BajaNomad - The new scourge of remote areas

The new scourge of remote areas

Fatboy - 3-7-2019 at 05:01 PM

I have been seeing more and more of these balloons in remote areas. On one of the rock-pile hikes I saw 7 different ones.

A recent article seems to imply they are also involved in sea bird deaths.

Sea Bird Deaths caused by Balloons

Do we give any thought when we buy these? Probably not, they seem innocent enough at the time.

Yet just as we start to realize what plastic is doing to our environment decades later, hopefully we can be a little more aware of these.

Perhaps it will only be an issue for those that travel in more remote areas where they are so out of place.

balll.jpg - 244kB

David K - 3-7-2019 at 05:03 PM

I often wonder about those nighttime flaming paper bag launches, too!

Fatboy - 3-7-2019 at 05:14 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K

I often wonder about those nighttime flaming paper bag launches, too!

Not to excuse it but hopefully they mostly burn and paper does degrade faster than this mylar and is less deadly to wildlife.

David K - 3-7-2019 at 05:23 PM

10-4... what about forest fires???

StuckSucks - 3-7-2019 at 05:58 PM

I was in remote southeastern California a year ago when I saw this low-flying red blob floating across the sky, so I followed it until it was plucked out of the sky by a thoughtful tree. With some deflation, it fit nicely in my backseat.

Fatboy - 3-7-2019 at 06:01 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K

10-4... what about forest fires???

Well, again, not to downplay something, I do not believe that is what is causing our fires here in CA.

But.... :?:

Fatboy - 3-7-2019 at 06:03 PM

Quote: Originally posted by StuckSucks

I was in remote southeastern California a year ago when I saw this low-flying red blob floating across the sky, so I followed it until it was plucked out of the sky by a thoughtful tree. With some deflation, it fit nicely in my backseat.

See that seems like a perfect example, who knows how far that traveled and luckily someone was there to clean it up. Thank You for that!

thebajarunner - 3-7-2019 at 06:06 PM

The mylar balloons that are so popular will stay inflated for days, maybe weeks,
Put one up in the tradewinds and it will carry hundreds of miles before it finally slowly deflates and settles to earth
They are really bad news for power lines, but never heard of them killing sea birds.

Fatboy - 3-7-2019 at 06:26 PM

Quote: Originally posted by thebajarunner

The mylar balloons ... bad news for power lines, but never heard of them killing sea birds.

The link I posted covers it and the article says ...

“Balloons or balloon fragments were the marine debris most likely to cause mortality, and they killed almost one in five of the seabirds that ingested them,” said the study’s lead author, Lauren Roman, a doctoral student at the University of Tasmania.

Now while it does not say what kinds of balloons, the link they give for "balloons" says this...

For animals, both mylar and latex balloons pose a deadly threat. Animals can become entangled in strings, or try to eat them, which will block their digestive systems and cause them to starve to death. Sadly, this has been a tragic fate met by both animals on land, and at sea …especially for species like sea turtles, who mistake them for jellyfish.

[Edited on 3-8-2019 by Fatboy]

StuckSucks - 3-7-2019 at 06:29 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Fatboy

See that seems like a perfect example, who knows how far that traveled and luckily someone was there to clean it up. Thank You for that!

It contained love notes written in Spanish.

thebajarunner - 3-7-2019 at 06:58 PM

Erroll Flynn, the long ago movie actor wrote an autobiography.
Told about his boyhood days and the evil pranks they pulled.
They would tie the greasiest piece of pork gristle they could find to a long monofilament fishing line and toss it in the back yard which was full of geese.
(You know the old say "like sh*t through a goose....")
So, the next morning all the geese in the yard would be connected by one long line.....

OK, I repent, on to the next subject

BajaTed - 3-7-2019 at 08:04 PM

I live by Disneyland and the city has a big issue with power outages caused by the balloons.

wilderone - 3-7-2019 at 08:17 PM

Maybe helium filled balloons should be banned like plastic straws, Styrofoam take-out containers, plastic bags. People can do without helium-filled balloons. A replacement would soon be invented.

Maderita - 3-7-2019 at 08:30 PM

Mylar balloons, launched from Tijuana to Ensenada, often fail to clear the escarpment and crash in the Sierra de Juárez . I've encountered numerous balloons in some odd places: horseback riding off trail, technical climbing on granite crags. Once caught one on the fly, before it landed. A few have had notes attached. One had a name and Tijuana address. I returned the note to the "flight operations director" with a map of the location where it had crash landed...

DanO - 3-7-2019 at 10:11 PM

Quote: Originally posted by thebajarunner

Erroll Flynn, the long ago movie actor wrote an autobiography.
Told about his boyhood days and the evil pranks they pulled.
They would tie the greasiest piece of pork gristle they could find to a long monofilament fishing line and toss it in the back yard which was full of geese.
(You know the old say "like sh*t through a goose....")
So, the next morning all the geese in the yard would be connected by one long line.....

OK, I repent, on to the next subject

Uh, glad I was eating dinner when I read that. Thanks very much. :barf:

[Edited on 3-8-2019 by DanO]

55steve - 3-7-2019 at 10:30 PM

Our ocean off Socal/Baja is full of mylar balloons. We make a habit of gaffing as many as possible - on any given offshore
trip we average around 10 or so.

Here's a Mothers Day balloon and a bag of trash.

[Edited on 3-8-2019 by 55steve]

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Bubba - 3-8-2019 at 05:56 AM

It's pretty disgusting. They banned plastic bags here a couple of yrs ago and I love it. Working on Styrofoam now.

John Harper - 3-8-2019 at 06:44 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Bubba

It's pretty disgusting. They banned plastic bags here a couple of yrs ago and I love it. Working on Styrofoam now.

The transition to reusable bags was painless, have no idea what the big issue was. Except the disposable bag manufacturer's lobby.

John

Bubba - 3-8-2019 at 07:54 AM

Quote: Originally posted by John Harper

Quote: Originally posted by Bubba

It's pretty disgusting. They banned plastic bags here a couple of yrs ago and I love it. Working on Styrofoam now.

The transition to reusable bags was painless, have no idea what the big issue was. Except the disposable bag manufacturer's lobby.

John

Exactly. Styrofoam is just as bad, if not worse. I see that crap everywhere, including washed up on the beaches and floating on some of the kelp paddies 60 miles off shore.

mtgoat666 - 3-8-2019 at 08:18 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Bubba

Quote: Originally posted by John Harper

Quote: Originally posted by Bubba

It's pretty disgusting. They banned plastic bags here a couple of yrs ago and I love it. Working on Styrofoam now.

The transition to reusable bags was painless, have no idea what the big issue was. Except the disposable bag manufacturer's lobby.

John

Exactly. Styrofoam is just as bad, if not worse. I see that crap everywhere, including washed up on the beaches and floating on some of the kelp paddies 60 miles off shore.

How to clean up the world:
Ban single-use plastic bags
Ban helium ballons
Ban single-use styrofoam fast food packaging
Mandatory vehicle fuel economy standards
Mandatory diets for fat people
Use tax policy to effect social engineering (e.g tax penalty if you buy/own a significantly polluting vehicle, boat, house, business)

wilderone - 3-8-2019 at 08:53 AM

"have no idea what the big issue was" Billions of them ended up in places that did harm to wildlife and ecosystems (Pacific Garbage Patch)

Tens of thousands of whales, birds, seals and turtles are killed every year from plastic bag litter in the marine environment as they often mistake plastic bags for food such as jellyfish. Plastic bags, once ingested, cannot be digested or passed by an animal so it stays in the gut.

"September 5, 2018. By Dr. Lauren Palmer, Veterinarian at Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles
In 2017 [at the Marine Mammal Care Center, located in San Pedro] there were seven cases of pinnipeds that died as a result of garbage ingestion. In 2017 plastic bags, small pieces of broken plastic, sponge like substances, and even a small piece of cloth, were found in the stomachs of deceased sea lions. One harbor seal died with a piece of cloth stuck in the intestine. Compared to historical averages seven animals dying with evidence of garbage ingestion is quite high and probably underestimates the true number as there are likely to be many more animals that did not make it to shore alive or were not examined."

At least have signs or tags on helium-filled balloons that advise to use responsibly, dispose appropriately, causes environmental harm. Plastic bags have warnings of suffocation of children; same idea - death by ingestion by wildlife. Human beings are responsible for this situation.

John Harper - 3-8-2019 at 09:31 AM

Quote: Originally posted by wilderone

"have no idea what the big issue was" Billions of them ended up in places that did harm to wildlife and ecosystems (Pacific Garbage Patch)

My comment was in reference to the political resistance over banning the stupid bags, not the damage they do. I don't think any of us disagree with that issue.

All the bellyaching about switching to reusable bags was just a "tempest in a teapot" since society seems to have transitioned to reusable bags quite seamlessly.

John

wilderone - 3-8-2019 at 10:22 AM

"society seems to have transitioned to reusable bags quite seamlessly"
so true, also when citizens in our town were required to recycle, using two separate trash cans. Paper straws were common before plastic ones. Wax lined, recycled thin cardboard take-out containers are doable. Prisoner labor in Sri Lanka lowers the cost (!). There will always be resistance to change - usually by somebody who has a dog in the race - the small restaurant owners who said switching from Styrofoam containers to paper would cost 5 cents more per carton and hurt their bottom line. So charge 10 cents for any take-out container, the same as we're charged for plastic bags. I would not balk at that at all. I was charged 1 peso for a paper bag in a bakery in Mexico.

Bagging

MrBillM - 3-8-2019 at 10:38 AM

So-called "single use" Poly bags are available by the case from (among others) Amazon.com. $18.53/900. Just over 2 cents each. I keep a minimum of one case in reserve.