15.7.10

Every Once in Awhile...

I read something and hear in my brain a voice:

That can't be fucking true. No way.

It is usually triggered by an internet news story with dubious sources. I heard the voice this morning while scrolling through my slash.dot feed. A nice little post:

"The Pacific Ocean trash dump is twice the size of Texas, or the size of Spain combined with France. The Pacific Vortex as it is sometimes called, is made up of four million tons of Plastic. Now there's a proposal to turn this dump into 'Recycled Island'. The Netherlands Architecture Fund has provided the grant money for the project, and the WHIM architecture firm is conducting the research and design of Recycled Island. One of the three major aims of the project is to clean up the floating trash by recycling it on site. Two, the project would create new land for sustainable habitation complete with its own food sources and energy sources. Lastly, Recycled Island is to be a sea worthy island. While at the moment the project is still more or less a pipe dream, it's great that someone is trying to work out what to do with one of humanity's most bizarre environmental slip ups."

I admit that I don't really keep a close eye on the news. Its just not my thing. But I'm surprised I haven't heard about a trash island larger than France and Spain combined before today.

That can't be fucking true. No way.

But the links in the post seem legit.

And so do all these other links to Mother Nature Network, CNN World (although its a story by an independent news group VICE buried on the site), and The Times Online.

Wikipedia already has a scientific name for this phenomenon "The Pacific Ocean Vortex," which sounds much nicer than its original moniker: "The Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch." George Carlin just let out a chuckle from the grave. (See about 57 seconds in on the distancing ourselves from reality. I'm becoming increasingly interested in this as I think of the legacy of modernity and postmodernity as we move into the era of posthumanism, globalization, and actor-network theory/ecologies). For those that haven't read/heard/seen Carlin's bit on war and shell-shock, its worth a few moments.

And so, if any of you care, I will be in a delirious fit of rage for the rest of the morning. Rest assured I'll feel powerless and apathetic by tomorrow.

SERIOUSLY WTF THERE'S AN ISLAND OF TRASH TWICE AS BIG AS TEXAS JESUS CHRIST WHY ARE WE SO AWFUL.

/rant

5 comments:

Mark said...

If it's any consolation, only like 7% of that trash island is probably your own garbage. Definitely under 10%.

the third guy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
the third guy said...

there's a pile of garbage about the size of long island right off the east coast. it's called long island.

Casey said...

Don't worry. Obama's going to destroy civilization altogether on schedule, by 2012. Lord knows mother Earth will be grateful.

Third guy: how 'bout that Battle Creek oil spill!?!? Does that hit too close to home to make a joke? Or not...?

Insignificant Wrangler said...

At least in the Battle Creek spill Enbridge seems to be doing the right thing without 24-7 media coverage.

Whether that makes them "good" or merely "preemptively rhetorical" doesn't matter to me.