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Where is that floating island of garbage the size of Texas?
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Buckaroo
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Feb 2, 2008, 11:38 PM
 
Over the past year I have heard several people mention a huge island of garbage, the size of Texas floating around the Pacific Ocean.

I figured there had to be a picture of this thing on Google. I could not find any images, even in the image search.

So it occurred to me, something this huge should be visible on Google Map, Satellite image. I couldn't find it there either.

All I can figure is this thing must have a cloak, or it's a bunch of BS from the Liberal Left trying to do away with plastic bags.

Anyone seen a picture of this huge man made island?

Anyone?
     
iranfromthezoo
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Feb 2, 2008, 11:51 PM
 
its still in texas...
     
synthfiend
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Feb 2, 2008, 11:53 PM
 
     
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Feb 2, 2008, 11:56 PM
 
     
KeriVit
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Feb 3, 2008, 12:02 AM
 
I've googled it and found it in the past. But too lazy to do it again right now.
     
C.A.T.S. CEO
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Feb 3, 2008, 12:04 AM
 
Originally Posted by synthfiend View Post
Its Cthulhu! OH SHI-
Signature depreciated.
     
analogika
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Feb 3, 2008, 12:20 AM
 
Why there are no pictures of the North Pacific Trash Gyre � The Oyster’s Garter

When I learned of the trash gyre, I was equally skeptical, due to common misconceptions that get perpetuated in mainstream media articles. The most common misconception is that the trash pile is like an island, or a dense pile like this one in San Diego Harbor. It’s not packed in as tight as that - it’s more like a dense collection of tiny floating pieces of plastic, most of which are not on the surface. A big container ship or naval vessel going through there would probably not notice much out of the ordinary - after all, there is some degree of plastic trash floating on the surface all over the world.

To really get a sense of how much plastic is in there, you have to do a trawl, which entails dragging a net with a bucket on the end behind your boat. Here’s a photo of a bongo trawl taken off of southern California. (Thanks, Barbeau lab! SIO power!) And here’s a photo of what a normal bongo trawl should produce - lots of zooplankton, a few invertebrates, and the occasional small fish.

Now, contrast this with the results of a trawl from the North Pacific Gyre. Here’s the bongo net being hauled up - see how the ocean looks normal? But the contents - plastic, plastic, and more plastic.* When all that plastic collects somewhere, you get beaches like this one in the NW Hawaiian Islands.
Pics linked on the site.

I think that answers your question.
     
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Feb 3, 2008, 01:37 AM
 
Originally Posted by synthfiend View Post
When I was reading a collection of Lovecraft's stories in high school, I would leave the book in my car at night, shut away in the trunk.

He scared the crap out of me.
     
ShortcutToMoncton
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Feb 3, 2008, 01:49 AM
 
Originally Posted by Buckaroo View Post
All I can figure is this thing must have a cloak, or it's a bunch of BS from the Liberal Left trying to do away with plastic bags.
...yeahhhhhhhh

greg
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goMac
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Feb 3, 2008, 02:30 AM
 
Technically, wouldn't the liberal left be for plastic bags, seeing as how it means less trees being cut down?
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iMOTOR
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Feb 3, 2008, 04:02 AM
 
Since when did liberal mean the same thing as environmentalist? Being an environmentalist myself, I see very little being done by "the left" outside of the fact that they talk about the environment a lot. I certainly don't consider myself a liberal or a conservative.

Originally Posted by goMac View Post
Technically, wouldn't the liberal left be for plastic bags, seeing as how it means less trees being cut down?
I think there are two kinds of environmentalists; the kind that see the big picture and the useful idiot kind who are only concerned with one issue out of many.

Plastic bags are far more hazardous to the planet than paper bags that come from managed forests.

BTW;
"Liberal Left" is kinda redundant.
     
goMac
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Feb 3, 2008, 04:31 AM
 
Originally Posted by iMOTOR View Post
I think there are two kinds of environmentalists; the kind that see the big picture and the useful idiot kind who are only concerned with one issue out of many.
Plastic bags aren't good for the environment, the best solution are reusable bags. That said, plastic bags can be recycled.

Originally Posted by iMOTOR View Post
BTW;
"Liberal Left" is kinda redundant.
I agree, but that's how the OP said it.
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iMOTOR
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Feb 3, 2008, 04:57 AM
 
Originally Posted by goMac View Post
Plastic bags aren't good for the environment, the best solution are reusable bags.

Well duh.

Originally Posted by goMac View Post
That said, plastic bags can be recycled.
They seldom are recycled, that's the problem.
     
ghporter
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Feb 3, 2008, 08:33 AM
 
I think there are about 50 people in the area covered by the closest grocery store to me that actually recycle their bags there. On the other hand, San Antonio recently changed the rules for curbside recycling so that they'll take just about all plastics including bags, so all my bags get recycled that way (those that don't get reused as lunch bags or something).

With that said, some of the greenest companies are in Texas. Whole Foods, for example, has managed to work it out so that their power is all green-chain wide. They're also about to completely stop using plastic bags, which is a good thing in many ways-like being a catalyst for more local grocers to start offering inexpensive reusable bags. My local grocer often doesn't HAVE paper bags, at least where anyone can find them, and I HATE getting more than a couple of bags worth of groceries in plastic bags.

Oh, iranfromthezoo, I heard that...

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
analogika
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Feb 3, 2008, 11:01 AM
 
Originally Posted by iMOTOR View Post
Plastic bags are far more hazardous to the planet than paper bags that come from managed forests.
Last time we had this discussion on here (a few weeks ago when Hong Kong banned plastic bags), I did some research and found that paper bags don't fare much better.

Paper requires enormous amounts of fresh water and leaves a nasty footprint in the environment in a number of other ways that aren't *quite* as long-lasting as plastic bits circling the Pacific, but in some ways worse.

BY FAR the best alternative is to just always keep a couple of simple cotton or jute bags in your backpack or car. They're dirt cheap, last YEARS and are machine washable.

Problem solved.
     
ShortcutToMoncton
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Feb 3, 2008, 11:03 AM
 
Recycling, in general, is a bit of an iffy proposition. After all, it takes a significant amount of energy use to do so from what I understand. At the end of the day you might have saved some natural resources, but you have to factor in the resources that powered the recycling process as well. As has been mentioned, reusable should be carrying the day here.

Technically, wouldn't the liberal left be for plastic bags, seeing as how it means less trees being cut down?
No.

Trees are renewable resources. Some people might be against certain types of trees being cut down, because those trees are being cut down too much and are in danger of becoming extinct; I think that makes some measure of sense. As a whole however, logging has to be an essential, yet sensibly managed, resource available to us.

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Cthulhu
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Feb 4, 2008, 12:19 PM
 
Originally Posted by synthfiend View Post
Oh, sure, tell everybody.
     
AngelaBaby
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Feb 4, 2008, 12:28 PM
 
Originally Posted by synthfiend View Post
All I see is blue.
     
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Feb 4, 2008, 12:47 PM
 
Originally Posted by AngelaBaby View Post
All I see is blue.
R'lyeh is Cthulhu's city. It is located at the point in the sea farthest from any land mass in all directions.
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Feb 8, 2008, 08:37 AM
 
TOMBSTONE: "He's trashed his last preferences"
     
ShortcutToMoncton
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Feb 8, 2008, 12:55 PM
 
The "Independent"? Sounds like more of the "liberal left" to me.

greg
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analogika
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Feb 8, 2008, 02:01 PM
 
Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton View Post
The "Independent"? Sounds like more of the "liberal left" to me.


Adding insult to stupidity.
     
turtle777
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Feb 8, 2008, 02:14 PM
 
90% of it is plastic ?

Great

That will solve our oil problem for the next 50 years

-t
     
Doofy
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Feb 8, 2008, 03:44 PM
 
Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton View Post
The "Independent"? Sounds like more of the "liberal left" to me.
Originally Posted by analogika View Post


Adding insult to stupidity.
Not quite sure of the intention with these two comments guys (do I detect a hint of sarcasm?), but The Independent is about as lib left as it gets (go check the wiki entry for them). And yes, they do environmental hysteria as well as the Guardian.
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analogika
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Feb 8, 2008, 04:28 PM
 
Sorry, yes, it was sarcastic, but aimed at the OP's knee-jerk "Wait, this topic is En-Viro-Mental! OMG SOCILIST LEFTWING TREEHUGGER CONSPIRACY!" attitude.

It's the kind of idiocy I try to avoid by no longer visiting the Poli Lounge.
     
Doofy
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Feb 8, 2008, 04:36 PM
 
Originally Posted by analogika View Post
Sorry, yes, it was sarcastic, but aimed at the OP's knee-jerk "Wait, this topic is En-Viro-Mental! OMG SOCILIST LEFTWING TREEHUGGER CONSPIRACY!" attitude.

It's the kind of idiocy I try to avoid by no longer visiting the Poli Lounge.
He's got a bit of a point though, hasn't he? Let's face it, there's an awful lot of BS concerning the environment coming out of certain political sectors at the moment.

However, you're correct in that this is not the pol lounge. So let's get drunk and talk about overdrive pedals and curry.
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Feb 8, 2008, 04:48 PM
 
Maybe Baurdrillard was right about the world becoming a trashcan for itself.
     
ShortcutToMoncton
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Feb 8, 2008, 05:49 PM
 
Originally Posted by Doofy View Post
He's got a bit of a point though, hasn't he? Let's face it, there's an awful lot of BS concerning the environment coming out of certain political sectors at the moment.
...and an equal amount of BS concerning the environment coming out of other "political sectors." It's all relative.

From my own perspective in a coastal city, I just look around at the amount to garbage and/or plastic we use, and think about how much of that will inevitably end up in the water next door. In fact, I just now came up with a handy-dandy extrapolating formula:

The amount to garbage or plastic Halifax uses * (Teh world / Mitigating factors) = Shitload of Garbage in dat Water


Seems pretty reasonable to me, no? That ocean currents would eventually collect it all in one area isn't so far-fetched either.

Look at that, the time-honored technique of "using my brain" and "applying logical mathematics" to get a solution. My gut wasn't even involved!

greg
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Doofy
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Feb 8, 2008, 07:23 PM
 
Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton View Post
...and an equal amount of BS concerning the environment coming out of other "political sectors." It's all relative.
I wasn't disputing that fact.

And neither was I disputing the existence of the floating mass of waste (after all, I live on one).

Just pointing out that the OP has a point.

Instead of whinging, go grab a beer and a curry and solve that problem. Haul it up, make something useful from it. At the very least you could sell that shizzle on eBay to some moron who wants a souvenir.
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ShortcutToMoncton
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Feb 8, 2008, 10:08 PM
 
Hahaha...what's a "curry"? Is that some English thing, or is it really some form of Indian curry?

I made some lamb masala curry tonight, and it is delicious and heavy and good in my stomach.

greg
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Doofy
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Feb 8, 2008, 11:25 PM
 
Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton View Post
Hahaha...what's a "curry"? Is that some English thing, or is it really some form of Indian curry?
No Greg, it's a completely different thing because our definition of the word "curry" is completely different than that in all of the other countries we gave our language to.

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton View Post
I made some lamb masala curry tonight, and it is delicious and heavy and good in my stomach.
I couldn't be bothered to cook it. So had a couple extra beers instead.
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ShortcutToMoncton
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Feb 8, 2008, 11:42 PM
 
Well I've never heard it used as an entity unto itself, like "a" curry.

greg
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Feb 9, 2008, 12:55 AM
 
Oh sweet, I just remembered I needed to drink another beer. Thanks for reminding me, Doofy and Shortcut.
     
ShortcutToMoncton
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Feb 9, 2008, 01:52 AM
 
*clink*
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