NWR: Interesting

Tygirljojo

I actually would be interested in seeing the exhibit.  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_tracking_trash

uwhuskygirl

I saw an article about this last week, it does look really interesting! Have you seen the Pacific Ocean garbage mass from google earth? That's insane to look at.

Tygirljojo

Ew, I actually read an article about it a couple weeks ago, but didn't know you could SEE it on Google earth!!  Do you have a link to it and it's location on the program?

uwhuskygirl

Lemme ask H and I'll get back to you. He showed me a while back and it was fascinating and gross all at once.

sarack

I would be interested too. We are a society that for the most part does just through things away and doesn't think about it. I think for the most part the entire US is like that.  But I thought that Seattle is really strict about their garbage and will fine you if a certain percent is recycleable and they didn't put it in the recycles. Definately crazy that they tracked stuff, very interesting!

sarack

Omg, that garbage thing is disgusting. Oprah had it on her show. I think they said something like its the size of two states of texas..

uwhuskygirl

Drats! He thinks my boyfriend must have shown me the pics from google earth because he doesn't remember showing me the mass. It is the size of Texas though, so there's gotta be pics out there somewhere. http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/08/04/great-pacific-garbage-patch/There's a pic of the patch, but not from space. I'm determined to find a pic now. I'll post the latitude and longitude if I can find it on google earth again. If you do a search on NPR they've done a few stories on it in the past few months. Apparently, I'm on a garbage hunt now... haha.

Tygirljojo

Even to have something the SIZE of Texas is horrific to think about.  Ugh.  I remember reading about how food that is thrown away in garbage actually contributes more to global warming because of the concentration of methane gas that it releases while it decomposes vs. if it was a part of a compost pile, it would go through the process faster and become usable soil. I guess I'm surprised that something to collect that similar to the yard waste has not been set up here yet.  I mean, yes, you can recycle your food scraps, but only if you pay for the yard waste bin which is huge.  Lame.

benjaminandlauren

Oh gross. The hippie tree hugger in me is pissed.

KST_

For all of Seattle's talk about being so green (fining for recyclables in trash, etc), their attitude on yard waste is stupid. You have to pay for the big bin to put your food scraps in, and here's the kicker: what about Condos and Apartments?!?! I live in an apartment and while we have a nice big industrial-sized recycling bin, there's no yard waste. So all of our food waste has to go in the trash. Why isn't there a program for apartments and condos so their residents can help be responsible?

Tygirljojo

Krystel - I know! It drives me nuts that we haven't done anything for that yet! When I visit my relatives in Thailand, I remember they always kept their food scraps in this bucket that would be picked up once a week. It didn't hit me what that was for until my last visit this spring. Duh!

uwhuskygirl

I can't find the view from space I was thinking about. I'm sorry I failed. KS- you know what really gets me angry? We can't throw food scraps in the yard waste, but my parents who live ~1 mile away can throw food scraps in their yard waste. They can even put used pizza boxes (crusts included) in their yard waste bins! I might be totally clueless, but isn't an apple core as organic as grass clippings?