By Chad Love

--Chad Love

Who can forget the amazing footage of the Japanese tsunami sweeping literal mountains of debris into the ocean? Now scientists say all that debris - millions of tons of it - is slowly making its way to the west coast.

 
From this story on mercurynews.com:
Millions of tons of debris that washed into the ocean during Japan's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in March -- everything from furniture to roofs to pieces of cars -- are now moving steadily toward the United States and raising concerns about a potential environmental headache. Scientists using computer models say the wreckage, which is scattered across hundreds of miles of the Pacific Ocean, is expected to reach Midway and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands by next spring and beaches in California, Oregon and Washington in 2013 or early 2014.

"Can you imagine San Francisco put through a shredder? A big grinder?" said Curtis Ebbesmeyer, a Seattle oceanographer who has studied marine debris for more than 20 years. "The area north of Tokyo was basically shredded. We are going to see boats, parts of homes, lots of plastic bottles, chair cushions, kids' toys, everything." The debris is moving east at roughly 10 miles a day, and is spread over an area about 350 miles wide and 1,300 miles long -- an area roughly the size of California -- Ebbesmeyer estimates, with the leading edge approaching the international date line.

Comments (6)

from steve182 wrote 1 year 49 weeks ago

Maybe an international clean-up effort is in order?

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from steve182 wrote 1 year 49 weeks ago

Maybe an international clean-up effort is in order?

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from Douglas wrote 1 year 49 weeks ago

We have been sending our natural resources across the ocean for how long now? Here it comes back home.

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from tedross wrote 1 year 49 weeks ago

Horrible. Someone needs to clean that stuff up!

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from RJ Arena wrote 1 year 49 weeks ago

"Horrible. Someone needs to clean that stuff up!"

Yea, and cure cancer and feed all of the hungry, and give me one of those $5000 rifles Dave checks out! What a silly comment. Look at a map, or better yet the old globe, and you can see that a debris field the size of California does not get straitened up like your room when you were a kid! Who do you expect to do it? the nearly bankrupt state of California? Japan? The USA? or maybe the girl scouts in a rubber raft?

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from jamesti wrote 1 year 49 weeks ago

at least they have a while to prepare. wether they like it or not, it's coming.

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from Douglas wrote 1 year 49 weeks ago

We have been sending our natural resources across the ocean for how long now? Here it comes back home.

+2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from RJ Arena wrote 1 year 49 weeks ago

"Horrible. Someone needs to clean that stuff up!"

Yea, and cure cancer and feed all of the hungry, and give me one of those $5000 rifles Dave checks out! What a silly comment. Look at a map, or better yet the old globe, and you can see that a debris field the size of California does not get straitened up like your room when you were a kid! Who do you expect to do it? the nearly bankrupt state of California? Japan? The USA? or maybe the girl scouts in a rubber raft?

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from steve182 wrote 1 year 49 weeks ago

Maybe an international clean-up effort is in order?

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from steve182 wrote 1 year 49 weeks ago

Maybe an international clean-up effort is in order?

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from tedross wrote 1 year 49 weeks ago

Horrible. Someone needs to clean that stuff up!

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from jamesti wrote 1 year 49 weeks ago

at least they have a while to prepare. wether they like it or not, it's coming.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

Post a Comment

 

All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.