Tropical Island Getaways… Made Of Human Waste.
(Sung to the tune of Gilligan’s Island)
Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,
a tale of some gruesome shit,
about what happens when you load some trash
atop a mighty ship.
In all seriousness, what you’re about to hear is absolutely disgusting. Roughly 1000 miles north of Hawaii, islands are developing from the trash and waste that humans generate. These islands are created by objects such as toothbrushes and bottle caps that have accumulated in the ocean over the course of modern history. Trash accumulates in these islands, it seems, due to ocean gyres – “an area of heavy currents and slack winds that keep the trash swirling in a giant whirlpool.”
And how big are these islands? Roughly, double the size of Texas. We think. See, there’s a big problem. Scientists don’t really have a way as of yet to determine how big it is, or if there are others like it. It’s not quite as fabled as the Loch Ness Monster, but at least as dangerous. Plastic, a core element of these trash islands, takes in toxins such as DDT “like a sponge”. Sea creatures eat it and it becomes a huge wrench in the food chain.
So what are people doing to reverse this? Good question. Cleanup groups are developing creative ways to get rid of the trash that has developed in these islands. One of these efforts has the goal of turning the plastic from these islands into diesel fuel. All the groups agree with one factor though: this trash is getting stinky and we’ve gotta do something about it.
Check out more about the tropical trash islands over at the New York Times.
I’m so glad you posted about this, Steve. I saw the article in the Times and could not believe how indifferent the tone was. Are they afraid they’ll be accused of showing bias if they make a statement about how horrifying and dangerous these trash islands are becoming? And they chose to highlight groups who are working to clean up the trash with this underhanded line: “Environmentalists and celebrities are using the patch to promote their own causes.” That is not the way to get people worked up and ready to take action!
Thank you for calling the trash islands what they are: absolutely disgusting. Hopefully if enough people see your post and others like it we can figure out a way to do something about about this problem before the islands get even bigger.