Is It Soup Yet?

Sadly, yes! An article in National Geographic tells us that plastics break down quicker than we had all originally thought (actually I hadn't quite finalized my own break-down calculations as yet) - and they leave behind all of those nasty, unpronounceable, and, unspellable (sp?) compounds that poison us all...all the way up the food chain.

It's bad enough that we've got an ocean's-wide litter problem, but the resulant "soup" is slopping it's way right up onto our dinner tables and porridge bowls...yuk.

A welcome reminder in the article is the fact that food & drink cans are lined with plastics that leach some of those same purportedly cancer-causing compound - jeez, ya can't get away from the stuff.

No soup for you!!

The GOOD news is that the infamous oceanic garbage patch is getting a LOT of attention lately - and it's no longer one of those urban legends anymore. Bravo to Algalita and Capt Charles Moore for waving the early flag - just this year, at least two Scripps Institute of Oceanography-associated research trips have plied their way to the gyre and another two awareness excursions (Junk Raft & Plastiki) have drawn 'eyes' to the problem. Now we just gotta follow through and do what we can from our end (REduce, REuse, REcycle, REpeat). Go team!