tipping point?

My friends lust torturing me. They jab at me. Make slight fun of me. Torment me. All about my eco-craziness. Really, I think it's secretly gotten to the point that some of them are OVER me talking about method, and going green. Oh, and sorta about the fact that mankind is DOOMED! Doomed, I tell ya! Because you know what, there is a tipping point. And once we've passed this tipping point, there is no going back, unfortunately. Have we already passed it? I don't know. I hope not.

So, a friend of mine sent me these photos last night, and I about had a stroke (in fact, he wrote above the link "Please call 911 now... you'll at the very least need some oxygen after you view this." Because he knows just how worked up I can get! And really, I was in shock. These photos have probably been making their rounds on the net, but I thought I'd share them with those that haven't seen them. They're scary.

"(photos below) Citarum River, West Java, Indonesia - Rapid urbanisation over the last 20 years has seen a rise in untreated household sewage, solid waste and industrial effluents, affecting public health and threatening the livelihood of poor fishing families. a new industry has sprung up - collecting the plastic waste in the river for recycling."


"(photos below) Dharavi, Mumbai, India - Because water in Mumbai, India is prohibitively expensive, many residents of this slum rely on leaks found - or created - in the massive tubes that carry water to more affluent neighborhoods. The poor of the city avoid the garbage and human waste surrounding their dwellings by walking on top of the pipelines."


(photo below) Oh hey, look! A street filled with trash! How crazy, you say? Ah, no. This is... a river! A river, that has literally become a river of trash.

Dennis Villegas writes:

"(photos below) Manila, Philippines - This is Estero de Paco, once the cleanest and loveliest creeks in Manila. Now, it has become the dirtiest, most polluted, and garbage-laden esteros among all the creeks that flow directly to the Pasig River.

I have observed that the water of the Estero de Paco is now slimy, thick, and dark-colored, with floating garbage of all kinds (plastic materials, household wastes), animal carcasses, and human feces. The garbage in the river has become so thick that rats are able to run on top of it--chased by cats. The river and its surrounding areas has a very hideous odor."






Luckily, many of these areas are getting ready for a huge clean up by their governments. (Though unfortunately some people will lose their homes in the process; which is not the best solution, since we're already talking about people of poverty.) I think we all just need to realize that trash/garbage does NOT go away. The trash man picks it up, and off it goes, and we can live happy lives - but, where does it go from there? Something to think about. Thoughts?

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original post from deputy dog