True enough, Carl, habits are a big part of it; and habits can be very hard
to change.
Evan
-----Original Message-----
From: Carl Jarvis
Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2018 3:25 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: While the Ozone heals, the great pacific
garbage patch grows
True, we do like to do things the easy way.
But a great deal is just plain habit. It's no more difficult to tuck
a gum wrapper in a pocket than it is to toss it on the ground. Back
when seat belts were first introduced, I hated having to hook up my
lap belt. And then they devised the shoulder restraint that had to be
attached separately. What a pain that was! Today when I get in the
truck, I hook up without even thinking about it. In fact, I feel
undressed if I forget to buckle up. Of course that damn beeper begins
reminding me if I don't move quickly.
But as I say, most of our behavior is determined by habit. Like the
toilet seat. If a man can lift it up, he can certainly lower it down.
Yet half the men in my family can't remember to lower the seat. Nor
can they remember the chair at the dinner table pushes in just as
easily as it pulled out.
Carl Jarvis
On 11/11/18, Evan Reese <mentat1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Indeed, but it's also part of human nature it seems to want to do something
as conveniently as possible. It's less work to just toss out stuff than it
is to recycle it. And then out of sight, out of mind.
That is beginning to change though. We're seeing bans on plastic bags,
plastic straws, and recycling is becoming more and more common. A long way
to go, but things are changing.
Evan
-----Original Message-----
From: Roger Loran Bailey (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2018 2:27 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ; Carl Jarvis
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: While the Ozone heals, the great pacific
garbage patch grows
The problem isn't really so much a matter of having to clean up after
ourselves as it is that encouraging clutter is profitable. The more we
buy throwaway items, Styrofoam cups, plastic packaging and so forth and
then throw them away like we are intended to the more throwaway items
can be sold to us to replace them.
_________________________________________________________________
Isaac Asimov
“Don't you believe in flying saucers, they ask me? Don't you believe in
telepathy? — in ancient astronauts? — in the Bermuda triangle? — in life
after death?
No, I reply. No, no, no, no, and again no.
One person recently, goaded into desperation by the litany of unrelieved
negation, burst out "Don't you believe in anything?"
Yes", I said. "I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement,
and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no
matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and
more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the
evidence will have to be.”
― Isaac Asimov
On 11/6/2018 11:16 AM, Carl Jarvis wrote:
van,
A couple of things. First, I recall 1969, when the Cuyahoga River
caught fire. But my overloaded memory bank had moved it back about 20
years. Which brings me to the photos I saw of fire on lake Erie. I
find nothing about such a happening, but the picture I saw was of a
ship unloading in Cleveland, with fire hoses strewn over the dock, and
fire fighters in full garb hosing down the water around the ship. I
was still in school, and still sighted. I became totally blind in
March of 1965, so it had to have been prior to then.
Finally, it's true that "cleanup" efforts are underway in both the
Pacific and Atlantic. However, these are huge deposits that impact
the Sea Life. Reliable reports are that they will probably get bigger
before they are reduced. The problem with such reports is that they
depend upon certain conditions being in effect. We, Mankind, have the
knowledge and the tools to clean up after ourselves. What is lacking
is commitment. We are more involved in our wars, fighting for control
over resources, people and land, and are unwilling to commit our
energies and finances at a level that will begin cleaning up our
clutter.
Donald Trump cries out that he is a "Nationalist". He is all about
defending our nation's borders and our nation's interests abroad. But
in so declaring himself to being a Nationalist, he is condemning the
majority of Americans to a very bleak future.
Carl Jarvis
On 11/5/18, Evan Reese <mentat1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
It says something here about an Ocean Cleanup Project. A little Googling
brings up many results.
Work is under way to fix it. It has just begun, so it may get bigger
before
it gets smaller.
Evan
-----Original Message-----
From: Carl Jarvis
Sent: Monday, November 05, 2018 10:03 PM
To: blind-democracy
Subject: [blind-democracy] While the Ozone heals, the great pacific
garbage
patch grows
While the Ozone heals itself, we have big problems down here on
Earth's Surface.
Great Pacific garbage patch - Wikipedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The area of increased plastic particles is located within the
North Pacific Gyre,
one of the five major
The Great Pacific garbage patch, also described as the Pacific trash
vortex, is a
gyre
of
marine debris
particles in the central
North Pacific Ocean.
It is located roughly from
135°W
to
155°W
and
35°N
to
42°N.
[1]
The collection of plastic, floating trash halfway between Hawaii and
California
[2]
extends over an indeterminate area of widely varying range depending
on the degree of
plastic
concentration used to define it.
The patch is characterized by exceptionally high relative
pelagic
concentrations of
plastic,
chemical sludge
and other
debris
that have been trapped by the currents of the
North Pacific Gyre.
[3]
Despite the common public image of islands of floating rubbish, its
low density (4 particles per cubic meter) prevents detection by
satellite imagery,
or even by casual boaters or divers in the area. It consists primarily
of an increase in suspended, often microscopic, particles in the upper
water column.
The patch is not easily seen from the sky, because the plastic is
dispersed over a large area. Researchers from
The Ocean Cleanup
project claimed that the patch covers 1.6 million square kilometers.
The plastic concentration is estimated to be up to 100 kilograms per
square kilometer
in the center, going down to 10 kilograms per square kilometer in the
outer parts of the patch. An estimated 80,000 metric tons of plastic
inhabit the
patch, totaling 1.8 trillion pieces. 92% of the mass in the patch
comes from objects larger than 0.5 centimeters.
[4]
Research indicates that the patch is rapidly accumulating.
[5]
A similar patch of floating plastic debris is found in the Atlantic
Ocean, called the
North Atlantic garbage patch.
