THE PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH ~ A CLEANUP?


 


R. A. Schultz


 


 


I first became aware of several “garbage patches” of plastic junk, fish nets, and assorted flotsam and jetsam polluting the world’s oceans during my time in the Coast Guard.  The patches become concentrated as the result of natural ocean currents.  After retiring from the Coast Guard, and as a civilian volunteer, I assisted in presenting lectures informing students and others of the problem, specifically with an eye toward preventing further damage.  Generally, the problem was judged to be simply just too massive for any effective effort at cleaning it up.  The Pacific patch, for example, is currently twice the size of Texas.  Most of the waste in the Pacific Ocean emanates from Asian countries, with the United States contributing only about 1% of the garbage.


 


 


But now, thanks to the efforts of 24-year-old innovator Boylan Slat of the Netherlands, there may be a light at the end of a very long tunnel.  A cleanup device is described in detail in the accompanying article.


 


See: https://apnews.com/47a3d7...


 


 


If found to be effective, additional devices may be deployed to effect the most massive garbage cleanup in world history.

Rocky
I believe I read the patch is bigger than or equal to the size of Mexico. My question is....how is it getting into the ocean. Most civilized people recycle and they live on the coastal regions. I can't believe that individual people are doing this. Maybe the end recyclers are dumping instead of p...
  • September 8, 2018
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Safari Woman
This is awesome!!! They launched it today - I felt like it was a birthday present to me - just to know at last someone is doing something! 
  • September 9, 2018
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