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Fishing gear accounts for an alarming amount of plastic in oceans (2021)

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Re: Fishing gear accounts for an alarming amount of plastic in oceans (2021)

#101

Post by paulcole »

So today the wheel of who-do-we-blame-for-fucking-the-earth settles on commercial fishermen. The reality is that the actual wheel points at me and you and everyone we know (and everyone we don’t).

If you’re reading this, the lifestyle you’re living is very likely incompatible with a planet that isn’t ravaged by climate change. You’ve got to make drastic changes to how you choose to live and do everything you can to get everyone else to make drastic changes to how they choose to live.

Don’t like the sound of that? It’s OK, just blame those darn fishermen for leaving plastic in the oceans.

Re: Fishing gear accounts for an alarming amount of plastic in oceans (2021)

#102

Post by jdironman »

freeqaz wrote: post #96
JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For people that don’t know the math behind this, it is astounding. >when you double the weight per axle, you increase the road damage by 16 times >For example, while a truck axle carrying 18,000 pounds is only 9 times heavier than a 2,000-pound automobile axle, it does 5,000 times more damage.

Mind throwing a resource that I could review about this? I'd love to share it with my friends, as well.

Even more so, sharing with the general public through available media channels. Anything that is extremely detrimental to the public health, or the public lands and property should be the loudest thing mentioned. It should become so ingrained in the publics opinion that the only course of action is "How to fix this? Or how to prevent it from continuing?"

Re: Fishing gear accounts for an alarming amount of plastic in oceans (2021)

#103

Post by Scalestein »

freeqaz wrote: post #96
JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For people that don’t know the math behind this, it is astounding. >when you double the weight per axle, you increase the road damage by 16 times >For example, while a truck axle carrying 18,000 pounds is only 9 times heavier than a 2,000-pound automobile axle, it does 5,000 times more damage.

Mind throwing a resource that I could review about this? I'd love to share it with my friends, as well.

Looks like here https://www.gao.gov/products/ced-79-94

"Excessive Truck Weight: An Expensive Burden We Can No Longer Support" from GAO

Re: Fishing gear accounts for an alarming amount of plastic in oceans (2021)

#104

Post by mc32 »

epistasis wrote: post #24

To place this in context, it's 50,000 tons/year of fishing waste, versus 200,000 tons/year of microplastics from car tires: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/14/car-tyre... Further, microplastics enter the ecosystem far easier than the bulky big plastic from fishing gear, so the tire microplastics should be far more concerning to people. It's really weird how cars get a pass for so much. Try to live a…

Ah! If the rest of us Americans would only adopt and adapt to an Amish lifestyle with no rubber tires, or tyres, synthetic or natural -we'd all live a more fulfilling, meaningful and verdant life. The one Grete wishes we'd all live.

Re: Fishing gear accounts for an alarming amount of plastic in oceans (2021)

#105

Post by bergenty »

epistasis wrote: post #24

To place this in context, it's 50,000 tons/year of fishing waste, versus 200,000 tons/year of microplastics from car tires: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/14/car-tyre... Further, microplastics enter the ecosystem far easier than the bulky big plastic from fishing gear, so the tire microplastics should be far more concerning to people. It's really weird how cars get a pass for so much. Try to live a…

No it’s not that weird, I love cars and car culture. I want to live outside of dense urban areas, have a lot of land and feel generally uncomfortable traveling in public transport. I’m not alone. People will generally look the other way when it comes to things they love.

Re: Fishing gear accounts for an alarming amount of plastic in oceans (2021)

#106

Post by pfdietz »

gbear605 wrote: post #56
pfdietz wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Our local composting company explicitly excludes compostable utensils and food containers. Compostable doesn't mean biodegradable. For example, compostable cardboard food containers may be coated with perfluoro compounds to prevent liquids from soaking into the cardboard. These don't biodegrade.

Hm, that’s strange since they break down fine in my home compost bin. I wonder what’s the difference for them?

They may look like their breaking down, but your compost is now laced with PFAs. Forever chemicals for you!

Re: Fishing gear accounts for an alarming amount of plastic in oceans (2021)

#107

Post by b112 »

ch4s3 wrote: post #97
triceratops wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly don't get the point of straws, other than for handicapped people or small children (who have washable sippy bottles and cups anyway). Are people that bad at drinking from cups and glasses?

The can protect sensitive teeth, prevent smearing of makeup, make it easier to drink while walking, help prevent spills of colored liquids onto stainable shirts, help modulate the speed at which you are drinking, keep ice from hitting your teeth, make it easier to finish think drinks like shakes, allow people who are convalescing to drink easily, and probably some things I didn’t think of.

probably some things I didn’t think of.

Spitballs, as a kid.

Re: Fishing gear accounts for an alarming amount of plastic in oceans (2021)

#108

Post by airstrike »

causality0 wrote: post #55
epistasis wrote: post #24

To place this in context, it's 50,000 tons/year of fishing waste, versus 200,000 tons/year of microplastics from car tires: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/14/car-tyre... Further, microplastics enter the ecosystem far easier than the bulky big plastic from fishing gear, so the tire microplastics should be far more concerning to people. It's really weird how cars get a pass for so much. Try to live a…

It's really weird how cars get a pass for so much. It's really weird how trucks get a pass from people who don't give cars a pass. If tire wear is proportional to road wear, the majority of tire-originating microplastics is from semi trucks, not commuter sedans.

The corollary to this argument is that most environmental issues routinely blamed on individual behavior pale in comparison to the externalities from industry and commerce

People talk shutting off the faucet while brushing one's teeth but ~70% of global freshwater usage comes from agriculture and ~20% from industry, with municipalities accounting for only 10%

Re: Fishing gear accounts for an alarming amount of plastic in oceans (2021)

#109

Post by gruez »

airstrike wrote: post #108
causality0 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really weird how cars get a pass for so much. It's really weird how trucks get a pass from people who don't give cars a pass. If tire wear is proportional to road wear, the majority of tire-originating microplastics is from semi trucks, not commuter sedans.

The corollary to this argument is that most environmental issues routinely blamed on individual behavior pale in comparison to the externalities from industry and commerce People talk shutting off the faucet while brushing one's teeth but ~70% of global freshwater usage comes from agriculture and ~20% from industry, with municipalities accounting for only 10%

> The corollary to this argument is that most environmental issues routinely blamed on individual behavior pale in comparison to the externalities from industry and commerce

I agree with internalizing externalities, but let's not pretend that isn't part of individual behavior (consumer demand drives industry), or that individuals don't benefit from them in some way.

Re: Fishing gear accounts for an alarming amount of plastic in oceans (2021)

#110

Post by eloisius »

julianlam wrote: post #60
Waterluvian wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t that flawed logic? If you’re proposing that one of these issues can be fixed with more infrastructure, then couldn’t either? Rail is nice.

Sure! Rail is nice, when the volume permits it. How would we supply the supermarket, though? A rail line would be unfeasible.

You're getting closer. Suburban supermarkets might be unfeasible without long-haul trucking. That's just another example of the public subsidizing the suburban lifestyle, which is unsustainable without fossil fuels and public subsidies. Rail can very well transport goods from port to population centers, where box trucks can handle the last mile to stores.
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