.

**hpeer** · 08-05-2018, 14:59

But where to start? Well, in fact, that might be an easier decision to make than one would think. It turns out that about 90 percent of all the plastic that reaches the world's oceans gets flushed through just 10 rivers: The Yangtze, the Indus, Yellow River, Hai River, the Nile, the Ganges, Pearl River, Amur River, the Niger, and the Mekong (in that order).

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.dw.co...ers/a-41581484

See also this Scientific American article for a graphic representation, shocking really.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...in-the-oceans/

NevisDog · 08-05-2018, 16:40

... and from that Scientific American article: "... but raising public awareness is also CRUCIAL." And that may be the single most important aspect of this project, whether or not we want to 'hit it' some dark night. We're all to blame, even if it's just me grinding some fiberglass this morning without a dust collector. (Okay I sweep up most of it.)

buzzstar · 08-05-2018, 19:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by boatman61

Likely more to deliver.. paranoia would cover not just containers, logs and keels falling off.. there'd be Toredo Worm, springing planks et al.. more reason to pay someone to take the risks and the storms.
Yet to see a laptop float past the boat.. straws, bottles, cooking oil and engine oil containers galore tho'..

Hope you are correct, and we should live so long to see it happen.

buzzstar · 08-05-2018, 19:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by hpeer

But where to start? Well, in fact, that might be an easier decision to make than one would think. It turns out that about 90 percent of all the plastic that reaches the world's oceans gets flushed through just 10 rivers: The Yangtze, the Indus, Yellow River, Hai River, the Nile, the Ganges, Pearl River, Amur River, the Niger, and the Mekong (in that order).

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.dw.co...ers/a-41581484

See also this Scientific American article for a graphic representation, shocking really.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...in-the-oceans/

Very interesting information. For once the Americas (North & South) and Europeans are not the blame for the specifics of the problem (perhaps "just" the initial creation).

BTW, for all who would "ban" plastics, it does not usually work that way. The greater probability is taxing them so governments have an interest in continued production and use.

Cadence · 09-05-2018, 07:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzzstar

Very interesting information. For once the Americas (North & South) and Europeans are not the blame for the specifics of the problem (perhaps "just" the initial creation).

BTW, for all who would "ban" plastics, it does not usually work that way. The greater probability is taxing them so governments have an interest in continued production and use.

You are right on both accounts. The second is sad but true.

hzcruiser · 09-05-2018, 23:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by NevisDog

... and from that Scientific American article: "... but raising public awareness is also CRUCIAL." And that may be the single most important aspect of this project, whether or not we want to 'hit it' some dark night. We're all to blame, even if it's just me grinding some fiberglass this morning without a dust collector. (Okay I sweep up most of it.)

Exactly right! This issue (and many other pollutants) needs to be in the public eye in order to get addressed. And it needs to be addressed along the whole chain, from producers to consumers/polluters to show the heroic efforts of those few that actually clean up the oceans and the beaches.

44'cruisingcat · 10-05-2018, 00:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by hpeer

But where to start? Well, in fact, that might be an easier decision to make than one would think.

Another good place to start would be to ban the micro plastics they add to stuff like shampoo, to make it look "pearly".

Ridiculous and unnecessary, and almost impossible to remove from the environment once it's out there.

ahun · 02-01-2019, 19:09

The operation is at halt, the device is damaged and on its way back to land for repair:

https://www.theoceancleanup.com/upda...r-and-upgrade/

zeehag · 03-01-2019, 06:08

all say where to start where to start.... start by teaching that littering makes issues too big to fix. litterbugs are criminals acting against the beauty of nature.
teach your children well, my friends. and then teach someone else and their kids and so on and on.....
THAT is where to start. now on to solve next issue....