Environment & Energy

adirondacker

(2,921 posts) Thu Dec 18, 2014, 01:21 AM Dec 2014

Where is All the 'Missing' Plastic? At the Bottom of the Ocean, Study Finds

'The deep sea floor could be the ultimate resting ground for the products of our disposable society,' researcher says
by
Deirdre Fulton, staff writer

"Billions of tiny plastic fragments have accumulated in the deep sea, finds a new study published this week in the journal Royal Society Open Science, raising concerns about the organisms that live there, such as coral and bottom-of-the-food-chain invertebrates.

In an attempt to find evidence of "missing" plastic debris—unaccounted for microplastic waste that should, given our "throw-away culture," be more abundant in the world's oceans—scientists looked at samples of sediment and coral retrieved from 16 sites in the Mediterranean Sea, the North Atlantic Ocean, and southwestern Indian Ocean.

What they found suggests that "[t]he deep sea floor could be the ultimate resting ground for the products of our disposable society," said Richard Thompson, a marine biologist at Plymouth University in the UK and an author of the study."

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/12/17/where-all-missing-plastic-bottom-ocean-study-finds

link to the study;
http://www.nature.com/news/plastic-waste-taints-the-ocean-floors-1.16581

I can recall the first time I saw the Gulf Stream wall back in '99. It was lined with plastic trash for miles.

8 replies

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Where is All the 'Missing' Plastic? At the Bottom of the Ocean, Study Finds (Original Post) adirondacker Dec 2014 OP

Someone's going to come up with a solar or wave powered scooper that runs around picking all that MADem Dec 2014 #1

Yes, I'm sure a kid doing a science project will solve the problem. delrem Dec 2014 #2

Wow, who peed in your wheaties? Why are you so angered? MADem Dec 2014 #3

I apologize! delrem Dec 2014 #4

No worries, I'll get over it. I just have a glass half full approach to life. MADem Dec 2014 #5

There are screw-ups and there are screw-ups. delrem Dec 2014 #6

I think there needs to be another HUGE global environmental movement to address these issues adirondacker Dec 2014 #7

I think anyone doing anything helps to raise awareness. MADem Dec 2014 #8

MADem

(135,425 posts)

1. Someone's going to come up with a solar or wave powered scooper that runs around picking all that

Reply to adirondacker (Original post)

Thu Dec 18, 2014, 01:35 AM

Dec 2014

crap up. I know some high school kid came up with a simple but effective methodology for that big circle of garbage out in the middle of the ocean--someone needs to work on this. That plastic can be converted back to fuel if needs must, too.

The new biodegradable bags aren't bad, either--can hardly tell the difference. They're made of corn or something.

delrem

(9,688 posts)

2. Yes, I'm sure a kid doing a science project will solve the problem.

Reply to MADem (Reply #1)

Thu Dec 18, 2014, 01:48 AM

Dec 2014

Solar or wave powered, or wind powered too!

The problem isn't that we're a mite too profligate in our use of coal and oil resources, it's that we've been too distracted by greed to be aware of the problem posed by our waste, or to consider a solution.

Yes. I like this way of thinking.

All we need do is wake up and with a bit of good old-fashioned american ingenuity the problem will be turned into profit!
Who could possibly put up a counter-argument to that?

MADem

(135,425 posts)

3. Wow, who peed in your wheaties? Why are you so angered?

Reply to delrem (Reply #2)

Thu Dec 18, 2014, 02:03 AM

Dec 2014

I didn't say that this kid's effort would "solve the problem" but any steps are better than none, wouldn't you say? Or should we just abandon hope? Ahhh, fuckit, the oceans are full of trash, so throw another plastic bottle in the pile because it Just Doesn't Matter...? That negativity is not the way to approach this.

And there is NOTHING wrong with turning trash into treasure, in incentivizing "do gooding." Not everyone wants to wear a hair shirt, after all. If people can find a positive financial reason to "do good," they will do it more enthusiastically, most of 'em.

That IS human nature.

This teenager is getting off his ass and doing something--more than I can say for a lot of people.

http://www.iflscience.com/environment/19-year-old-develops-machine-clean-oceans-plastic

But all might not be lost. An organization called The Ocean Cleanup, founded by 19-year-old Boyan Slat, believe that they may have a viable solution to cleanup ocean trash. Following a year-long study involving extensive scientific research, the organization has recently released a feasibility report which concludes that their novel method to remove plastic from the oceans is both technically and financially viable. Furthermore, if employed, computer models predict that within ten years they could reduce the plastic within the infamous Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which has been previously deemed impossible to cleanup, by almost 50%.

How does it work? Their method exploits natural ocean currents and winds which passively transport garbage towards a collection platform. Solid floating barriers are then used to catch and concentrate the trash from the ocean, negating the risk of wildlife entanglement and vertebrate bycatch which are problems with other techniques such as nets.

Their first proof-of-concept test, which was performed at the Azores Islands, confirmed the capture and concentration potential of the floating barriers. After capture the plastic is removed mechanically and, according to the report, if it can be converted into other materials or oil some of the costs could potentially be recovered.

So what’s the catch? Cleanup projects unfortunately don’t come cheap, and the team estimate that this will cost €31.7 million per year (around $43 million). While this may sound dramatic, according to the report it’s actually around 33 times cheaper than other conventional cleanup methods that have been proposed to deal with the problem. But to minimize costs, The Ocean Cleanup is outsourcing most of the fundamental research to institutes and is also collaborating with various companies. In order to implement the next stage of the project, which will involve large-scale operational pilots, the company is now crowdsourcing $2 million.

delrem

(9,688 posts)

4. I apologize!

Reply to MADem (Reply #3)

Thu Dec 18, 2014, 02:47 AM

Dec 2014

I'm truly sorry that I so angered you.

I merely spoke from my heart on a matter that you brought up. That's all.

MADem

(135,425 posts)

5. No worries, I'll get over it. I just have a glass half full approach to life.

Reply to delrem (Reply #4)

Thu Dec 18, 2014, 03:05 AM

Dec 2014

I think well-meaning humans can overcome a lot, even screw-ups of our own making.

delrem

(9,688 posts)

6. There are screw-ups and there are screw-ups.

Reply to MADem (Reply #5)

Thu Dec 18, 2014, 03:11 AM

Dec 2014

The unbridled greed of the human race makes for a screw-up indeed.

adirondacker

(2,921 posts)

7. I think there needs to be another HUGE global environmental movement to address these issues

Reply to MADem (Reply #1)

Thu Dec 18, 2014, 11:41 AM

Dec 2014

and to raise the public's awareness.

As far as the scoopers go, it may work fine in a bay or harbor, but the shear vastness of the Pacific Garbage Patch and the edge of the Gulf Stream are way too immense for any such concept to have an impact IMHO. The Indian Ocean is also in major jeopardy due to the "advancements" of the tech industry around the neighboring countries.

Personally, I try and use glass and paper whenever possible. I still use a set of glass containers from my childhood to store food in the frig. Lettuce, vegetables and meats stay fresh Way longer and don't develop the slime that plastics often render.

The convenience of the disposable society has to be challenged like our lives depend on it. Because it does.

A glass is half full and half empty simultaneously, it's whether we drink more or spit back that matters.

MADem

(135,425 posts)

8. I think anyone doing anything helps to raise awareness.

Reply to adirondacker (Reply #7)

Thu Dec 18, 2014, 11:54 AM

Dec 2014

I like this idea, too--

And when people get together to do stuff like this, http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2014/12/17/doghouse-corset-toilet-freezer-meth-lab/20537857/ I think they are wonderful.

It's really attitude that determines if your glass is half empty or half full. If life sucks, your glass is half empty. If you are optimistic and believe that hard work, solidarity and community will bring reward, your glass is half full. I think people get more done with a half full glass, but that's just me.

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