Sunday May 27, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Environmentalists pitch voyage in sea of tsunami debris

National Oct. 07, 2011 - 07:15AM JST ( 20 )

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

Order by Time Order by Popularity

20 Comments

2

UtrackOct. 07, 2011 - 06:43AM JST

I wish they would just pick the trash out of the water it's debris.
0

cactusJackOct. 07, 2011 - 07:46AM JST

Mel Fisher would not be interested in the least.
0

Darren BrannanOct. 07, 2011 - 08:39AM JST

waterworld.Floating city anyone?
1

AlphaapeOct. 07, 2011 - 08:56AM JST

I wish they would just pick the trash out of the water it's debris.

I agree, if they know where it is, and are going to try to make a "buck" off of it, I think that pretty much sums up the scam that is the environmental movement. I'm all for saving the planet from excessive junk and garbage, but don't tell me that I can not use plastic bags and can't use incandesant light bulbs, and try to get people and governments to donate funds to assist in environmental efforts, and yet turn around and try to sell vacation packages to see floating junk.
3

Christina O'NeillOct. 07, 2011 - 09:40AM JST

I would consider the voyage to be a scam, if indeed they are enviromentalists collecting the debris to dispose of it in a manner less harmfull to marine life would be their aim.but there is so much of it there would be no room for paying passengers, so defeating their hopes for making a quick buck
-1

tkoind2Oct. 07, 2011 - 09:42AM JST

Alphaape. Way to get the point entirely wrong. It is clearly not a vacation, but a way to pay for the cost of the research. Essentially donations. I think the article pretty clearly demonstrates that point.

And yes we can tell you to stop using things that harm the environment and we all will need to be increasingly careful about how we take care of the world.

Sorry to put you out, but you and everyone else has a responsibility here that selfishness cannot release you from.
-5

JapanGalOct. 07, 2011 - 10:03AM JST

I bet they find some really good junk for their flee markets back home. What a sick tour.
2

Johannes WeberOct. 07, 2011 - 10:10AM JST

I wish they would just pick the trash out of the water it's debris.

Hey, did anyone actually read this article? The amount of debris in the ocean is far too much to be collected by all ships of the world. Humans are pigs and they soil the place where they live. The amount of debris and waste in the ocean would probably increase faster than You could collect the stuff again. Which still leaves You with the open question of where to put all this debris...

For me, it also sounds very much like a donation of money and workforce to activists. It's a good thing for those that have enough money and time.
2

gogogoOct. 07, 2011 - 10:11AM JST

There is loads of articles on the pacific garbage patch, there is hardly anything there to see as the sea water plus the sun destroys the plastic... but future beaches of the world will be made of small pieces of plastic
0

UtrackOct. 07, 2011 - 10:35AM JST

The amount of debris in the ocean is far too much to be collected by all ships of the world.

But wouldn't the be a great movement waste to energy plants that generates electricity from incinerating sea trash. You would never go out of business.
3

Heda_MadnessOct. 07, 2011 - 11:23AM JST

“We’ll be riding the same currents that are transporting cigarette lighters, bottle caps, children’s toys and all manner of other plastic pollution generated by the tsunami,”

Whilst he's correct in the definition of 'pollution' it just feels so wrong to call THIS pollution. The tsunami shouldn't be remembered for 'pollution' and shouldn't be an example of 'pollution'. It should be remembered for the 20,000 people who lost their lives and the tens of thousands of people who have been displaced. And nothing should be used to dilute this.

Whilst water pollution is a big issue, it just feels completely and utterly wrong for someone to be using this to benefit their aims. No matter how respectable those aims may be.
0

ExportExpertOct. 07, 2011 - 12:01PM JST

Possibly bodies in amongst this lot too and they wil by now be very decomposed.
0

It"S MEOct. 07, 2011 - 12:07PM JST

Doubt many bodies will be left by now. Decomposition, being eaten, etc.
0

AlphaapeOct. 07, 2011 - 02:01PM JST

Alphaape. Way to get the point entirely wrong. It is clearly not a vacation, but a way to pay for the cost of the research. Essentially donations. I think the article pretty clearly demonstrates that point.

@tkoind2: I disagree. There are other ways to raise funds for reserach. We have seen the scams of the carbon credits and the Solyndra issues as well as the fund raising efforts for Hati that have been plauged with scandal, so this one seems a bit too shady to me.

Sorry to put you out, but you and everyone else has a responsibility here that selfishness cannot release you from.

I don't think I am being selfish in pointing out that "There's something rotten in Denmark."
1

smithinjapanOct. 07, 2011 - 03:06PM JST

Alphaape: "I agree, if they know where it is, and are going to try to make a "buck" off of it, I think that pretty much sums up the scam that is the environmental movement."

I am sure that a good deal if not all the money generated (and it's a pretty obscene tour fee!) would go towards research and possibly clean-up (although it was noted all the waste could not be cleared up -- not even close!). And who knows? maybe a small part of the tour is showing people ways in which small parts can be collected and cleaned up, and they do just that (again, not much they can collect, but still). How is raising awareness on the issue a bad thing?

Yes, there were some scandals involving aid to Haiti (or at least that's what Limbaugh would have you think!), but if people want to pay and learn about the politician as well as contribute, let them.

"I don't think I am being selfish in pointing out that "There's something rotten in Denmark.""

Is there now? So what's rotten then, since you're so certain?

You won't catch me paying that much to go out and look at garbage (and possibly pick a bit of it out of the water), and before I even entertained the thought of it you can bet I'd check out the NPOs thoroughly, but to each their own.
-1

just-a-guyOct. 07, 2011 - 09:27PM JST

When will the Japnese government clean up those 'Japan tsunami debris field'? These rubbish were no bathroom rubber ducks like those in 1992! They have got to pay the fees to clean up all these derbis!
-1

just-a-guyOct. 07, 2011 - 09:29PM JST

When will the Japanese government pay the fees to clean up these 'Japan tsunami debris field'? Having a havoc doesnt been she dont need to do her jobs! It was her 'responsibility'!
-1

spudmanOct. 07, 2011 - 10:02PM JST

[Just a guy] Get real, the Tsunami is an act of God and there was no negligence or intent on the Japanese side so they surely can't be expected to pay for the clean up. How can you say the Earthquake and Tsunami are "her responsibility" ?
0

UtrackOct. 08, 2011 - 02:17AM JST

earthquakes, typhoons, drought, floods, global warming, ice ages, meteor showers, borealis light, fog, rain, tsunami etc. are all from nature and are natural occurrences not acts of imaginary forces.
1

TigermothIIOct. 08, 2011 - 02:47AM JST

Even if you are into the environmentalist cause (and everyone should be to some extent) you have to admit that this sounds rather stupid. Why 'study' where it's going to go? If you never do anything to clean it up, it doesn't matter where it goes does it? Wouldn't it make more sense to spend the money wasted to 'study' these currents (which I should think could be done more effectively using buoys, locator devices and satellites) on towing some large barges out to sea and having the environmentally conscious help start clearing it up? Even if it is too much to ever conceivably clear completely, I would rather know that I spent a week clearing up a few football field sized stretches of ocean rather than 'studying' where the trash might go.