Scenes of Our Present: The Plastic Vortex

Image from http://tigerpapers.wordpress.com/tag/trash-vortex/

Is this a site you would want to see on a regular basis? 

Approximately 300 million tons of plastic are produced each year, only about 10% of which is recycled. Much of the rest makes its way to the ocean by tides and rivers. The result is the Plastic Vortex, a mass of plastic material floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the mainland. The mass is estimated to weigh approximately 4,000,000 tons and is twice the size of Texas! Unfortunately, the Pacific Plastic Vortex is not the only one. Plastic has also accumulated in the Atlantic and Indian oceans, which have their own set of currents. 

One of the biggest problems with the Plastic Vortex is that it is “out of sight, out of mind.” Because it is out in the ocean, most people do not know that much about it. However, it kills marine life, enters our food chain, and endangers public health. As the Vortex grows each day, so do these concerns. 

This image is not an image from the future--what could happen if we keep using plastic as we do--it is an image from the present. The Plastic Vortex already exists. Unfortunately, if our wasteful habits continue, this could be an image visible from the coast of some of our favorite beaches or the banks of our major rivers. 

Not a very pretty sight, is it?

Less school, more play.

While doing research a for lab report, I stumbled across this article. I couldn't use it for the paper I was writing, but I was caught by the title, and e-mailed it to myself to read at another time.

We would like to think of history as progress, but if progress is measured in the mental health and happiness of young people, then we have been going backward at least since the early 1950s. The question I want to address here is why.

In the article, entitled "The Dramatic Rise of Anxiety and Depression in Children and Adolescents: Is It Connected to the Decline in Play and Rise in Schooling?", Boston College professor of psychology Peter Gray argues that our society's shift toward an external locus of control and extrinsic goals has been caused by an increased emphasis on adult-directed learning and activities and has resulted in higher rates of depression and anxiety among adolescents. The article was very interesting, and made a convincing argument for substantial educational reform. After all, can we really say that we as a society have progressed if our young people are unhappier now than ever?

Profile of EO Wilson.

Through his fascination with some of Earth’s tiniest insects, Wilson made a number of sizable contributions to the field of evolutionary biology. But more importantly, he developed a love for life—that is, the life that exists in all of the living creatures on Earth’s surface—and dedicated much of his life to saving it.

I've just posted a profile of EO Wilson,  a renowned  biologist, theorist, conservationist and author. Comments are welcomed :)

A "Planetary Emergency."

I recently read an article by Richard M. Miller in Commonweal magazine entitled "'Global Suicide Pact' Why Don't We Take Climate Change Seriously?" [Read the full article here.]

Every year I am more and more concerned about the immediate consequences of climate change. I have tried to change my behavior in some ways: I walk to school when I can, I turn the lights off when they don't need to be on, I try to unplug appliances when they are not being used. But the fact of the matter is that it is not enough. The Earth is warming at an increasing rate, and humans are the major cause of it.

Miller's article was provocative because he paints a picture of the world his children may grow up in--the consequences of global warming could be felt within the next 20 years. It is frightening to imagine half of the country as a dustbowl, facing water and food shortages as population continuously increases.

An increase of 0.8 degrees Celsius has already caused significant changes in weather patterns. While 2010 was one of the hottest years on record, places like Nashville, Brazil, France, Australia, and Northern Pakistan experienced massive flooding. The economic consequences have already been felt in crop losses.

For the second half of the semester, I think I would like to do something on the climate crisis we currently face. Part of me would like to do a creative piece, creating a dystopian society that was unable to stop climate change, but I am not sure I will be able to pull it off (creative writing is not my strong suit). Or I can write and essay that describes the crisis from different points of view, proposes some new clean energy alternatives, or calls my peers to action. I want to write something that makes people care.

Thoughts?