August 28, 2008
Junk Raft Makes Land
BY: Emily Fisher
After three months of sailing across the Pacific ocean to raise awareness about plastic pollution in the sea, the Junk Raft has made land in Hawaii!Here’s an excerpt from their victorious post: “2,600 miles of open ocean crossed in 87 days. From our first week of sinking hopes on a sinking raft, through four hurricanes that swept under us, to the unbelievable chance meeting with Roz Savage in the middle of nowhere, we have had quite an adventure. We’ve collected 10 ocean surface samples using our marine debris trawl, managed to snatch a few large pieces of plastic debris that floated under us, and caught fish with stomachs filled with particles of plastic. Plastic is forever, and it’s everywhere.That’s been our point. The Synthetic Century should have ended 8 years ago, replaced by the Age of Sustainability. There are over 20,000 man-made chemicals produced by the billions of pounds annually that are dispersed throughout the globe in an open loop of consumption that often ends as waste to be buried, burned or to flow down coastal watersheds out to sea.”The Junk team is truly an inspiration — congratulations, guys! Ready to sail back to California now?…Just kidding.[Image of Marcus Eriksen: Britt Yapp/ AP]