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A big patch of plastic garbage has been discovered in the Arctic

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Re: A big patch of plastic garbage has been discovered in the Arctic

#32
post #8

I think when people imagine these "garbage patches" they picture a floating garbage dump you could set a lawn chair on. The reality is that they are regions of slightly increased concentration of plastic. Here, the worst areas are between 100-500 grams of plastic per square kilometer. That is 5 empty water bottles in a square kilometer. This doesn't mean that having this debris is a good thing but it's important to g…

Why is trash ending up in the Arctic, that's my takeaway. Half a kilo of plastic per square kilometer is a lot for water that shouldn't have any plastic in the first place. I guess it is all about perspective.

It's because of the currents. Have a look at any body of water with a bit of debris - e.g. a backyard pool with leaves on it. It tends to concentrate in a few areas.

It's a good thing in a way; it allows us to spend a lot less clearing it up.

Re: A big patch of plastic garbage has been discovered in the Arctic

#33

Capitalism is the problem.

the problem is the distance in time between cause and effect and how much motivation those in the current time have.

Capitalism* may be a problem, but a brief bit of reading will tell you that Communism is a far far worse problem when it comes to pollution.

* whatever you mean by that.

Re: A big patch of plastic garbage has been discovered in the Arctic

#34

Capitalism is the problem.

the problem is the distance in time between cause and effect and how much motivation those in the current time have. Capitalism* may be a problem, but a brief bit of reading will tell you that Communism is a far far worse problem when it comes to pollution. * whatever you mean by that.

> Capitalism may be a problem

Capitalism is 1000% is the problem. No ifs, ends or buts. Specially, unrestricted, unlimited, mindless consumption of resources (which is at the core of capitalism) is the problem.

> brief bit of reading will tell you that Communism is a far far worse problem when it comes to pollution

Please do tell me what "reading" you're referring to. And no, China is not communist. China is capitalist. In fact, there are no countries that communist any more (maybe with the exception of NK).

Re: A big patch of plastic garbage has been discovered in the Arctic

#35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the problem is the distance in time between cause and effect and how much motivation those in the current time have. Capitalism* may be a problem, but a brief bit of reading will tell you that Communism is a far far worse problem when it comes to pollution. * whatever you mean by that.

> Capitalism may be a problem Capitalism is 1000% is the problem. No ifs, ends or buts. Specially, unrestricted, unlimited, mindless consumption of resources (which is at the core of capitalism) is the problem. > brief bit of reading will tell you that Communism is a far far worse problem when it comes to pollution Please do tell me what "reading" you're referring to. And no, China is not communist. China is capitali…

You're not helping your argument with the hyperbole.

1000% ? "unrestricted, unlimited, mindless" ?

Re: A big patch of plastic garbage has been discovered in the Arctic

#36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the problem is the distance in time between cause and effect and how much motivation those in the current time have. Capitalism* may be a problem, but a brief bit of reading will tell you that Communism is a far far worse problem when it comes to pollution. * whatever you mean by that.

> Capitalism may be a problem Capitalism is 1000% is the problem. No ifs, ends or buts. Specially, unrestricted, unlimited, mindless consumption of resources (which is at the core of capitalism) is the problem. > brief bit of reading will tell you that Communism is a far far worse problem when it comes to pollution Please do tell me what "reading" you're referring to. And no, China is not communist. China is capitali…

Oh, here's some "reading" (what's with the quotes?)

Recent Venezualan Oil Tankers banned from many harbours.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-oil-tankers-insi...

Less Recent (Soviet Era) https://fee.org/articles/why-socialism-causes-pollution/

You might not like fee.org so here's a Wikipedia quote.

    "Kraków, Poland was covered by smog 135 days per year,
    while Wrocław was covered by a fog of chrome gas"
(from the Eastern Bloc article on Wikipedia)

There is a common cause of neglect of the environment in both so-called Communist and Capitalist countries.

I urge you to discover what that is for yourself.

Re: A big patch of plastic garbage has been discovered in the Arctic

#37
post #8

I think when people imagine these "garbage patches" they picture a floating garbage dump you could set a lawn chair on. The reality is that they are regions of slightly increased concentration of plastic. Here, the worst areas are between 100-500 grams of plastic per square kilometer. That is 5 empty water bottles in a square kilometer. This doesn't mean that having this debris is a good thing but it's important to g…

Exactly right. I skimmed the link looking for photos of trash island until I thought critically about it. Especially embarrassing as I majored in geography and remote sensing and know exactly what these studies are like :)

I think when it's describe as an island it's crossed the line into intentional dishonesty.

Re: A big patch of plastic garbage has been discovered in the Arctic

#38

On the plus side: covering the ocean with white plastic garbage will reflect solar radiation and thus combat global warming. In fact we should be dumping as many plastic bags and styrofoam cups in the ocean as possible, as well as producing billions of white plastic buoys and just dumping them in the ocean. There are definitely no possible downsides or unintended consequences to this idea.

[deleted]

Re: A big patch of plastic garbage has been discovered in the Arctic

#39
Meh, who cares. The Arctic is useless to us anyway. Also, it seems there is no "patch of plastic garbage". It's just microscopic debris over thousands of kilometers.

Do people really think 7 billion humans will not have any impact on the planet? They will. Things will change. As long as it serves our purpose, we must utilize this planet to the maximum.

Re: A big patch of plastic garbage has been discovered in the Arctic

#40

On the plus side: covering the ocean with white plastic garbage will reflect solar radiation and thus combat global warming. In fact we should be dumping as many plastic bags and styrofoam cups in the ocean as possible, as well as producing billions of white plastic buoys and just dumping them in the ocean. There are definitely no possible downsides or unintended consequences to this idea.

We may luck out and two wrongs may make a right :)
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