Ninety-nine percent of the ocean's plastic is missing
84 replies, posted
[QUOTE=OvB;45262784]That idea would do more harm than good by slaughtering plankton. Allow me to find the scientific rebuttal.[/QUOTE]
Please do, because the idea seems a bit too good to be true (I do not claim I'm an expert in oceanography). I would suggest the idea of some specialized bacteria (akin to oil-cleanup bacteria), however the long-term consequences of releasing specialized bacteria into a large ecosystem (considering how they would mutate with other bacteria) would be too large a risk.
Given how small the plastic is, and how mixed it is with the mixed layer, a lot of scientists propose the best thing to do is simply make rules and regulations to stop plastic from going into the ocean, and make better biodegradable plastics. If we stop putting plastic in, the current level will eventually degrade away, or wash up, or sink.
[editline]1st July 2014[/editline]
Removing it is just too complex unless you can find a revolutionary way to separate the plastic from the plankton without harming the plankton. It also has to be economically feasible. You can make stuff out of the plastic and sell it as ~eco~ products, but it's got to be financially feasible.
[QUOTE=seano12;45260409]We have a plastic sea monster on our hands. Man the harpoons![/QUOTE]
I think you mean man the boxcutters
[QUOTE=Warriorx4;45262333]Destroyed? Please. Earth has been around for a few billion years and unless she gets hit by giant space rocks she'll be around for a few billion more. The only thing humans can do is fuck up our chances of survivability on it, but the Earth will be fine.[/QUOTE]
in that case, please carry on. So long as the rock itself is fine I guess we shouldn't give a rat's ass about what we do that will destroy its capability of harboring life beyond microbes
[QUOTE=Riller;45261345]Joke's on you, I don't eat fish.[/QUOTE]
Jokes on you, some of your food eats marine life that ate marine life.
[QUOTE=Mbbird;45263284]Jokes on you, some of your food eats marine life that ate marine life.[/QUOTE]
No it doesn't? My diet is 100% herbivore-based. I'm a second-degree vegetarian. I eat meat, but I don't eat meat that eats meat.
[QUOTE=Riller;45263402]No it doesn't? My diet is 100% herbivore-based. I'm a second-degree vegetarian. I eat meat, but I don't eat meat that eats meat.[/QUOTE]
It was something of a generalization. tldr: this (probably) matters.
The only microbes that eat plastic that I've heard about shit oil... so...
Good news and bad news? :v:
[QUOTE=Zenreon117;45263656]The only microbes that eat plastic that I've heard about shit oil... so...
Good news and bad news? :v:[/QUOTE]
I don't think the bacteria will enter into any trade agreements, so that's pretty much worthless.
[QUOTE=crazycory65;45260437]Well, isn't this some what good news?[/QUOTE]
All the plastic crap has been split into tiniest little pieces, circulating through the ecosystem without nature having any real way to process it.
So it has basically entered our food chain. Non-edible plastic products.
[editline]1st July 2014[/editline]
[QUOTE=Zonesylvania;45260443]I wager that the aliens are at fault for this :v:
That aside, it's curious to know that the fish are responsible, thinking of it as food.[/QUOTE]
Wait, the fishes being responsible for what, exactly? For spoiling the ocean?
[editline]1st July 2014[/editline]
And when you snap a piece of plastic in two a hundred times, then it becomes unavoidable for the fishes to eventually eat 'em up. The reporting seems to even suggest that.
There's all kinda sized plastic crap out there, and it gets chewed up over and over..so they don't exactly 'think' of all of it as food either. They still act on the vibrations by smallest of movements in the water, and hearing, I don't even know, and plastic doesn't make much movement on its own..
[editline]1st July 2014[/editline]
I'm still pretty amazed by that 90% number.. but then again deep-sea creatures are the hungriest motherfuckers you can find on Earth.
[editline]1st July 2014[/editline]
[quote]He suspects that a lot of the missing plastic has been eaten by marine animals. When plastic is floating out on the open ocean, [i]waves and radiation from the sun[/i] can fragment it into [b]smaller and smaller particles[/b], until it gets so small it begins to look like fish food—especially to small lanternfish, a widespread small marine fish known to ingest plastic.[/quote]
Meh.. it says it all there, but with even more science. Like waves and radiation from the sun, wtf?
quick, put more plastic in the ocean before we lose it all!
99% of the oceans' plastic has disappeared, but so have 90% of the oceans' large fish. The fish began disappearing around the same time that plastic started ending up in the ocean. The only logical deduction? The shits have been stealing it, and now they're laying low waiting for the heat to blow over.
[QUOTE=woolio1;45260530]There are still a lot of disposable products that otherwise really wouldn't work without plastics of some form. As much as I'd love a return to the halcyon days of glass-bottled sodas, I can't say the same for the days of cardboard VHS sleeves. Also, without plastics, we'd lose any number of pre-packaged food containers, vacuum-sealable sleeves and pouches, laminated paper products, and virtually all of our consumer electronics...
On the cutting board: Most synthetic fabrics, many composite building materials, styrofoam packing material (say goodbye to ever shipping anything in good condition ever again), and all manner of injection-molded toys, automotive parts, home products, hygiene products, medical products, electrical wiring and insulation, and dildos.
We live in a world built on plastics. They're ingrained in our conventions and our societal preconceptions. It's also going to be the greatest pitfall of the next few centuries, unless we can find a way to replace most of it or recycle what's left. Unlike glass, plastic does not recycle easily.[/QUOTE]
Well that's where biodegradable plastics come in. They break down much more cleanly and quickly than regular plastics, and are perfect for most things.
[QUOTE=dai;45262939]in that case, please carry on. So long as the rock itself is fine I guess we shouldn't give a rat's ass about what we do that will destroy its capability of harboring life beyond microbes[/QUOTE]
Whoa jack I didn't say nothin' like that I was just correcting a gross misinterpretation.
If you're gonna advocate saving the environment, don't go about it "You're destroying the Earth!" Go about it like "You're really fucking up our children's chances to live!" or "You're making the ocean more acidic destroying the coral reefs and all the fish that a whole industry centers around you fucking dick!" etc.
Maybe a friendly alien came to earth and ctrl+F all the "Ocean Plastic" and removed it for us.
[QUOTE=Riller;45263402]No it doesn't? My diet is 100% herbivore-based. I'm a second-degree vegetarian. I eat meat, but I don't eat meat that eats meat.[/QUOTE]
shit now im just tryna think of something people eat that also eats meat
maybe its just because its late and im a few beers in but i cant think of anything for the life of me
[QUOTE=urbanmonkey;45269538]shit now im just tryna think of something people eat that also eats meat
maybe its just because its late and im a few beers in but i cant think of anything for the life of me[/QUOTE]
Snakes, bears, predatory birds, pigs. Predatory birds less so, but the other three are pretty common. Bear and snake meat isn't as common in urban areas, but still.
[QUOTE=urbanmonkey;45269538]shit now im just tryna think of something people eat that also eats meat
maybe its just because its late and im a few beers in but i cant think of anything for the life of me[/QUOTE]
Alligators, bears, dogs, chickens, and lots of fish.
Only two things on that list are common.
[QUOTE=Funktastic Dog;45260447]We really fucked ourselves over when we made plastics. It's great for a lot of stuff, but making disposable things out of them was a baaad idea.
If sensible people were in charge, they would outright ban non-biodegradable plastic that's purpose is to be used and then disposed.[/QUOTE]
And nobody would obey such a ban
[QUOTE=dai;45262939]in that case, please carry on. So long as the rock itself is fine I guess we shouldn't give a rat's ass about what we do that will destroy its capability of harboring life beyond microbes[/QUOTE]
Given humans are far more adaptable than most other macroscopic life, that's pretty much what we'd need to do to get rid of ourselves.
[QUOTE=Mingebox;45271745]Given humans are far more adaptable than most other macroscopic life, that's pretty much what we'd need to do to get rid of ourselves.[/QUOTE]
We're reliant on agriculture to survive in most places.
We selectively breed crops for flavour, size and ease of growth. Stuff like bananas, ever notice how banana flavoured food doesn't taste like banana? It actually does but a different breed than what we eat now, the previous breed was bred to the point where every banana was a perfect clone with no differences, all it took was a fungus to spread, panama disease, to wipe out the entire species of banana. So we moved onto a new breed of banana, now thats bred to the point where they are all the same. We're just waiting for the next disease to come along, then its the next banana. We do the same with lots of crops and even animals. Lack of biodiversity which we create leads to glaring vulnerability to disease and genetic defect.
Globalisation and trade also helps spread these diseases and intensive use of antibiotics in farming is breeding anti-biotic resistant strains of bacteria.
Then there's water, desertification and pollution.
[b]water[/b] We need it, lots of the planet is covered in water, but its undrinkable and unusable for farming due to its salinity. We have lots of water under ground locked in rock but thats not easily accessible, yet we continue to misuse and pollute the drinkable, usable supply that we have. Mexico is an example of this with several of its aquifers steadily drying up. The Aral sea in russia is drying up, blowing sand and salt across the region leading to (next point)
[b]desertification[/b] Deserts are spreading across lots of the world. In some cases due to global warming but in others more tangible man made factors. Places in China, Africa, Middle ease and Russia have all experienced this. Vast areas of Tundra in Russia have turned to desert from failed intensive farming projects and deforestation. In africa the sahara is spreading southwards putting peoples livelihoods in danger.
[b]pollution[/b] Aside from this plastic in the sea thing there are other things causing severe damage to the seas of the world. The permian-triassic extinction was caused by ocean anoxia, this is where the sea doesn't have enough oxygen to support life, we have made our own minor anoxic events over the world. The black sea has endured years of fertilizer pollution and stagnation from manipulated water supplies, this has caused the deeper levels of it to be totally lifeless. Off of the oregon coast someone reported this [t]http://images.usatoday.com/weather/_photos/2006/10/31/apdeadzone.jpg[/t] A so called dead zone, where pollution displaces oxgyen in the water causing anoxia, killing of any seabreathing creatures inside it. In the middle ages intensive farming in europe caused similar effects in rivers causing large numbers of fish to die. Other areas experiencing low oxygen levels include the gulf of mexico, lots of major rivers and large semi-stagnant bodies of water.
We need sealife, plants and clean water to live, we can't live off of microbes. Nobody will tackle these issues because its "somebody elses problem", if we keep on going it will become all of our problem pretty soon.
Probably Chinese are collecting it to recycle it and build your new smartphones and stuff...
[QUOTE=SexualShark;45262300]sorry i got hungry[/QUOTE]
Here take a box
[QUOTE=mdeceiver79;45272011]We need sealife, plants and clean water to live, we can't live off of microbes. Nobody will tackle these issues because its "somebody elses problem", if we keep on going it will become all of our problem pretty soon.[/QUOTE]
People love their plastic phones and experimental wireless services so much that they think it is worth it.
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