Voice Above Water
August 9, 2021 11:20 AM   Subscribe

"Voice Above Water is the story of a 90-year-old Balinese fisherman who can no longer fish because of the amount of plastic pollution in the ocean, instead he collects trash in hopes of being able to fish again. The story is a glimpse into how one human is using his resources to make a difference and a reminder that if we all play our part we can accomplish something much greater than ourselves." [via]
posted by dhruva (10 comments total) 13 users marked this as a favorite
 
Yes.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 11:54 AM on August 9, 2021


There's an excellent photo essay in plastic pollution today in PetaPixel.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 11:58 AM on August 9, 2021


I can't help but wonder where all this is coming from. Nearly(?) all of the photos in the link that CheeseDigestsAll shared were taken in developing countries. Given the relative rates of consumption, why don't most waterways look like that in North America?

(I ask this having spent lots of time along some of the smaller rivers and creeks in Toronto, and there are some spots along Black Creek that come close to those levels of plastic pollution.)

Is it a matter of population density? Is it a matter of the global north exporting plastic waste to other countries? Is it a matter of more lax enforcement of littering and dumping laws? Recycling programs less widespread? Probably all of these and more?

I'm definitely not trying to pass the buck or hint at a racist argument against the people who live in the countries so pictured; to paraphrase the end of Voice Above Water, if everybody doesn't clean up their act, then what's the bloody point?

(Lastly, not used to commenting on Metafilter proper, more used to lurking on ask.me. If this sort of question-comment isn't appropriate here, please delete with my apologies.)
posted by rhooke at 12:49 PM on August 9, 2021


Saw this at the Banff FF. A year previously, there was a film about a couple of surfers in Norway, who camped out all winter, and made a shelter out of beach detritus, and picked up trash while they weren’t surfing. The problem is everywhere. Single use plastics need to be banned worldwide. Period.
posted by Carmody'sPrize at 4:12 PM on August 9, 2021 [5 favorites]


We're getting there in Canada, rhooke.
posted by stray at 6:06 PM on August 9, 2021 [1 favorite]


What is one thing I can do to help make plastic in oceans a thing of the past, and thus plastic fishing an obsolete profession?
posted by aniola at 6:19 PM on August 9, 2021


I can't help but wonder where all this is coming from. Nearly(?) all of the photos in the link that CheeseDigestsAll shared were taken in developing countries. Given the relative rates of consumption, why don't most waterways look like that in North America?

Less-developed countries have inadequate infrastructure in general. This includes waste collection infrastructure.
posted by mr_roboto at 7:33 PM on August 9, 2021


Less-developed countries have inadequate infrastructure in general. This includes waste collection infrastructure.

"Waste collection infrastructure" also significantly meaning "the ability to prevent more-developed nations from using their territory as a dumping ground."
posted by FatherDagon at 11:39 PM on August 9, 2021


What is one thing I can do to help make plastic in oceans a thing of the past

The only thing I can think of is something I'm struggling with in my own life, which is to buy less. Because nearly everything we buy is either made of or packaged in plastic, the only way to reduce plastic is to reduce consumption. Simply looking for plastic-free items isn't a feasible route.
posted by Ickster at 2:28 AM on August 10, 2021


Taking my local US park and lake as an example:

* The surrounding community has reliable separate waste and recycling pickup for each home, and there are convenient recycling centers for larger needs.
* the park and lake have a full time staff with lawnmowers, repair trucks, and cleanup crews.
* there are trash cans all over the place that are serviced by the above crew.
* there are community groups that “adopt” the lake and surrounding roadside areas and do weekend trash cleanup.

It’s probably not a surprise that it’s an affluent area overall with a solid tax base.
posted by freecellwizard at 8:51 AM on August 10, 2021


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