Pacific Trash Vortex! Wow! I had no idea it was this bad!

[scubadrewvideo]

Although a picture would be good, there is nothing more convincing than diving into the middle of the pacific ocean...and I do mean the exact geographic middle...and coming out with plastic bits on your skin, in your hair and stuck in your teeth. I will try to get video of just that happening to us out there!
Will that satisfy the skeptics?
Lets hope!

 

[scubadrewvideo]

Here is the link to my trash voyage blog. Please check it out if you want to follow the voyage.
Plastic in Ocean | Pacific Garbage Patch | Ocean Pollution

 

[Peter_C]

I just think that those that are on the fence would feel a bit more guilty and compelled to make a change and/or help if they could see the problem. We are a society that has grown to firmly believe, "Out if sight, out of mind."

Well I did post a picture of my plastic organic garden that is FULL of plastic garbage and that is available for all to see today.(Anyone can feel free to use those photos. Print them, email them, post 'em up!) Heck if it would help you and your friends to touch plastic garbage, I would even be willing to send garbage to you in the mail so you can hold the garbage in your own hand, and show your friends. It doesn't really matter if there is a giant toilet bowl full of plastic in the ocean or not, we are still going to have to change our ways for the future generations survival on this planet. Do you have kids? Nieces/Nephews? If so you have every reason to start making changes in your practices today. That is what we need to convince our friends and family of.

From another thread "I've gone from British Columbia to Hawaii on a boat several times and about halfway there I've seen the area described. It takes about a day and a half to get through it. It's not a solid mass of wall-to-wall plastic or anything, but there is a lot of stuff floating around (mostly bottles and styrofoam). I'm guessing most of the stuff is dumped from ships."

Short story: I was in the grocery store the other day and only bought three items, so when the checker started to put my stuff into a plastic bag, I quickly replied "No bags please, plastic is evil". The young gal behind me who was probably around 19-20 years old, with her two male friends, overheard and I watched as she purchased for $.99 a reusable grocery bag We can spread the word, and everyone can make a difference.

 

[Anthony Appleyard]

I carry my shopping in a backpack.

From another thread... Short story: I was in the grocery store the other day and only bought three items, so when the checker started to put my stuff into a plastic bag, I quickly replied "No bags please, plastic is evil". The young gal behind me who was probably around 19-20 years old, with her two male friends, overheard and I watched as she purchased for $.99 a reusable grocery bag We can spread the word, and everyone can make a difference.

 

[scubadrewvideo]

Link to CNN.com interview.

 

[Plumb bob]

Good interview Drew, They just have to keep using the Island analogy though don't they?

 

[Shaka Doug]

Good interview Drew but the interviewer (Eric) was a tool. How do guys like that get and keep their jobs? Hopefully a lot of people saw it and have been made aware of the problem. That's one of the most important aspects of the vortex....knowledge that it exists and that we must change before it's too late.

 

[Black_3000psi]

about a year ago i worked on a comercial fishing boat. I will not name the boat or the captain because he is not here to defend himself. we were out for three weeks. I can say that I was warned not to go on this boat but times were very hard and the idea of making a large sum of money made up my mind. my first shock came when i was informed that we did not have a marine toilet. you had two choices hang your butt over the side or do it in a bucket and then dump it over the side. counting the captain there were four of us. because i am i diver this did not sit well with me so i thought i would be slick. i would put a plastic bag in the bucket then seal the bag in another bag and toss it in the large trash bag. well these large trash bags acumalated at a fast rate and took up plenty of space. on the third day out the captain instructed me to get rid of the bags. i acted like i didnt hear him til he finally told one of the other guys to do it. this was the start of a very evil trip. i had disobeyed the captain. in that three weeks i cant even count the amount of garbage that went overboard. we also had like four small fuel spills during refueling. the fuel was pumped from some holding tank into the main fuel tank and just about every time there was about three to five gallons of fuel spilled onto the deck cause it over flowed.which was washed off the deck in a hurry. during one incident the spill was so bad the captain started yelling i hope we got enough fuel to get home. now at that time i had no idea there was a trash vortex but i did wonder where all this stuff ended up. now i know. it was not a pleasing thought so i tried not to dwell on it. but i have never mentioned it til now to anyone. if you are ever at a harbor where these boats dock watch them load their supplys. then if your lucky and see them return watch how much trash they unload. its barely a fraction of what they took out.

 

[scubadrewvideo]

Good interview Drew but the interviewer (Eric) was a tool. How do guys like that get and keep their jobs? Hopefully a lot of people saw it and have been made aware of the problem. That's one of the most important aspects of the vortex....knowledge that it exists and that we must change before it's too late.

I'm not gonna harp on Eric about anything, he was actually very helpful in getting this story going and he at least let me speak on 3 very important concepts...the reason you can't see it from air, the reason you can't just scoop it up, and the fact that plastic by products are in our food. I do wish he hadn't called it an island.

All the media people are looking to sensationalize stuff more than it is.

 

[Shaka Doug]

I'm glad you're happy with it Drew. It looked and sounded good, you looked like you knew what you were talking about and there was some good supportive graphics and images. I just thought he appeared unprepared and used unusual terms and analogies in his commentary. That's just me...(don't mind me, I'm just jacked on the juice!)

So, do you have a counter for your blog? Have you noticed increased traffic from the CNN thing or the SB banner ad? I'm sure you will keep the blog alive and the donation box open while you're sailing so people will be able to contribute even after you depart.

By the way, who did your hair?