They made it! The Plastiki, a catamaran constructed from 12,500 recycled plastic bottles, slid past Sydney Opera House on Monday, four months after leaving San Francisco on a voyage across the Pacific. The awareness-raising mission was led by SHFT compadre and eco-adventurer David de Rothschild. Powered by solar panels and windmills, the Plastiki is held together by an organic glue made of sugar......read more
And so on, and so on, and so on: Zoom in on National Geographic's infinite National Parks photo, which reveals hundreds of pics making up each original. The magic box: Trunz Water Systems' portable, solar/wind-powered water filtration unit is the next level of disaster relief. (via Core77) Oh, super. Wired tells us about new research showing that the plastic garbage patch in the North......read more
When the effort to ban plastic bags across California failed this past August, we were bummed. But we also knew that it would open the door for local governments to do what the state legislature could not. Lo and behold, it was announced today that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has stepped up and passed a ban on plastic bags in grocery and convenience stores. Since the ban only......read more
Oh, the horror! It's our worst nightmare, in the flesh—errr, plastic. The Plastic Bag Monster is a public art project by The Miha Artnak in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Created from 40,000 plastic bags and 7,500 discarded plastic cups collected from the local schools around the city, the Plastic Bag Monster delivers a metaphorical statement on pollution and waste. "Plastic Bag Monster......read more
Hmm... maybe banning plastic bags wasn't such a bad idea after all. The LA times reports on alarming new oceanic research from southern California, where scientists from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation and the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project found bits of plastic in the stomachs of 35% of the fish they collected off the U.S. west coast. That's a lot of fish! The......read more
California, stand up! The first organized attempt at a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags may have faltered, but the fight rages on. Emboldened by several successful local actions boycotting wasteful plastic shopping bags, Californians are urging Governor Jerry Brown to make a move. Plastic pollution harms wildlife, threatens public health, and hinders the economy. It's......read more
Seattle artist Chris Jordan is well known for creating large-scale works depicting mass consumption and waste. Like most people, we first heard about him via "Midway, Message From The Gyre," his Prix Pictet-nominated photo series showing the deadly effects of oceanic plastic pollution on baby albatrosses. We're new to his ongoing "Running the Numbers" series, in which he recreates historic......read more
Poor plastic grocery bags. It must be hard to know that your time is coming to a close. And make no mistake, after L.A. councillors voted 13-1 to ban single use bags in the city, the end is nigh, indeed. L.A. is but the latest in a growing number of American cities and regions that are ditching single use plastic bags. But this time it's different. When Seattle, Portland, and San......read more
The massive plastic trash vortex in the North Pacific is one of the world's most depressing environmental issues. It's terrifying, really. Just thinking about it is enough to send me into the fetal position. Melbourne-based photographer Kim Preston faces up to the problem of plastic pollution with "Plastic Pacific," a new series of photos that find everyday plastic......read more
Alaska is America's wildest, most remote state. But it is not immune to manmade environmental damage (just ask the residents of Valdez). On some of Alaska's most isolated beaches, you'll find plenty of garbage -- tons, in fact, as a group of scientists and artists discovered last summer, when they embarked on a 450-mile expedition to collect and document marine trash. The project was named......read more