The Great Pacific Trash Vortex
Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2012 3:45 am
Disclaimer: I don’t mean this post to imply that we don’t have a trash disposal or polution problem on Planet Earth. I have no doubt that we do.
But …
Lately I’ve been seeing articles and videos and media pieces about what is variously referred to as “The Great Pacific Trash Vortex,” “ … Trash Island,” “… Garbage Patch” and other similar names. It is alleged that a gigantic mass of floating plastic trash has accumulated out in the Pacific Ocean. At least some reports have this mass of garbage covering “millions of square miles.” Other reports I've seen have it as "the size of California" and "the size of Texas." (By way of comparison the country of India is a little more than 1 million square miles, California is about 160,000 square miles, Texas is about 270,000.) Other reports tell of there being TWO of these things, an Eastern & Western Trash Vortex.
Here are a few of the many YT media videos on this topic:
full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qPtgM_vPb0
full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta8HaHP_9rE
full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc6LvdsyJ4U
There are many other such videos. All that I've seen show quick close-up clips of floating trash but nothing that approaches a depiction of a mid-Pacific accumulation of trash covering "millions of square miles" or anything remotely approaching that. These media pieces seem to be trying to convince us that this thing exists by flashing picture after picture of assorted trash heaps but none of them appear to be what is being described, that is, a mid-Pacific trash heap that is hundreds of thousands or millions of square miles in area.
Here are some general photos I’ve seen accompanying stories of the Great Trash Vortex that illustrate what I mean:
What’s with the guy in the canoe?
WTF is this supposed to be?
Obviously on land.
Ditto.
In addition, we now have, the media says, yet another mass of trash caused by the recent Japan tsunami which is also headed westward. Here is one of many media reports on that:
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/1595 ... -to-hawaii
So, my problem is I am having quite a bit of trouble finding credible photographic evidence that this gigantic Pacific Ocean floating mass of trash really exists. As you can see in the videos and photos above, the trash photos are either a close-up view which could have been taken anywhere or they contain vehicles or people which makes it obviously not in the middle of the ocean or they show scenes that are not even in the water at all but obviously on land. Large scale depictions of this trash vortex are always shown with diagrams and not with photos. Do we not have the capability of photographing this thing from some aerial platform? The Japan tsunami trash island was supposedly discovered by the US Navy 7th Fleet yet I can’t find a photo of it that is not either too close-up to give it scale or location or is otherwise obviously not in the middle of the ocean.
So where is the credible photographic evidence of this enormous trash vortex?
But …
Lately I’ve been seeing articles and videos and media pieces about what is variously referred to as “The Great Pacific Trash Vortex,” “ … Trash Island,” “… Garbage Patch” and other similar names. It is alleged that a gigantic mass of floating plastic trash has accumulated out in the Pacific Ocean. At least some reports have this mass of garbage covering “millions of square miles.” Other reports I've seen have it as "the size of California" and "the size of Texas." (By way of comparison the country of India is a little more than 1 million square miles, California is about 160,000 square miles, Texas is about 270,000.) Other reports tell of there being TWO of these things, an Eastern & Western Trash Vortex.
Here are a few of the many YT media videos on this topic:
full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qPtgM_vPb0
full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta8HaHP_9rE
full link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc6LvdsyJ4U
There are many other such videos. All that I've seen show quick close-up clips of floating trash but nothing that approaches a depiction of a mid-Pacific accumulation of trash covering "millions of square miles" or anything remotely approaching that. These media pieces seem to be trying to convince us that this thing exists by flashing picture after picture of assorted trash heaps but none of them appear to be what is being described, that is, a mid-Pacific trash heap that is hundreds of thousands or millions of square miles in area.
Here are some general photos I’ve seen accompanying stories of the Great Trash Vortex that illustrate what I mean:
What’s with the guy in the canoe?
WTF is this supposed to be?
Obviously on land.
Ditto.
In addition, we now have, the media says, yet another mass of trash caused by the recent Japan tsunami which is also headed westward. Here is one of many media reports on that:
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/1595 ... -to-hawaii
So, my problem is I am having quite a bit of trouble finding credible photographic evidence that this gigantic Pacific Ocean floating mass of trash really exists. As you can see in the videos and photos above, the trash photos are either a close-up view which could have been taken anywhere or they contain vehicles or people which makes it obviously not in the middle of the ocean or they show scenes that are not even in the water at all but obviously on land. Large scale depictions of this trash vortex are always shown with diagrams and not with photos. Do we not have the capability of photographing this thing from some aerial platform? The Japan tsunami trash island was supposedly discovered by the US Navy 7th Fleet yet I can’t find a photo of it that is not either too close-up to give it scale or location or is otherwise obviously not in the middle of the ocean.
So where is the credible photographic evidence of this enormous trash vortex?
