What Utter Gar-Bage!

I know it's a cartoon, but I maintain that one of the best science fiction TV shows in recent memory is Matt Groening's "Futurama." That show was five seasons of great voice-work, movie-quality animation, butt-kicking humor, and timely, relevant stories (even if it was set in the 31st century).

One of my all-time favorite episodes of "Futurama" (although I can't remember the title) was the one in which we learn that all of Earth's trash was, in the past, gathered into a big ball and shot off the planet. In the episode, the enormous ball of garbage was coming back to Earth, threatening the planet with total and unbearably smelly annihilation, as if a bunch of disgruntled sanitation workers were fans of the movie Armageddon.

Then, in yesterday's newspaper, I saw a story that made me gasp so hard I nearly asphyxiated.

In the Pacific Ocean, there is a swirling mass of plastic waste twice the size of the state of Texas!

Still not quite believing mankind is irresponsible?

This story wouldn't have had nearly the impact it had were it not for the sheer size of this thing. It is now a mobile, naturally artificial island cutting a polluted swath through an ocean that has long been associated with pristine water.

Granted, we do not live in a DVD of South Pacific, but it's still too much to believe.

The city of Seattle is proposing a charge of 20 cents every time you leave the supermarket with disposable plastic bags. If anyone reading this is eligible to vote in the city of Seattle, I implore you to vote the measure in! I'm sure a substantial percentage of that giant piece of crud is made up of plastic bags! Who knows how many fish and other oceanic life forms are dying cruel, horrible deaths because people don't give a crap what happens to their crap?

Today, once again, I am not proud to be a member of the human race.

P.S. You should check out that "Futurama" episode.