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Wowee (thelemmy.club)
submitted 3 months ago by to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
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[–] 18 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Isn’t the garbage island like the size of at least three Polands these days? At some point it’s going to accumulate enough organic debris to develop its own topsoil and eventually ecosystem.

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  • [–] 18 points 3 months ago* (2 children)

    It's not really an island though. There's just more garbage there than elsewhere.

    Despite the common public perception of the patch existing as giant islands of floating garbage, its low density (4 particles per cubic metre (3.1/yd3)) prevents detection by satellite imagery, or even by casual boaters or divers in the area.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (1 child)

    As far as I'm aware, the "garbage island" is really more like a really super fucking polluted region where there's tons of garbage, not like a specific amalgam of trash that actually stays dry on top or anything

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago

    I know. As I pointed out to someone else the comment was more tounge in cheek than literal. It isn’t really an “island”. But since making the joke I’ve come to find out my joke actually undersells the volume. The area of accumulated waste is 5x the size of Poland even though it’s not actually forming a landmass 😞

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (1 child)

    i hear someone was doing something to make it smaller, which i'm not sure how i feel about because we're going to need all the viable landmass we can get

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    In the purely speculative fiction mindset of “what if”, I am kinda fascinated by the idea that nature will eventually find a to deal with our hubris. We can make the planet uninhabitable for ourselves as we know ourselves and the other living beings we currently see living around us. Because we know this and are aware of the potential we should use that same awareness to lessen the impact, not just for ourselves but because there’s living being who can’t stop or lessen the impact of what we’re doing. But give the planet a few more hundred million years and on the off chance there’s still a hominid lineage kicking it, they won’t be Homo sapiens as we recognize them and while our plastics are unnatural, Mother Nature will eventually find a way to make due with what we’ve done or recycle it. That’s not nihilism or an excuse to not care/prevent, just the reality that we’re a brief moment in geologic time even if we’ve utterly fucked the current environment during our stay.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago*

    you might enjoy the book Earth by David Bryn. I liked it because it has gravity waves and transhumanism. OOO i just remembered also voluntary reversible sterilization as like, birth control. I can't remember if the Garbage Patch was a new continent or just a city, but i think it featured in the book. I will say no more because spoilers, it's best to discover the book yourself. I think i last read it a decade ago.

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