mikepwalsh
- The Environment
Why Trashing the Oceans is More Dangerous Than We Imagined
Last fall we reported on the growing mess of garbage swirling in the North Pacific Gyre. Its a swath of ocean arguably the size of the continental U.S. where all the plastic refuse from Asia and the western coast of North America ends up when its washed out to sea. Turtles mistake bags for jellyfish and birds mistake floating chips for prey. Animals have been discovered starved to death because the entire contents of their stomachs were plastic fragments. Sail a boat out to the middle of the gyre and the problem is in plain sight. Unfortunately for us, the more severe problem is the one we cant see.
4.1.2008 at 01:24pm - Comment by mikepwalshGood Grief! I've never seen such a trashed out beach in my life! Where was the photo taken? Seems that the municipality should place ubiquitous trash and recycling containers every 100 feet to accomodate the large #s of people visiting the beach. Also it would behoove them to place $1000 littering fine signs along with the containers since littering people are seriously lacking in common sense or decency. What a shocking testimonial to the egocentric, foolhardy and apathetic culture that exists in these United States. I am ashamed to call these people fellow Americans. Michael P. Walsh Lake Tahoe, CA mwalsh2222@hotmail.com
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December 2009: Best of What's New
In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.
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