Populum Test Server » PACIFIC OCEAN PLASTIC STEW ENTERING OUR FOOD SYSTEM

Each of us tosses about 185 pounds of plastic per year. We could certainly reduce that. And yet—do our products have to be quite so lethal? Must a discarded flip-flop remain with us until the end of time? Aren’t disposable razors and foam packing peanuts a poor consolation prize for the destruction of the world’s oceans, not to mention our own bodies and the health of future generations? “If ‘more is better’ and that’s the only mantra we have, we’re doomed,” Moore says, summing it up.

Oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer, Ph.D., an expert on marine debris, agrees. “If you could fast-forward 10,000 years and do an archaeological dig…you’d find a little line of plastic,” he told The Seattle Times last April. “What happened to those people? Well, they ate their own plastic and disrupted their genetic structure and weren’t able to reproduce. They didn’t last very long because they killed themselves."

OpEdNews columnist Allen L Roland is available for comments , interviews and speaking engagements ( allen@allenroland.com )

1 | 2 | 3

Take action -- click here to contact your local newspaper or congress people:
SAVE THE OCEANS

Click here to see the most recent messages sent to congressional reps and local newspapers

http://www.allenroland.com

	Contact Author
	Contact Editor
	View Other Articles by Author

Bookmark this page: (what's this?)

(More...)

2 comments

Dave Kisor was an Aviation Electrician, USN / USNR, starting in 1971, working on A-4F Skyhawks & A-7E Corsair 2s ashore and afloat on the USS Hancock & USS Coral Sea. AA Speech Communications, the BA and MA in Geography and presently working for the US Forest Service as a Physical Science Technician. It's not just an adventure, it's a job. He's politically & progressively Green, and owned by his magnificent cat, The Empress Panthera.
Dave KisorDave Kisor was an Aviation Electrician, USN / USNR, starting in 1971, working on A-4F Skyhawks & A-7E Corsair 2s ashore and afloat on the USS Hancock & USS Coral Sea. AA Speech Communications, the BA and MA in Geography and presently working for the US Forest Service as a Physical Science Technician. It's not just an adventure, it's a job. He's politically & progressively Green, and owned by his magnificent cat, The Empress Panthera.

Cleaning up our act

Having read this rather disturbing article, it's time to start researching what would be necessary to begin a garbage collection service for our oceans. The primary concern at the moment is mostly the particles small enough to be ingested by marine life, not only for the marine life itself, but for those who consider them part of their food chain. I would imagine a larger vessel with a screen mounted on the bow which would pass objects a certain size to be determined by oceanographers and marine biologists, with a conveyor belt leading to a hydraulic press that would generate several hundred tons of pressure to compact the plastic into a large "raft" to either enable it to be towed behind or have it craned off the ship at a continental port and transported to a plastics manufacturing plant. This is just one potential solution and we need others to get into the mix to provide ideas before the problem worsens (it can only get worse, but you should know what I mean). Since many good printed articles are missed because people don't want to read them, I would recommend a 3 to 4 minute video on this subject on one of the more popular video sharing sites where friends send links, and from that it could spread like wildfire. These are only suggestions. If someone points out a problem of this magnitude, someone else is generally tasked with solving the problem, or at least leading the team. Today's fresh catch of the day is tuna ala PVC au nurdles. Bon apatite!

by Dave Kisor (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 179 comments) on Sunday, June 3, 2007 at 11:50:02 PM

Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on Conscious talk radio www.conscioustalk.net
Allen L RolandAllen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on Conscious talk radio www.conscioustalk.net

Since many good printed articles are missed because people don't want to read them, I would recommend a 3 to 4 minute video on this subject on one of the more popular video sharing sites where friends send links, and from that it could spread like wildfire.

I agree ~ This is a story that won't go away and keeps growing~ like that garbage patch in the Pacific.

Allen L Roland

by Allen L Roland (950 articles, 7 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 369 comments) on Sunday, June 3, 2007 at 11:56:47 PM

2 comments

How would you rate this?

You must be logged in (if signed up) to do ratings.

It's free to signup! And easy. And takes just a minute or two....

Click Here to Login (or Signup)

View Ratings

Here are the current ratings

Must Read (0)	Well Said (0)	News (0)
Touching (0)	Funny (0)	Supported (0)
Interesting (0)	Inspiring (0)	Valuable (0)