The risk is that the zoning idea will get mired in decades-long debates while the oceans continue to deteriorate. The U.S. needs to act with urgency. As other nations do the same, they can work together to manage the high seas that are the domain of no single country. Cooperation is no longer optional; it is essential. We don’t have another 100 years to get it right.

Note: This article was originally printed with the title, "Zoning for Oceans."

This article was originally published with the title Zoning for Oceans.

3 Comments

1. 1. jack.123 04:47 PM 11/23/09

   Don't know how easy this would be to do?But how about recycling all of the plastic in the middle of the Pacific,using some of it as fuel for the ships doing the task,and bringing back the rest for reuse.

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2. 2. eco-steve 10:19 AM 12/8/09

   Jack.123 : It would probably be better initially to ban local authorities from dumping all their garbage into the oceans using barges.
   It is also possible that a lot of plastic gets trawled by drift nets, but as a lot of plastic is not recycled anyway, I doubt if anyone would bother collecting it.
   There are ways of recycling unwanted plastics now through using MAGNEGAS technology, combined with pyrolysis techniques which can be seen at www.eprida.com.

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3. 3. jack.123 04:32 PM 12/8/09

   I agree that we need to stop further polution,but we still need to clean up the mess thats already there,and recycling it is as good a way as any,as long as someone is doing it.

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