I like to think that I take pretty good care of the marine environment when I'm sailing. But as I'm never out for more than a few hours in my Laser it's pretty easy to follow the rule of taking back to shore any waste materials from my snacks or drinks. (Ummm - except of course the occasional need to water the fishes).
But ocean going ships obviously have a whole different set of issues with which to deal. Check out his article on Garbology 101 written by Mary Ann, aboard the Esperanza, the largest vessel in the Greenpeace fleet. I guess being Greenpeace they have to make sure they are ultra politically correct when it comes to dumping stuff over the side, but if you are as ignorant of such matters as myself you might be surprised as what materials they do toss.
3 comments:
Tillerman-
Unfortunately, like the LaGrange points in space, there are points in the Oceans that collect and concentrate much of the floating waste.
It is a shame that more people don't take proper care of it... MARPOL, the international treaty, forbids any disposal of plastics at all...yet fishing boats, both commercial and sport, drop plastic overboard all the time.
I guess it is probably a good idea to avoid any large yellow barrels if you are in port and you see the Esperanza docked nearby. ;-)
There is a small cruise boat the travels the coast of Maine in the summer that regularly discharges their holding tanks and gray water tanks whilst in port. A friend of mine ran into an employee of the boat at the Bar Harbor airport last summer and got the scoop. Pretty terrible stuff. I wish I remembered the name, because it would be great to get them and other violators off the water.
thanks for the link T-man.
We all need to do our part!
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