So, you think an Island 2000km away from any continent is "paradise"? MUST SEE VIDEO

This is so much crap. Sharks that have been opened up have contained corpses ,beer bottles, traffic signs, and all manner of man made refuse. Same with aligators. Why is it that we need some cute fluffy seagull baby to rouse us to action? This has been a problem for a bloody age!

Originally posted by CaticusMaximus

Originally posted by Donahue

On a second note. Seagulls are probably the most annoying, waste of space, animal on the planet.

Depends on your perspective.

Personally I would contend that the species that subjugates itself and all other things it can, and actively destroys and contaminates its own environment to the point of poisoning itself and all other life is a MUCH worse waste of space than a sea gull who just catches fish all day.

Not all human beings are a waste of space my friend. Stereotyping is quite foolish.

reply to post by CALGARIAN


I have no words, only guilt.
2nd

Absolutely horrifying. I couldn't finish the video. I just wish humans would realize what we are doing to our planet and realize that we share it...Not own it.........

Why are the birds eating pieces of plastic??? This tells me, these are not the smartest birds on the block... There were THOUSANDS of birds on that island and only a few that ate so much plastic to die... Thinning the herd is all that is..

We are the smartest beings on the planet, the only animal capable of manipulating objects like no there animal on this planet can. We are the protectors yet we are destroying our selfs.

reply to post by CALGARIAN


Hell yeah! You know in the long term this will result in mutations that allow these bird to process plastics! It is the way of the world friend! Adapt, overcome or die out!

Dear mother earth is doomed with or without us! The natural systems we depend upon today are destined to fail as they have time and time again. We give these events of catastrophic failure the prestige of being responsible for creating diversity on Earth. Consider that 98% of all species that have ever existed are now extinct!

Humankind cannot hurt the Earth friend! We need a population of a trillion and a planet wide city should be our goal! Certainly we strip the oceans pollute the atmosphere and hurt the natural systems we depend on. An even larger population demands that we master and manage these natural systems. Even now we should be managing ocean stock. It is a simple principle to farm the oceans, and put back what you take out. Our fisheries have fished out the arctic cod, blue fin tuna and many others, and no one has ever attempted to repopulate the fisheries by artificial means like releasing millions of fry? Why is that friend?

In order to survive we need a large populous which will force mankind to farm/manage the oceans and completely master/control the natural systems we depend upon. We must fully manage the oceans and atmosphere all of the systems we depend on. It is also this forcing that will push mankind to the stars and thus possibly ovoid the single point failure that is Mother Earth.

If Earth is managed right it can support trillions of people! To prefer the notion of extinction for your own species over other species which are doomed to extinction with or without us is just plain stupid!

Certainly we need to manage things better, but at the end of the day all of the Earth should be used for the purpose of supporting human life! The technology to accomplish this goal should be at the forefront of science.

If Humankind did manage to bring about some massive extinction event killing ourselves and 90+% of other species, we will have just created a window for future diversity! That is likely impossible though even if we tried

Your hate for humankind speaks more to yourself hate than it does to common sense! Humankind does not survive, nor does he keep himself above the animal world by the principles of humanity, but rather by means of the most brutal struggle. We won't fix it until we break it, but if we do develop the tech to manage our ecosystems we will survive as will many species that would have perished if left to nature alone.

Mother Nature loves humankind best of all because it is Humankind that may bring the torch of life to other world! Die for a whale if you like, but leave the species out of it!

Depopulation is an idiots dream! Try as you might the notion of humans hurting planet Earth is entirely fictional. There are countless events in Earth’s history that make the entire history of human impact seem trivial.

We have the technology to better this world and support billions more, but we choose not to use it because we value the lives of whales too much, or maybe it just does not pay enough! Whatever the reason we had best get on track pretty quickly or you will get your wish and Humankinds future will be firmly planted on the back of an ecosystem which is destined to fail. Necessity is the mother of all invention, and in my mind a single human life is more valuable than all the whales on the planet!

they eat the plastic because it catches their eye, just as balloons that get released burst, and when they land in the ocean look like jellyfish, its not like the birds have t.v. and crap so they know what this stuff is. as far as they know that bright red plastic is a new bug, or some types of plant.

As for thinning the herd, yea ive seen a lot of folks at walmart that need to be thinned out, shopping on state aid with my tax money on, while talking their new iphone 5(that our taxes pay for) while i work an honest two jobs and can hardly pay my mortgage, or have enough for food on the table. im lucky to even have what i have, but i actually work for it, while those types of people sue for it. and look for ways to cheat the state for it.

those are the people who need to be thinned out, they have no respect for the planet, and throw their mcdonalds packets and sauce cups out the window. sometimes whole bags of garbage. and animals eat that as well, not because they want to eat goddamn plastic but because they smell the food in there and dont know the difference.

america is full of fat slobs,(yes im from the u.s.so dont try to flame me) that care nothing about the future, unless the future is that new tech gadget or their next 8000 calorie meal. not to mention these walks of life usually only come out around the 1st of the month and the 15th of the month.

reply to post by Infi8nity


star for you, not only are we destroying ourselves, we are destroying everything else as well.

reply to post by humphreysjim


I am sorry you are wrong. We are currently out of balance. Nature always balances itself. If we do not find a balance in ourselves in relation to our environment it matters not what we do nature will balance us. If it does it will be really bad for us, she will make sure cancer is eradicated. Our growth is becoming cancerous.

reply to post by LoneGunMan


Your post does not even make sense. What does out of balance mean in this context? Humans are nature, if things are not in balance then nature made itself unbalanced.

The saddest part is that it will never change.

Originally posted by CaticusMaximus

Originally posted by boncho
Some people can't watch videos, some people don't have the patience, we'd rather read and see pictures if they are necessary to get a message across.

I say birds being cut open with plastic inside. Not sure what the story is about...

Complaining that the length of a 4 minute video is to long to watch... wtf?

For some reason I cant help but perceive that attitude as somehow integral to the enabling of the atrocity shown in the 4 minute video that "some people dont have the patience" for.

Hmmm... wonder why that is.

edit on 2/21/2013 by CaticusMaximus because: (no reason given)

COULD NOT AGREE MORE. i read his comment and facepalmed. That sort of attitude is an integral part of why stuff like this is happening in our society.

reply to post by Mclaneinc


dropping food on the ground is fine. plastic and other stuff is a different story.

i leave bread and pizza crust out for my birds all the time and am in the habit of disposing my cig butts properly.

but even those realy have no place to go except getting shot into the sun.

everything should be made to be biodegradeable at the VERY LEAST.

Unless they plan on shooting everything into space it should be biodegradeable.

reply to post by CALGARIAN


What to say. its damn humans. Some of them just #ing there they living. However there good peoples examples too who going to islands like that, taking garbages and dumping them deep underground.

Every single one of our actions has a consequence.

Originally posted by Ophiuchus 13
maybe design biodegradable container/lids/plastics and use existing plastic found on the plastic islands as material to build artificial ICE mass for Polar regions...

I like that idea! Clean the plastic out of our oceans, melt it down and make man made flotation devices on a large scale. Icebergs are melting, polar bears and penguins are in trouble. Lets make em a new home out of our recycled waste.

i think this sums it up completely.

So here's my retirement dream:
Get a supertanker add raking and compaction equipment
Circle the pacific collecting plastic waste.
Come in when full and start all over again.
If I'm lucky maybe discovery will start a show!
Who's with me!

Originally posted by starfoxxx
Why are the birds eating pieces of plastic??? This tells me, these are not the smartest birds on the block... There were THOUSANDS of birds on that island and only a few that ate so much plastic to die... Thinning the herd is all that is..

Please explain to me how a bird is supposed to be able to tell what is plastic and what is not when they do not have the IQ for that? They are not consciously aware like we are.

A 4min clip and you assume only a few ate the plastic and died because of it. That's pretty ignorant. You basically have to go to the island and cut open every single Albatross to see just how many are eating garbage.
I'd rather the thinning of the herd happen by natural means, not because people are too damn lazy to throw their garbage away.

When I was a kid my Mom would take my sister and I out on the weekends and we'd collect litter and put it in the garbage. I know I don't do that anymore but I do not litter either. I hate that there isn't an alternative for recycling because the gov is too damn greedy. There are other options out there but instead we are forced to recycle, releasing disgusting amounts of Carbon into the air and bleach and other dangerous chemicals into the Earth.

Chemicals found in every home may cause breast cancer, asthma, infertility and birth defects, global health chiefs said yesterday. They warn the gender-bending compounds – used in toys, PVC flooring, car dashboards and credit cards – have ‘serious implications’ for health. In a landmark report, the World Health Organization suggested a ban might be needed to protect future generations. It says it is ‘reasonable to suspect’ chemical substances called phthalates of harming female fertility and linked them with rising rates of childhood illnesses including leukaemia. Also under suspicion is bisphenol A, which is found in a host of daily items including tin cans and sunglasses. The man-made compounds are thought to interfere with the natural hormones that are key to our growth, development and overall health. The WHO said there was ‘very strong evidence’ in animals they can interfere with thyroid hormones – something that can cause brain damage, stunted intelligence, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism. For prostate cancer ‘significant evidence’ exists of a link with agricultural pesticides.

Poisoned by every day life