Forget rising sea levels, we're drowning in plastic

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LTLFTcomposite

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 23, 2010
Messages
4,780
Location
Central FL
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/planetorplastic/

The proliferation of plastic packaging and the failure to recognize and deal with the impacts is astounding.
 
LTLFTcomposite said:
SageBrush said:
Perhaps your chosen president shares your concerns ?
Don't know. If I ever have the privilege of meeting Governor Romney I'll ask him.
Cute. You SHOULD know; after all, you think it is more important than AGW. And try to remember who you voted for in the presidential election.
 
The Bay area prohibited stores from giving out free single-use plastic bags a couple of years ago. They used to be everywhere, on land and (when scuba diving) under water, and they've now virtually disappeared from the waste stream here. What really irks me now are single-use plastic water bottles. People just dump them, often half or more full. After realizing just how many of these I see on a daily basis, I've recently begun to carry a separate grocery tote bag just to pick these and aluminum cans up for recycling as I walk to the grocery store and back. I figure I make the cost of groceries (California CRV value) every 2 or 3 times I walk the six blocks and back to the store, but I'd prefer to see them banned entirely. I've never bought one of these bottles, and can't imagine why anyone would. Either your tap water is good, and you put it in a reusable water bottle, or you get a filter and do likewise, or stores install dispensers that you fill your bottles with. That seemingly isn't convenient enough for many. I've been using the same plastic water bottles for as much as 3 decades now (probably not BPA free for some of the older ones), and I just don't get the throw-away culture.
 
I buy plastic bottles of water occasionally, and then reuse them for years, but I agree with your main point. Putting a $.25 deposit on them would accomplish much the same thing.
 
Were drowning in both! Here on the Big Island of Hawaii, The Pacific Garbage gyre dumps **** (plastics) from all over the world on the Southpoint area. small pieces of plastic, ropes by the miles, buoys and anything else that is plastic, you name it.

Forgetting about rising sea levels is a pretty stupid comment also. We have had more King tides over the last two years than we have ever had. No one here had ever heard of a King tide until a few years ago. King tides for those who don't know are tides that are somewhat unprecedented in that they are way higher than historical high tides.

So both of these things are a real problem here in Hawaii.
 
downeykp said:
Were drowning in both! Here on the Big Island of Hawaii, The Pacific Garbage gyre dumps **** (plastics) from all over the world on the Southpoint area. small pieces of plastic, ropes by the miles, buoys and anything else that is plastic, you name it.

Forgetting about rising sea levels is a pretty stupid comment also. We have had more King tides over the last two years than we have ever had. No one here had ever heard of a King tide until a few years ago. King tides for those who don't know are tides that are somewhat unprecedented in that they are way higher than historical high tides.

So both of these things are a real problem here in Hawaii.
OP is an AGW denialist, but dead ocean the size of Texas is difficult for even a Trumper to ignore.
 
GRA said:
I've never bought one of these bottles, and can't imagine why anyone would.
The vast majority of consumers aren't as plugged into environmental issues as most of the people on this forum. I was oblivious to the plastic water bottle issue until I attended a lecture by Anita Roddick in 2005'ish. Given their continued sales rate, we still have a long way to go to get the message out.

We've eliminated those from our routine grocery runs. However, we are still guilty of consuming some out of convenience. When out and about and stopping at a vending machine, we can either go with that or some sugar filled aluminum can. We routinely re-use our plastic bottles and take with us when we can. Yes, we have room for improvement and can do better at carrying a bottle with us and refilling as we need. But if 90% of the population was as good as we are on this, the plastic bottle industry would be devastated. Kind of like how if 90% of consumers stopped buying ICEVs and switched to EVs or at least PHEVs. The better option is available, but the average consumer hasn't gotten the message yet.
 
I pretty much refuse to buy throw-away plastic. I cannot remember when the habit started.
My wife, alas, places convenience over the environment and buys plastic if a readily available alternative is not handy.

It is a sore point of contention between us.
 
downeykp said:
Forgetting about rising sea levels is a pretty stupid comment also
A literary device, not a literal device.
SageBrush said:
OP is an AGW denialist, but dead ocean the size of Texas is difficult for even a Trumper to ignore.
The anger is strong with this one, as is the lack of perception.

Buck up buttercup, only 6 1/2 years to go.
 
LTLFTcomposite said:
Buck up buttercup, only 6 1/2 years to go.

:lol:

I'm pretty sure that Trump will be the first president in a while that doesn't get re-elected. Then again, I've been wrong plenty of times before.

Fortunately for me, I actually agree with a good number of his policies (the actual policies, not the non-sense which is proclaimed by the liberal press). I could do without his hubris, though. I wish he would talk / tweet less and just generally act a lot more presidential.
 
finman100 said:
That would be step #1
#2 is a treason trial by military tribunal for him and cronies.
Intensive interrogation should be considered.

#3 is sending his voters to Mexico to provide cheap labor.
 
LTLFTcomposite said:
Buck up buttercup, only 6 1/2 years to go.

Trump wants to be President For Life. I don't see the Republicans saying no.

Might be more than 6 1/2 years. Then there is Trump Jr.

Reality stars make great Presidents.

Check out pictures of Venezuela.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/lens/in-venezuela-empty-rooms-tell-stories-after-many-have-fled.html
 
WetEV said:
Check out pictures of Venezuela.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/lens/in-venezuela-empty-rooms-tell-stories-after-many-have-fled.html

:lol:

What's funny about this post is that the extreme right was making similar noises when Obama was elected.
 
GetOffYourGas said:
What's funny about this post is that the extreme right was making similar noises when Obama was elected.

Funny, the extreme right is saying the same thing about Trump.

I have read what Trump said at the G-7 about Russia, Crimea, etc. I have read it but can hardly believe it. This is the U.S. president? Why is he talking like an RT host? Just when you think things might be slightly normal -- you're jolted back into reality. A head-spinning time.

https://twitter.com/jaynordlinger/status/1005525316750725121

RT = Russia Today, Russian State controlled media.
 
LeftieBiker said:
I buy plastic bottles of water occasionally, and then reuse them for years, but I agree with your main point. Putting a $.25 deposit on them would accomplish much the same thing.
I hope that would be enough - $0.05 generally isn't:
CalRecycle, officially known as the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, administers the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act. Beverage containers covered under the act are subject to California Redemption Value (CRV), which is 5 cents for containers less than 24 ounces, 10 cents for containers 24 ounces or larger. Thanks to the CRV cash incentive, more than 300 billion aluminum, glass, and plastic beverage containers have been recycled since the program began in 1987.
http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/bevcontainer/

At the very least, boosting the small bottles and cans to $0.10 each, and the big ones to $0.20 or $0.25 seems called for, given 30+ years of inflation. I'm going to contact my assemblyman and state senator and see if I can't get them to introduce a bill to increase the value, or preferably ban them. Aluminum cans see a much higher percentage recycled so I think they're okay, and are an element in any case: http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/bevcontainer/Rates/BiannualRpt/JulyDecRpt.pdf

Originally, people used to buy home soda dispensers and bulk syrup and have their soft drinks that way, but the current ones are far too expensive.
 
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