Plastic soup the size of the US found in the Pacific

[BailOut]

Originally Posted by MadMax

For one, no one would be in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in a boat that small!

Wrong. I spent a fair amount of time at sea in the Pacific and there are places out there that only swell above a foot or so when it storms. I've even seen a patch of water in the middle of the ocean so still and smooth on a low hanging overcast day that it looked like we were moving on a mirror.

On a related note I was once disciplined for confronting a working party that was jettisoning the ship's trash overboard. This was not an isolated incident.

Originally Posted by MadMax

Two, the Pacific moves is too damn dynamic for that much shit to accumlate in one place!

See above. Another example of how things get stuck can be found in most streams, rivers and even water parks. All it takes is cross currents or back currents meeting to produce eddies. The Pacific is chock full of differing currents.



As for your idea that it is propaganda I disagree. This has been seen and reported on by many people and groups in the environmental circles that I trust for solid information, though when I first learned of it a year ago it was estimated to be the size of Texas. You are certainly welcome to take the Ostrich approach while the rest of us figure out a way to clean it up, which is no easy task as it can't currently be monetized and no one will accept any responsibility for it.

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by BailOut

You are certainly welcome to take the Ostrich approach while the rest of us figure out a way to clean it up, which is no easy task as it can't currently be monetized and no one will accept any responsibility for it.

Tragedy of the Commons.... if people were allowed to own parts of the Ocean this would never happen. Since the oceans are "officially" part of "mankind's common heritage" no one takes a strong interest in them.


Sounds to me like a lot of petrochemicals tied up in one place. Be nice if someone could find a way to gather that crap and turn it into petroleum residues, suitable for making new items out of or turning it into fuel.

Maybe use Ocean Temperature Gradient Technology for the the energy source, maybe even make OTGT machines out of it, and then transport them.

Of course if the UN decides it wants a cut of the proceeds... well, too bad, it probably won't happen. Like it or not, the people who get things done in this world usually seek a profit.

Gene