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New York, 11:55 AM
Sun Dec 6
19 posts in the last 24 hours

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  • posts about #greatpacificgarbagepatch more →

    Where Plastic Goes When It Dies: Birds' Stomachs

    The Recycled Plastic Bag Chair is Anything but Trashy

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of macpatrik macpatrik
    10/19/09

    In reply to Where Plastic Goes When It Dies: Birds' Stomachs
    Aww. That's sad. I wonder why it died? #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    macpatrik was starred macpatrik was unstarred
    Image of deliciousburglar deliciousburglar
    10/19/09

    In reply to Where Plastic Goes When It Dies: Birds' Stomachs
    shouldn't it be "To send an email to..."

    it's like each article has an ending command. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    Software_Goddess promoted this comment deliciousburglar was starred deliciousburglar was unstarred
    Image of Software_Goddess Software_Goddess
    10/19/09

    @deliciousburglar:
    You haven't been sending your e-mails?
    *Shakes head*
    This is why you have no star... #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    Software_Goddess was starred Software_Goddess was unstarred
    Image of Phong Phong
    10/19/09

    @Software_Goddess: Its sort of a low blow to knock him for not having a star. I would say that being a woman on Giz pretty much guarantees a star. I'm just putting it out there. Not always the case but I think its a fair assumption. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    Software_Goddess promoted this comment Phong was starred Phong was unstarred
    Image of Software_Goddess Software_Goddess
    10/19/09

    @Mess Yo Self!: Actually that is not really the case. I have lost my star on numerous occasions. I may have breasts but I am subject to the same standards as the rest of the commenters. Perhaps I could have worded the joke better or perhaps I should have taken in account how touchy others are about the whole star thing; either way... if Giz wants e-mails... Give them e-mails!!! #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    Software_Goddess was starred Software_Goddess was unstarred
    Image of Phong Phong
    10/19/09

    @Software_Goddess: And I assure you that the world needs more like you.

    I must admit that I love to see people get bent out of shape for little things. But also appreciate that Giz doesn't get dragged into the glut of comments that are on say, youtube.

    I used to teach CS majors at Penn and am disheartened to see women in the field in decline.

    [eideard.wordpress.com]

    So keep on keeping on! #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    Phong was starred Phong was unstarred
    Image of Bazooka Lukis Bazooka Lukis
    10/19/09

    In reply to Where Plastic Goes When It Dies: Birds' Stomachs

    Evolution should take care of this problem.

    The albatross seems to have adapted the ability to digest plastic bottles and cigarettes.

    How much longer could it possibly take to be able to digest bottle caps and cigarette lighters?

    Pretty soon albatrosses will be like winged Mr. Fusions. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    valkilmerisawful promoted this comment Bazooka Lukis was starred Bazooka Lukis was unstarred
    Image of valkilmerisawful valkilmerisawful
    10/19/09

    @Bazooka Lukis: Exactly right. This isn't really even a problem. The course of natural development has led to seagulls being bio reactors for biologically incompatible materials. Unfortunately it looks as though they are terrible at it. I'm not surprised... I see seagulls all the time trying to pick up a downed french fry and failing 3-5 times. I mean, that's just simple. They should be good at that, so I don't expect them to be proficient reclamation engineers.

    But many thanks to the bottom-feeding seagulls who have selflessly acted in their futile efforts to clean the oceans by using their stomachs as filters. You are doing more than we are. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    valkilmerisawful was starred valkilmerisawful was unstarred
    Image of ripfire ripfire
    10/19/09

    In reply to Where Plastic Goes When It Dies: Birds' Stomachs
    Mmmm. Albatross Relleno.. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    ripfire was starred ripfire was unstarred
    Image of ☆Giroro G66☆ ☆Giroro G66☆
    10/19/09

    In reply to Where Plastic Goes When It Dies: Birds' Stomachs
    So the plastic in the patch is so small it can't be seen, but big enough that animals can choke on it? The garbage in the can't be photographed. . . until an Albatross eats it?

    I haven't been able to find a single resource on the subject that doesn't contradict itself or in the least only offer evidence so vague and inconsistent that it could easily be faked. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II promoted this comment ☆Giroro G66☆ was starred ☆Giroro G66☆ was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    10/19/09

    @Giroro G66: What the fuck are you talking about? Of course the plastic in the oceans can be seen. Of course the Garbage Patch can be seen. There are plenty of photographs of it.

    In conclusion: don't be an idiot, Johnny. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    10/19/09

    @Pope John Peeps II: [discovermagazine.com]

    [news.nationalgeographic.com] #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
    Image of Gordonium Gordonium
    10/19/09

    In reply to Where Plastic Goes When It Dies: Birds' Stomachs
    I don't want to sound insensitive here, but isn't this just another form of natural selection? Letting animals die who can't tell the difference between useful dietary content and harmful/lethal objects?

    The more classic form of this would be toxic animals, plants, and fungi that various species have to learn/evolve to not eat. Maybe this is just another incarnation of the same principle. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    Gordonium was starred Gordonium was unstarred
    Image of PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: PurpleMonkeyDishwasher:
    10/19/09

    @Gordonium: Yes and no. We create a lot of these plastic objects which may be colored and/or shaped like things these birds would normally eat. Natural selection is birds adapting to nature and not to human made things. If we weren't around, these objects would not exist and this wouldn't be a problem. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    OCEntertainment promoted this comment PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: was starred PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: was unstarred
    Image of OCEntertainment OCEntertainment
    10/19/09

    @PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: : Yes and no. Nature makes no distinction between intentional and accidental threats. We're just smart enough to realize a.) that we have some responsibility for it, and 2.) that the death of animals can affect us as well, so it's important we actually care.

    I would agree that simply because an animal died that humans are evil. There's no way we can control all the behaviors of animals. No matter how much I try to protect her, my cat will still eat random crap that falls on the floor. Or bugs. And she'll walk into walls.

    But we can try to be more responsible about our waste. We may not be able to stop birds from eating plastic crap, but we can do our due diligence to not toss plastic crap out in the middle of a park.

    Oh, and also accept that sometimes things die. We could do that do. But apparently folks have issues with that. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    OCEntertainment was starred OCEntertainment was unstarred
    Image of nutbastard nutbastard
    10/19/09

    In reply to Where Plastic Goes When It Dies: Birds' Stomachs
    i knew that bird had pocketed my lighter! last time i smoke with an avian, i tell you. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    nutbastard was starred nutbastard was unstarred
    Image of GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday
    10/19/09

    @nutbastard: That's why my Zippo has a chain on it. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday was starred GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday was unstarred
    Image of GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday
    10/19/09

    In reply to Where Plastic Goes When It Dies: Birds' Stomachs
    Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the Great Pacific Garbage Patch unable to be filmed, seen from space, or planes because everything in it is microscopic? #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday was starred GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday was unstarred
    Image of Don Nguyen Don Nguyen
    10/19/09

    @GitEmSteveDave_Hates #DoucheDad: [ucsdnews.ucsd.edu] #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    Don Nguyen was starred Don Nguyen was unstarred
    Image of rocketbear79: threadkiller rocketbear79: threadkiller
    10/19/09

    @Don Nguyen: I tried to watch that but my ears and eyes started to bleed. Is there a link to a google earth sat image of this thing? I read it is supposed to be as big as Texas, so it must show up on satimg. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_Hates #DoucheDad promoted this comment rocketbear79: threadkiller was starred rocketbear79: threadkiller was unstarred
    Image of GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday
    10/19/09

    @rocketbear79: Yes, it's supposedly that big, but the excuse is that the plastic is microscopic, so it can't be seen by satellites. But you can apparently walk on these non visible solid masses of plastic. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday was starred GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday was unstarred
    Image of valkilmerisawful valkilmerisawful
    10/19/09

    @GitEmSteveDave_Hates #DoucheDad: Well, you are not wrong. There is so much waste stuck in the patch, it's terrifying. I don't re-use plastic water bottles for the same reason that one cannot photograph the Patch (plastic photodegrades into ever-smaller byproducts, most of which do not favor ingestion), and now I have to check the labels of my tuna fish to make sure it's less than 5% polystyrene? Regarding the bird above, I'm actually impressed that it swallows bottle caps - that can't be easy... #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    valkilmerisawful was starred valkilmerisawful was unstarred
    Image of rocketbear79: threadkiller rocketbear79: threadkiller
    10/19/09

    @GitEmSteveDave_Hates #DoucheDad: That sounds about right. "Yeah yeah its microscopic," the age old go-to for the unexplainable. My question is why not be all 21st century and claim they are nanoscopic? If you're gonna bullshit, do it with gusto I always say. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    rocketbear79: threadkiller was starred rocketbear79: threadkiller was unstarred
    Image of GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday
    10/19/09

    @valkilmerisawful: It has no gag-reflex. That happened when it needed money in college and made those videos, which no one else was supposed to see.

    @rocketbear79: Midi-chlorians. That's the answer. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday was starred GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday was unstarred
    Image of PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: PurpleMonkeyDishwasher:
    10/19/09


    @GitEmSteveDave_Hates #DoucheDad: Speaking of the garbage patch, what happened to the Plastiki project to raise awareness for the different garbage patches in the world's oceans. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_Hates #DoucheDad promoted this comment PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: was starred PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: was unstarred
    Image of GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday
    10/19/09

    @PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: : Can't you see the picture above? #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday was starred GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday was unstarred
    Image of GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday
    10/19/09

    @PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: : Can't you see the picture above? #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday was starred GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday was unstarred
    Image of Kogenta Kogenta
    10/19/09

    @GitEmSteveDave_Hates #DoucheDad: More than likely it's because no one wants to waste money taking pictures of the ocean... But in all seriousness, most of the plastic is the size of krill, not something any normal satellite is going to be able to photograph.

    Though since yeah, I've heard that birds actually nest on this floating pile of plastic, it should be visible by (spy) satellite at least. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_Hates #DoucheDad promoted this comment Kogenta was starred Kogenta was unstarred
    Image of DigitalPasture DigitalPasture
    10/19/09

    @valkilmerisawful: Throw some crude on it and burn it. Problem solved. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    valkilmerisawful promoted this comment DigitalPasture was starred DigitalPasture was unstarred
    Image of valkilmerisawful valkilmerisawful
    10/19/09

    @GitEmSteveDave_Hates #DoucheDad: Haha, sounds like that gull went to the college of hard knocks. Here, you will learn about life's hard lessons, but you can't get in, due to life's unfairness, but you need to learn about hard lessons, but you can't afford the classes, and you need to learn... Error, circular reference.

    @DigitalPasture: Seagulls have never been the cool kids, but I applaud their effort for trying to clean up the oceans. It looks like they are doing more than we are! I'd like to see any person selflessly attempt to clean the oceans like this - even a glass of tap water - by filtering it with their stomachs. We probably don't need to burn the plastic... that might cause some other problems, although I'm sure the seagulls would just adapt and begin to hyperventilate in another selfless act to save the world. They're heroes I tell you, heroes. #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    valkilmerisawful was starred valkilmerisawful was unstarred
    Image of GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday
    10/19/09

    @Kogenta: Google has made it a point to start photoing the ocean. Also, people like Greenpeace could rent a satellite for pretty cheap to take damning photos, but never have. Why? #greatpacificgarbagepatch
     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday was starred GitEmSteveDave_HatesFriday was unstarred
    Image of DigitalPasture DigitalPasture
    10/20/09

    @valkilmerisawful: As much as I hate the sea hyenas (I'm a native Floridian... Trust me I have the right to call them as such), I cannot deny that they do keep the beaches and oceans picked pretty clean of dead animals (As well as any food an unaware tourist might be carrying, it's great watching a "fly-by" snatching of a hotdog from someone's hand).

    You'd think they're pretty resilient though... Red tide (another problem caused by humans due to the run-off of fertilizer product from the Mississippi River) does a pretty good number on them. They ingest the dead "infected" fishes and die themselves. Nothing can be done until we change our farming methods.

    On the plus side however, Red Tide has been light in my area for about the past two years. Perhaps they're making the needed changes even if I haven't read anything to this effect. I can hope.
     Reply
    Edited by DigitalPasture at 10/20/09 9:02 AM DigitalPasture was starred DigitalPasture was unstarred
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