Comments on: Junk journey highlights 'plastic soup' of Pacific Ocean

To draw attention to plastic pollution in the Pacific, two sailors are crossing 2,100 miles on a craft built from 15,000 recycled bottles and a Cessna cockpit.

I am glad to see that these guys are bringing more media attention to the issue. Vice has already made an excellent documentary which can be watched for free on VBS.tv. What they find is pretty disturbing.

http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=1485308505

The magazine article can also be found here: http://www.viceland.com/int/v15n2/htdocs/oh_this_is_great.php

[jeff_demello]

It's actually NOT a Cessna cockpit. A Cessna has high wings (wings "on top" of the windows). The picture looks more like a fuselage section of a Piper or Bonanza.

[mwwolfgram]

The Cessna 310 doesn't have wings "on top" ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_310

It's a Cessna 310. They are a twin engine , low wing design.

[mikeburek]

I always wondered if I could make a boat of plastic bottles and sail to Hawaii. The 6 weeks seems a little long, though. Back to the drawing board for me.

[techfan_08]

wow... this is amazing!

[JohnStatton]

We need to clean this stuff up. We have idle/out of work commercial fishing fleets. Why not pay them to go out and bring it back for recycling. No way we cover cost but it uses an industry in search of a new purpose.

[smshepard]

Agree whole-broken-heartedly.
It was perhaps 20 years ago when watching a PBS documentary by Jacques Cousteau. In a boat he fingered a tar-ball of oil and said: "The oceans are polluted" Clear, concise, scientific. The largest challenge: SOS - Save our seas - not through rhetoric, but by the kind of proven, political action that has a lasting benefit (sorry, it's not protests, demonstrations & marches) but writing to your political leaders.

Surely anyone living in a country with a seaport can find a ministry, an agency, even a government official to write to. Be polite, keep the summary of why you write short and to the point then ask what they can do to help. ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP. And continue writing and using a telephone if possible, but letters leave the person with a challenge - it's difficult to throw away that piece of paper asking for a reasonable response / help. It is easier to ignore a phone call and delete an email.

In America it would be congressmen, senators, where I live - a coastal American state, Washington, even writing to local government like the governor and to organizations that should protect the ocean like (again in my country of USA) National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Remember, the oceans of our planet give us so much that we cannot live without them. Is this to be our final destiny, extinction at our own hands?

Steve Shepard - Seattle, Washington State, USA

[RedFoxOne]

Nice! It sure is nice to see someone taking everyday junk and turning it in to something useful! Way to go dude! http://www.FireMe.To/Udi

[makuribu]

Hmmm, it picks up garbage from everywhere and circulates it forever?
The North Pacific Gyre functions a lot like the Internet!

[Lerianis]

Some of this stuff, no matter how hard we try, is bound to get into the ocean. That said..... we could be doing a whole lot more as a society to fix this problem, number one by recycling ALL plastics: plastic bags, plastic bottles, etc.

[josgood]

I admire the efforts of these folks to increase public awareness of some of the effects of our throwaway mindset on the oceans. I'm just wondering what the good people of Hawaii are supposed to do with the floating mass of garbage that these gentlemen are planning to deliver to them.

[99933]

This pollution is a result of trade with China. Our present energy crisis is also largely a result of trade with China.

[jwktrucker]

Help is on the way
http://groups.google.com/group/plastic-soup-clean-up

VERY IMPORTANT
Sign My Petition to show your support
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ocean-clean-up-project

[Donnaleez]

I've seen several sites that claim the existence of these plastic swirls is blow way out of proportions. But I say, "So what!" Isn't the reality of this that the plastic swirl is just one of the horrifice things humans have done to the earth? We're melting the poles, hunting the wild life into extension, burning the rain forests, fishing the oceans and lakes dry, Bla-bla and bla?the list is endless! Now, to make matters worse the last time I watched the news the political parties in the country I live in (USA) couldn?t even stand being in the same room together long enough to decide who was will to sit next to who much less address getting together to discuss cleaning up the earth. Perhaps it?s time to consider the ?Disney Factor? ,that's what I call it. In my opinion we can believe one of two stories out there. #1: Mankind across the planet suddenly says something like, ?O! We now collectively understand, so from here out all nations will work together to stop destroying the planet ?of course, we?ll be doing away with all obstacles that could hamper our plans such as war, insurrections and world hunger.? Now #2: The people that come to your door and say, ?Tell me what you think this means? ,?God will bring to ruin those ruining the earth? (Wrote that one down, last book of the bible-11:18). So now here?s my question. Why is Disney #2 sounding more logical to me in the long run these day?