Waste Management and Trash On Navy Aircraft Carriers

[Tyler]

...I have been unsuccessful in seeking full time employment in the civilian world with an undergraduate degree in environmental science for almost 5 years now...

There's a surprise.

In February 2007 I started the application process to being a naval officer. After months and months of trying to find three references...

Why was it so hard to find three people to say something good about you?

Aren't you the same guy that wants to join the Navy to travel to Europe and get an MBA? I really hope this is another one of the IP's pulling everyones' leg...

 

[BACONATOR]

I could understand enlisted men being ignorant and misinformed. Being that naval aviators and flight officers are the smartest people in the Navy. I am surprised to hear you people say wood and metal are biodegradeable in the water. Metal is NON-ORGANIC, it is mined from ore deep within the earth, just like plastic which is a petroleum based product. If plastic is NOT biodegradable and NOT allowed in water, then why the heck is metal and glass allowed to be dumped overboard?

Wow. I didn't think it was possible to give my former incarnation THIS BIG a run for its money, but you achieved it. Congratulations.

How does the toe-jam taste?

This is the most ignorant statement I've heard in a while. Notice that the vast majority of people flaming you are officers (myself included)? Our enlisted, while representing a variety of individuals much like any large group of people, as a whole, is represented by some VERY smart young (and old) men and women. Without the enlisted, planes don't launch, the ship doesn't move and the infrastructure crumbles. Our enlisted (and junior enlisted specifically) are doing some VERY technical jobs (ahem, reactor? maintenance? etc, ahem!) that you probably couldn't wrap your little pea-brain around.

MANY of our enlisted (especially as they climb rank) get degrees or some formal education of some kind, and oftentimes, when they get out, they use their training and service towards a degree. Some of the brightest people I went to college with were prior-enlisted folks. They choose to serve in the enlisted ranks for many reasons, and not because that was their ONLY choice. Many people enlist with a degree to serve, knowing full well they could easily apply to be an officer.

My suggestion is to STFU and quit trying to preach on the internet. Your opinion is worthless, your degree impresses no one (I'm an engineer, so bite me, environmentalist!), and you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

But you don't have to listen to me. I'm sure you think I'm dead wrong. And you're probably right. I mean, after all, this guy is just some dumb, ignorant enlisted guy, right?

(In case you don't catch the e-sarcasm, he is the Master CPO of the Navy and has a fvcking Masters degree, so he is "more educated" than your dumbass)
Oh, and it's INORGANIC.

How do I know more about the subject when you have a degree in it??

Oh, because I actually studied materials science and didn't take classes like "Rainbows 101".

 

[Cobra Commander]

Really ?? No shit???

Listen, you arrogant, elitist little S.O.B. ...

I would have gone with pretentious aunt but I guess that'll work too.

Dear Eco-ass,

Thank you for continuing to insult our intelligence by informing us what MBA stands for and that metals come from the earth. Believe it or not, but we're not a bunch of inbred rabble.

 

[Schnugg]

Yikes...Bogey_Spotter's gone high and right!!!

 

[villanelle]

Hey Eco,

Do a little bit of research on artificial reefs. These giant metal structures are actually saving the reefs and sea life in a lot of places. Yes, they are made of your much hated metal, but they are actually doing a ton of good in the world of conservation.

Concern about the environment is admirable, but you if you are going to spout off about it, it's best to have more than a shallow (no pun...) understanding of the subject matter.

Pic of the USS Spiegel Grove (LSD32), which now sits in 100+ feet of water off the coast of the Florida Keys, which have a lot of reef damage and destruction. Note the coral that has made this metal into a home and doesn't seem to mind sharing the water with it. The sinking of this ship offered a home to a lot of sea life and helped bring back a lot of the fish and corals that have become much more scarce in the area. It is an amazing dive site, sure, and it gets more amazing every year as more sea life flocks to the ship, but it's also an amazing conservation effort. And all made out of (gasp!) metal.

You'll never save the earth if you don't even understand what the real problems are and if you base your belief system on sound bites and tag lines that sound warm and fuzzy but have little basis in fact.

 

[Bugsmasher]

If plastic is NOT biodegradable and NOT allowed in water, then why the heck is metal and glass allowed to be dumped overboard?

Most plastic floats. It then gets carried on ocean currents to wash up on shore where we don't want it. Metal and glass sinks to the bottom and is never seen again. I suppose you could just tie a weight to the plastic waste, but plastic is easier to store for recycling than glass and metals. Believe it or not, people have thought about this issue and come up with reasonable policy based on facts, not emotional outbursts.

 

[BACONATOR]

why the heck is metal and glass allowed to be dumped overboard?

Not sure if you've ever been to the beach before, but all that stuff that you're standing on? Ya, it's glass. Silica (quartz), is the same chemical composition whether it's sand, a vase or my bottle of Macallen Cask Strength.

Sorry guys:

 

[utak]

T-rex is gonna make an appearance later today.

 

[eddie]

Most of the abyssal plain, I believe, does not support life. The exceptions are spreading centers (anywhere that provides heat). If stuff is weighted (even plastics), I wonder what kind of effect dumping (I'm thinking minimal, but I don't really know about the biology involved) would have at the more barren areas of the deep ocean.

Personally, I'm waiting for the space elevator / rain gun so we can toss all our trash into the sun...

 

[Inexorable]

Personally, I'm waiting for the space elevator / rain gun so we can toss all our trash into the sun...

But we could destroy the sun's delicate fusion reaction!!!!!!

/hyperventilates

 

[villanelle]

Most of the abyssal plain, I believe, does not support life. The exceptions are spreading centers (anywhere that provides heat). If stuff is weighted (even plastics), I wonder what kind of effect dumping (I'm thinking minimal, but I don't really know about the biology involved) would have at the more barren areas of the deep ocean.

Personally, I'm waiting for the space elevator / rain gun so we can toss all our trash into the sun...

This isn't really an answer to this question, but I believe that if plastic were weighted, it wouldn't be much of a problem even in shallow areas, except for the massive amounts that a carrier would produce.

Forgetting the massive quantities for a moment, the issue would be whether anything would still try to eat it, which probably wouldn't be an issue with moderately sized hard plastics that weren't floating. If nothing ate it, it too would probably become an artificial reef on a small scale. I've seen plant life making a home on fishing line, plastic bottles, dive watches, and all manner of ocean litter. In these cases, it was stuff that never should have made it there, but it did and the ocean just integrated it into the environment.

Lest anyone pounce on me, I'm not saying it's cool to toss whatever you want into the ocean. My point is that outside of the danger of animals trying to eat it (which is a very real danger but would be less so if the plastic was weighted), plastics don't seem to be inherently bad for the sea life, based on what I've seen diving, though I readily admit this is just a guess on my part.

So I think the biggest issue, other than getting plastic to sink, would be the massive quantity that a carrier would be dumping. Putting that much of anything, even sand, on the wrong ecosystem is sure to have effects.

 

[Schnugg]

....My point is that outside of the danger of animals trying to eat it (which is a very real danger but would be less so if the plastic was weighted), plastics don't seem to be inherently bad for the sea life, based on what I've seen diving, though I readily admit this is just a guess on my part....

Simple answer, engineer plastic so it tastes bad. No problem anymore.

 

[phrogpilot73]

Simple answer, engineer plastic so it tastes bad. No problem anymore.

So what would it taste like? After all, they're constantly drinking salty, shit-filled water. Maybe if it tasted like cotton candy?

 

[usmarinemike]

Simple answer, engineer plastic so it tastes bad. No problem anymore.

DONE! Now it's up to them not to eat it.

BTW...I totally think Barbara Eden should be part of the Babes of Yore collection.

 

[Scoob]

But we could destroy the sun's delicate fusion reaction!!!!!!

/hyperventilates

Mayyyyyybe. But we'd be free of Global Warming.

Hooray Al Gore!!!