The New York Nerd

Taken in Chaiten, Chile. Update: National Geographic has the story.

Hey Earth Lovers,

Pardon the mass email. Well, it’s been a long journey out into the Great Northwest Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean but our environmental oceanic Odyssey is complete. Now the hard part starts.

With Earth Day still recent but fading fast I just wanted to email you all and let you know that all 12 parts of Toxic: Garbage Island, plus a special bonus episode are up now on VBS. Education and awareness are the first steps we need to make if we are going to right this situation, people should not be able to claim ignorance anymore.

It’s our mess and now we have to clean it up. The series has been a huge success thanks to all of you who talked about it or posted. Heck, we even got on CNN and ABC News.

You can watch all 12 episodes by going here: Toxic: Garbage Island on VBS.tv - http://www.vbs.tv/shows/toxic/garbage-island/

We also did a special bonus episode. An interview with Frederick Vom Saal, Ph.D on Bishpenol A which has been all over the news as of late with plastic drinking containers. Super disturbing.

Interview on Bisphenol A with Dr. Frederick Vom Saal - http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=1519713792

Want to see Thomas on CNN? - http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/04/14/ntm.garbage.island.cnn

I just received this email. It’s funny, I had the same thought, I wanted to sail out and see what all the fuss is about… these guys really did it! Amazing job, my hat is off to you. Here’s the info straight from the source:

Hey NY Nerd,

I wanted to pass you over a piece we are doing on the North Pacific Garbage Patch, I thought it would be great content for viewers of the site.

At VBS.tv we had read all the articles about this environmental problem but didn’t see much in the way of video. So curiosity and the challenge compelled us west to the middle of the Pacific Ocean to show what other people had only been writing about. We go all the way out ( 2 straight days on a sail boat) expecting to see a floating dump, looking for our money shot that will make us famous.

Here’s the bad news, there is no money shot. What people don’t get is that it’s not really a patch and it’s not really an island, both of which you might be able to contain and control. No, what we found is much worse. It’s like a gigantic toxic stew and it’s a big big problem that we need to pay attention to now.

We decided to go against the conventional wisdom that internet video is for those with short attention spans, and are rolling out 12 episodes.

You can go here to view the trailer for Toxic: Garbage Island and follow the series - http://www.vbs.tv/shows/toxic/garbage-island/

TOXIC Garbage Island Part 1 of 12 - http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=1485308505
Searching out the Pacific Ocean’s mythical floating trash heap.

TOXIC Garbage Island Part 2 of 12 - http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=1485308600
The ORV Alguita casts off for the middle of nowhere.

TOXIC Garbage Island Part 3 of 12 - http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=1485308604
The Captain nets a moon jellyfish, nature’s plastic bag.

Parts 4 - 12 run through the next two weeks.

The host, Thomas Morton, will be on CNN Headline News to discuss Toxic: Garbage Island: April 12th & 13th @ 7:30pm, 9:30pm and 12:30am if you find your self flipping through the channels.

A hunter’s dogs cornered a wild jaguar in South West New Mexico. They managed to photograph the 200 pound jaguar and pull the hounds back, at which time the jaguar scampered away unharmed. Here’s more

A whale that died recently in the English Channel was found to have 2 pounds of plastic bags in its stomach, that it mistakenly ate in its quest for food. The plastic caused this animal a painful death. The time has come to replace plastic bags with a biodegradable alternative. Here’s more

This is the saddest photograph I’ve ever seen. This rhino was shot twice, had its horn sawed off, and was left to die. It survived 35 hours. If you want to do something about it, donate here. Graphic Photo

It’s so nice to report some good news for a change. China, one of the world’s leaders in contempt for the environment has made a stunning leap into the green. As of June 1, 2008 there will be a near complete ban on plastic bags. China uses billions of plastic bags, and this will make an incredible step in the right direction. Here’s more