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jimkennedy2003

Listed below are comments made by jimkennedy2003 between Wednesday, 6th August 2008 and Thursday, 21st August 2008.

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Junk raft meets Savage boat 12:27pm on 21 Aug 2008 Peter_Sym
"The amount of sea-life that feeds on the surface and has a mouth big enough to eat floating plastic in miniscule"

This is not true, plastic is gradually broken down into smaller and smaller bits until they are microscopic. These microscopic bits of plastic are then taken in by filter feeders, which if they do not die as a result of it are eaten by larger animals leading up the food chain.

"The plastic bottles are merely playing that part of the small fish and accumulating the poisons."

Again, not true. It has been found that plastic can accumulate poisons up to one million times that of the surrounding water. This is leads to much greater bio-accumulation through the food chain than would be without plastic, as, like I said, they small particles of plastic are taken in by filter feeders and then work they way up the food chain.

"It only covers the surface whereas the pacific is over 10,000 feet deep."
Exactly, and most of the life in the pacific is concentrated in the surface layers and animals in the lower layers depend on input from the top layers.

I agree with you statement that drift netting is not a good way to go about things, it does kill a lot but you are underestimating the problem that plastic pollution can cause in the sea. These "sexy"animals at the top have a very low reproductive rate and their populations do not do well with a continues large rise in mortality rates.
And yes, take away the plastic you still have poisons which is another sad fact which we need to deal with.

All in all, with unsustainable fishing, poisonous substances and it being full of plastic the oceans are in a sorry state.
Toothy grin? 08:44am on 12 Aug 2008 As I go through this blog and the comments there is a very common comment arising which rotates on the theme

-This is a waste of time as it demonises plastic when it is not the bad guy, it is our throw away society with a large carbon footprint

I agree with the statement but its not really the point of the exercise. Plastic is a strong indicator of how wasteful we have become in the Western world. It is now so cheap to produce that we make a lot of c**p from it that people buy, get bored of in a very short time and ends up in a landfill. It has also helped lower the cost of household items (I know there are lot of other factors involved) which people now throw away when broken as it is cheaper to buy a new one than repair the old.

I agree plastic has its part to play in modern society and to help lower our carbon footprint. This blog has sparked many a worthy debate with a vast number of comments posted with each entry and I believe has helped to inform its readers with some worthy knowledge. If this blog encourages people to consider the entire lifecycle of the products they buy and where it ends up after they have used it then I think it is an exercise well worth it.
One week in 4:04pm on 08 Aug 2008 I am following this with great interest.

A large problem with plastic is that ends up as litter. It doesn't bio-degrade, it just breaks up into smaller and smaller bits with a large proportion ending up in the sea where it does vast damage to animals and ecosystems. Sea animals eat these small bits of plastic but it has no nutritional value so can lead to starvation.

Plastic is very cheap, light and versatile making it a great material for lots of purposes. Our world would be a very different place without it but a lot more care has be taken about where it ends up. As can be seen from this blog it can be very difficult to get by without it. It is made from oil which is a non-renewable resource so we need to start putting a greater value on plastic and not treat it so much as a "one time use" disposable material.

Good luck with the coming weeks!
Bin there 12:45pm on 06 Aug 2008 My statement wasn't completely true (and I am aware that humans cannot digest cellulose which is beside the point I was making). Biodegradable plastic bags are made from a variety of products some of which could have become food such as starch. Some of the other materials which they are made from may also compete for land which could have been used for the production of food.
Bin there 12:03pm on 06 Aug 2008 Why not use biodegradable "plastic" bags. These are made from cellulose. These have a slight downside as they are made from materials that could have become food.

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