Monday, March 1, 2010

Plastiki

"What we have to do is eliminate dumb uses of plastic.

Thirty-eight billion plastic bottles went into landfill last year."

~David de Rothschild

Hence the premise behind Plastiki, to dramatize the message that plastic is evil and that sailing a 60-foot catamaran across the Pacific [with 68 percent of the boat’s buoyancy derived from a matrix of 12,500 recycled plastic bottles] will capture the attention of people around the world.

An engineering feat from conception, the stunt for an environmental cause has evolved into a new way to build. Design 'roadblocks' forced 'think-outside-the-box' solutions resulting in a boat constructed using self-reinforced plastics (no resins). The parts are heat-welded together, or in some cases they’re joined with a glue made from sugar cane and cashews. The boat’s solar panels are good for 600 watts, and a recumbent exercycle is rigged to produce 7 amps. A hanging hydroponic garden will grow chard, kale, spinach and other leafy greens. The boat's cabin [egg-shaped as a form of biomimicry] has been described as "the ultimate off-grid house". Plastiki is another 'role model' for our future proving once again that it is possible to use recycled goods and build with non-toxic chemicals.

On Saturday, we attended the traditional Polynesian christening ceremony which means the boat is blessed and ready to make its journey. David de Rothschild will, with a six-man crew, sail across the Pacific Ocean starting in San Francisco and ending his journey in Sydney. Along the way, there are planned visits of several sites of ecological importance such as the man-made disaster called the Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating landfill located between California and Hawaii that’s twice the size of Texas. This is definitely a noble mission, and one I personally look forward to following.



[Reverie-Daydream Images]

29 comments:

  1. I hope they stay safe!!!

    http://hopechella.blogspot.com/

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  2. Great post, thanks for sharing. We can all stand to reduce our carbon footprint :)

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  3. I think it's a great way to draw attention to what is going on, I wish them much safety and happiness.
    xxx

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  4. What a right-on point and an interesting endeavor. People need to be more aware of what's going on in the world and this helps to bring it to light.

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  5. Well I won't pretend to understand how the boat was put together, but I do applaud them and their efforts. I had no idea that floating landfill was so freaking huge! UGH! Thanks for tipping us off about this team - are they going to be live blogging their adventure?

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  6. My goodness, that's the first I'd heard of the floating landfill. This sounds like a creative approach to a good cause, and well worthy of your and our support.

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  7. That is brilliant my friend - thanks for sharing! (love your new profile photo by the way~)
    xx

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  8. Fabulous! Kudos to David de Rothschild. What an undertaking and to be making such a valuable point.

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  9. and maybe you need to begin carrying fabulous water bottles in the shop! I love mine and use it every day~
    xx

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  10. Wow, this is incredible. Very interesting and inspiring. It made me think about the island one guy made from plastic bottles. I found a short video about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvn9l1pJ3-A

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  11. AWESOME that you went to the christening of Plastiki! I've been following the story and controversy and grabbed a copy of Outside in the airport when I saw David dR's handsome mug on the cover. V. cool.

    What a neat experience to have been there at the start of the journey!

    And since I'm such a nerdle, here's an NPR story on the pacific gyre:

    http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15713260

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  12. That is just amazing. Personnally I loathe water bottles. Cannot believe people buy them over and over. xoxo

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  13. That's great, Mel. ...and thanks for posting about it. It needs to be brought to our attention. It's quite frightening. XXXX

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  14. Ohhhh...how wonderful. Do keep us posted! That "garbage Patch" is seriously the saddest and most horrific thing ever. When I learned about that I cried. Seriously! What the heck are we doing to our plant??? So glad that your friend is bringing much needed attention to this!

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  15. This mission is quite impressive as is the catamaran.

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  16. That is fabulously exciting. Thanks for bringing it to our attention!

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  17. The garbage patch makes me so physically uncomfortable. I just feel freaked out every time I think about it. Just got creepy shivers while typing that. Yuck.

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  18. Wow...this is amazing. Good for them..I love people like this. xoxoxo

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  19. This is a great post. Although I carry a stainless water bottle when I travel, often the water in my hotel rooms is horrible, so I go buy a huge bottle of water. My rationale is, since it's so huge, it's better than drinking from the little ones. I wish someone would invent a travel water purifier. I would, but can't add a single thing to my to-do list ;)

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  20. Indeed a noble mission.
    Wow - I cannot imagine this trip - or that enormous heap of trash.
    I wish them a safe journey.
    pve

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  21. Hi Melissa,

    Thanks for visiting my blog, your blog is awesome! I love foods and sweets and will definitely be checking it out often. Have a wonderful day! Xoxo, Tawa

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  22. I was so glad when I first learned about Plastiki. Thanks for posting about them!

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  23. J'adore ton blog!!!!
    Très très charmant!!!!

    Bisous :)

    Daniela "Dream Shabby Chic" from Milano Italy

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  24. Thanks for highlighting this! Look forward to following the journey.

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  25. I love this. Seriously, with so many safe, non-disposable water bottles, why do people need to buy plastic?

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  26. Thank you for sharing. I love your blog!!!

    Ana

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  27. I haven't used a plastic water bottle or taken a plastic shopping bag in 14 months. I's not hard, just takes a bit of effort. Thank you for spotlighting this.

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  28. we were there for the launch of the plastiki last week! it was very cool to see it in person...

    we were really hyped to interview them on their vertical garden, from which they will enjoy kale and leafy greens of all kinds over their voyage. if you're interested we uploaded our video here: www.yourgardenshow.com/latest

    it really gets your mind going on what is possible for not just the future of pollution, but the future of gardening!

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