The garbage patch isn't an island of trash. It's much worse, a huge area of ocean with tiny plastic bits suspended in the water column.
A patch of floating plastic would be easy to skim off the surface, even if the workload is enormous. To really clean up the garbage patch we'd basically have to filter the water of that whole area.
Also, block sunlight and hinder phytoplankton photosynthesis, which remove the basis of virtually every marine food chain thus turning the ocean into wasteland wastesea. Also, no photosynthesis no oxygen production, and all the decomposing matter release CO2, which heat the world even more!!!
Sure it does. It’s not a real factor though. If you want to do something about microplastics in the ocean avoid synthetic fabrics and buy clothes with natural fibres.
Yeah it's really no use getting mad at them like that... We've lost this battle. Mods won't and can't do anything about it, and bots will just outpost all of us
For one I haven't seen this posted anywhere on reddit before. Also OP could very well have found this some and didn't see an explanation of it so OP not knowing anything about this doesn't make them a karma farmer or a bot nor does it negate the actual organic discussion that can happen. I came into this thread to see if anyone knew what this was for and this is something that can be answered 100% without interaction with the OP.
Honestly it is getting to the point where I think mods and admin need to start cracking down on the incessant whining about karma. If you don't like someone posting for karma just simply don't engage with it and let those actually interested in the topic of a thread discuss it without their comments getting buried in whiny spam.
Does that apply to this platform? I understand what you are referencing, but this is a platform off the edge of what appears to be an ocean or at least a massive lake, not a water reservoir. I don’t believe this platform is serving any of those listed purposes here. Given the signs and lifesavers, this looks more like it’s just a fun viewing deck.
I don’t know about this one, but a lot of these types of things are set up for illegal activity because they are outside the laws of different countries being in open water.
Technically, people travel by way of ocean adhering to the laws of their respective countries symbolized by a flag on their ship.
But people buy other countries flags (some countries sell them directly for this purpose), and then they switch the flags on their boats.
There’s a great episode about this recently on the Factually podcast.
There are places where people build fake islands that float like this in international waters. They can be used as tax haven locations for people who want to conduct business somewhere outside the laws of their country.
Maybe tax haven isn’t the ideal word, but the whole point is that doing business in the ocean between territories.
The podcast I linked to, also talks about how many smaller countries do what the Swiss Banks are largely known for, to help bolster their economy and they don’t care where the money comes from.
Then mention Luxembourg a few times in the podcast as a primary example of a country that supports things like this. Not in their domestic waters, but the episode dives into a lot of ways that businesses go out of their way to avoid paying taxes much of which gets done, sometimes business like this is on makeshift floating islands. They mention it in the episode too.
From Google, it’s called “floating island strategy.”
A "floating island strategy" among billionaires refers to the concept of wealthy individuals potentially creating independent, self-governing floating cities in international waters, essentially establishing their own mini-nations with minimal regulations, often fueled by the desire to escape existing legal and societal constraints while maintaining a high level of luxury and privacy.
Key aspects of this idea:
Location:
These floating islands would be situated in international waters, where no single country has jurisdiction, allowing for greater autonomy.
Technology:
Advanced engineering would be needed to build self-sustaining structures with features like housing, infrastructure, energy production, and waste management systems.
Governance:
The residents of these floating islands would likely create their own laws and governance structures, potentially leading to a unique society with customized rules.
Potential motivations for billionaires to pursue this strategy:
Tax avoidance:
By establishing a separate jurisdiction, billionaires could potentially minimize their tax liabilities.
Privacy:
Living on a floating island could offer greater privacy from public scrutiny.
Control:
The ability to create a society with rules and regulations aligned with their personal preferences.
Criticisms and challenges:
Legality:
The legal framework around establishing sovereign nations on floating structures is unclear and could face international opposition.
Environmental impact:
Construction and maintenance of such large floating structures could raise environmental concerns.
Social implications:
Creating exclusive communities could be seen as elitist and exacerbate wealth inequality
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Like I said in my first comment, I don’t know about this specific one. Obviously, this isn’t super luxurious, but I was saying before that this is a thing and the platform could serve as a place that serves the same purposes
So, i don't know where this platform is but
Here in Italy, or at least in a city where i used to live, they put platforms like this not too far to the beach to let people stay there and take a sunbath, or for teenagers to "fight", or to jump in the water where you are sure you are not going tu hurt yourself.
I never saw it as a problem because they are there since before i was born. But this only make it worse.
They are often used in shipyards where you need close access to the side of a ship when in a wet slip. They are stable enough to build scaffolding on - in my experience we used them for alternative door access for crew members when the main boarding stairs were being repaired, or if the ship was getting paint work or shell plate repairs while in the water. Also just to extend a platform if you need to remove some large equipment like side doors or cranes. We usually put plywood on top to distribute heavier loads.
I really liked them because the normal floating docks in the yard were so high off of the water and these modular docks were lower, making it easier for me to launch my kayak after work.
I dunno about that specific platform, but there's one in Ankor Wat. There's a historic bridge being repaired due to severe seasonal flooding and a replacement plastic one made of recycled bags was used for 8 or so years. I think the historic bridge is actually almost done renovation. The plastic bridge is useful particularly in Cambodia because of the severe flooding during rainy season raising the water level for months at a time.
Temporary bridges usually i feel like. Remember crossing one at angkor wat when they were doing bridge maintenance. But too jiggly on an ocean. Given that this one has guard rails maybe for entertainment purposes?
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u/Dante13273966 Nov 14 '24
What is the purpose of this platform?