Village Vancouver

Vancouver's Leader in Transition toward Strong, Resilient, Complete Communities

The Plastic Ocean: A Cry For Help, by Jak King

This is mirrored from Jak King's blog here:

I just finished reading “Plastic Ocean” by Capt. Charles Moore and Cassandra Phillips. Hard to say much else but that this should be the “Silent Spring” of our generation.

Moore is a seaman who has become an oceanographer and environmentalist. It was his voyages that focused attention on the huge amounts of pollution — mostly plastic — that are killing our oceans and depleting marine wildlife at a terrifying rate. It is a well-researched, well-written and utterly scary book.

Moore notes that about 300,000 tons of plastics are produced every year, that two years’ production of plastics equals the weight of every man, woman and child on the planet, and the vast percentage of this plastic eventually ends up in the world’s seas, undegradable, killings species by the score, and much of it ending up in our food chain..

“Now, anthropogenic debris – man-made trash, 80 to 90 percent of it plastic – has broken the pristine perfection that is the ocean’s essence. It’s become her most common surface feature. Now, depending on where you are in the ocean, you’ll see dozens of balloons, buoys, and bottles bobbing by before ever catching sight of a leaping tuna. Trash has superseded the natural ocean sights, stamping a permanent plastic footprint on the ocean’s surface.” (p.70)

“I call plastic ‘the solid phase of petroleum,’ and think of it as polluting like an incredibly dispersed oil spill that lasts centuries and mimics food while sponging up toxics.” (p.328-9)

This plastic trash is affecting eveything negatively, from the smallest phyto-plankton, up to the apex predators of whales, albatrosses and human beings. While the unpleasantness of the pollution, combined with plastics ability to mimic genuine food sources for marine life, is awful enough. There is growing evidence that plastics, originally thought to be inert, immersed in seawater eventually breakdown to the their fundamental elements, thus spreading the danger to us and our children. And many of these elements are unknown, hidden behind trade protections and “trade secrets” laws.

On the same day that I finished “Plastic Ocean“, I read a PR piece by the recently retired former head of the British Plastics Federation, Peter Davis, who claimed that his biggest concern was the fact that “our national media prefer scare stories to the authoratitive views of bodies such as” the British Plasrics Federation. The headline for the story was “Attacks on plastic products not supported by scientific fact.” Having just read 350 pages full of anti-plastic scientific facts, we know that Davis is dangerously wrong; and Moore explains why:

“The idea that we are bound to the current wasteful system because there can realistically be no other is to accept failure at the start of the game. Technology is poised to deliver sustainability but is corrupted by forces directing it toward the fulfillment of ‘special’ – ‘very special’ – interests that view humanity only as customers.” (p.317-318)

This is such an important topic, and one that will require enormous efforts to defeat the greed-driven corporations who are daily poisoning us and our planet. Moore notes:

“The tipping point may still be distant, but a consumer groundswell against plastics is the most potent weapon in the change agent’s arsenal. In my decade and a half in the trenches, I’ve seen tremendous growth in awareness. But awareness must become resistance – even rebellion – if the status quo is to be changed.” (p.314)

Views: 166

Comment

You need to be a member of Village Vancouver to add comments!

Join Village Vancouver

Comment by Randy Chatterjee on December 4, 2014 at 11:09am

Wow, beautiful and powerful writing by a great reader of all things important, and maybe those things less so ;-). I strongly recommend Jak's Blog for all manner of great comment on life.

Village engages individuals, neighbourhoods & organizations to take actions that build sustainable communities & have fun doing it. Join us!

Donate or Join VV Transition Society

Join VV Transition Society

Make a donation here or here:

Become a Monthly Donor here or here (click on desired option before hitting subscribe):

Buy Books -- Support Village Vancouver

Village earns 15% on your book purchases from New Society Publishers. Details here.

Latest Activity

Village Vancouver's event was featured
Thumbnail

*Depth of Field: Film Screening and Community Event at Community Hall, Kitsilano Neighbourhood House

March 21, 2024 from 5pm to 8pm
Mar 18
Village Vancouver posted an event
Thumbnail

*Depth of Field: Film Screening and Community Event at Community Hall, Kitsilano Neighbourhood House

March 21, 2024 from 5pm to 8pm
Mar 18
Soeine Bac updated their profile
Dec 4, 2023
Megan Vancouver joined Village Vancouver's group
Nov 14, 2023

Ongoing Activities

Interested in getting involved or volunteering with Village Vancouver? check out http://www.villagevancouver.ca/page/volunteering-1.

Regular activities:

Interested in participating in a VV garden? We have collaborative gardens/garden spaces in 5 neighbourhoods. Contact us at gardening@villagevancouver.ca. Gardening now in progress. New gardeners welcome (space allowing).

Kits Village Recycling Depot (Kits Community Centre) Next depot: Thursday, June 15th

Main St. Village monthly gatherings (1st Tuesdays Little Mountain Neighbourhood House) Currently on hold due to COVID

Permaculture Vancouver Meetups (3rd Wednesdays VV McBride Park Fieldhouse (sometimes elsewhere) Next meetup: Special date Thursday, July 29th

West End Community Potluck/WE Urban Garden Club (3rd Sundays West End Community Centre, in July and August 4th Thursdays - July 22nd and August 26th.

© 2024   Created by Yael Stav.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service