Pacific plastic soup grew 100-fold

France 24 /International News ^ | May 9, 2012 | France 24

[Brandonmark]

Just blame it on Bush....

[airborne]

Yuppies had to have their bottled water and plastic Starbucks coffee cups.

[Zeppo]

particles smaller than five millimetres (one inch)

I think that something may have gotten lost in translation.

Or else they must have really, really big millimetres in France.

[Oztrich Boy]

particles smaller than five millimetres (one inch)

Is this some new unit of measurement?

[tet68]

And plastic shopping bags.

Go to the grocery, get five items, get five bags
you’re saving a tree remember.

Maybe if it gets thick enough some one will pitch
a floating recycling plant to go out and mine it.

[DannyTN]

It now encompasses the earth 10 times over.

[jwalsh07]

Socialist math.

[I see my hands]

In real America tourists would drive 200 miles out of their way to see the NPSG.

[DannyTN]

If it continues to grow at the rate of hyperbole, we’ll be soon be able to traverse the stars on a road of plastic.

[SpaceBar]

A lot of disposable plastic products like foam cups and garbage bags for example are impregnated with bacteria derived enzymes that greatly speed up their environmental breakdown. Back in the 80’s and 90’s a disposable foam cup could last months. Now they fall apart after a week or so due to enzyme accelerated degradation.

[Jeff Chandler]

Note to self: Invest in Pacific Plastic Soup.

[Vince Ferrer]

This is why whenever I see a sea turtle, I tie a plastic bag to one of its arms, so they can go help pick this up.

[Deaf Smith]

Over the last 40 years?
Just one word...Plastics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSxihhBzCjk

[katnip]

Sounds like the perfect spot for an algae farm!

[printhead]

No mention of the one size fits all, ribbed for her pleasure sort of debris. I see them all the time on Lake Ontario where the Genesee River empties out. The border line is referred to as the scum line.

[dr_lew]

Heh. You might suppose that originally somebody identified five millimeters as one fifth of an inch, and then some pointy haired editor decided that was too confusing.

[elkfersupper]

Dang!

I probably need to move North. Sounds like people are having a lot of indoor fun up there.

[agrarianlady]

[Nifster]

the story is from France....is that a legitimate news source???

[iowamark]

Oergon State University: Oceanic “garbage patch” not nearly as big as portrayed in media