plasticized_the commodification of plastic waste in the pacific

PLASTICIZED_the commodification of plastic wasteKATHERINE MARCYAN M.ARCH THESIS 2015

LEXICONPage 9-10

THESIS STATEMENTpage 5-6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A NEW NETWORKPage 12-30The life cycle of plasticPlastic extractionThe IINC Northeast Pacific Gyre OutpostThe Inundation of Pacific Islands

POLITICS OF THE PACIFICPage 62-71Colonialism of the Pacific United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea

ReferencesPage

TECHNOLOGIESPage 46-61

The Ocean Clean Up Project Plastic StationOff Shore Oil Platform

Plastic 2Oil MachinePolynesian Outrigger Canoes

TELLING A WORLD1-45Plastic ManufactoringPacific Trash VortexKamilo & Kanuku Beach Cleanup

THESIS STATEMENT

Plasticized: the Commodification of Plastic Waste

Coined by Timothy Morton as “entities of such vast temporal and spatial dimensions that they defeat traditional ideas about what a thing is in the first place”, hyperobjects have existed long before the anthropocene and will continue to exist long after. None the less humans have managed to have a profound impact on the creation of some hyperobjects including climate change and plastic waste. This thesis positions itself where the two hyper-objects collide by promoting the collection of plastic waste, transformation of it into petroleum, and redistribution of the petroleum to worldwide markets for economic gains. With this new source of revenue island states under the threat of inundation can reappropriate existing technologies such as float-ing construction methods, wind, solar, and wave energy as well as finance research to further development for new technologies to build a floating na-tion. The thesis theorizes that by leveraging rather than seeking to contain the hyperobjects of the Pacific, a new aquatic urbanism will emerge. The project concerns itself with the geopolitics of waste within the realm of the Pacific by proposing the creation of a committee of the United Nations (the inundated island Nation coalition) to internationally represent these island states while manifesting itself in the form of a trading outpost and plastic refinery sited within the Northeast Pacific Gyre and projecting expansion into other regions of the world.

An Empire of PlasticOf a 42 gallon barrel of crude oil, half is used in the production petroleum products while the by-products, hydrocarbons, are converted into plastic. Current worldwide plastic production is estimated at 300 million tons a year. It has been reported that plastics accounts for 80% of the $ 3 trillion annual revenue of the international chemical industry. This thesis projects into a fictitious, yet all too plausible future where the extraction of fossil fuels and thus the production of plastics is a mere memory. For a time, the recycling of plastic is at an all-time high transforming what was once waste into a prized commodity.

Setting the Stage Every hour humans discard an estimated 2.5 million plastic containers into the world’s oceans where given time, the majority is sucked into the vortex that is the Northeast Pacific Gyre, amassing into an amorphous “island” of waste known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Researchers believe the area of this patch to be twice the size of Texas and at a depth of 300 meters. The Gyre lies in international waters far beyond the territorial jurisdiction of any one nation. Humans created it yet humans refuse to lay claim over it. It is undesirable waste yet what if this waste suddenly became a valuable resource? Simultaneously 2,000 NM south of the gyre island nations such as Kiribati and Tuvalu brace themselves for the inevitable inundation of their homeland as rising sea levels threaten to sink the atolls. Some experts predict complete submersion by the end of the century. Armed with little to no eco-nomic capital the inhabitants will be the first climate change refugees of this century.

The NarrativeThe year is 2020, the location, 38N-145W or the center of the Northeast Pacific Gyre. After the success of the Ocean Cleanup Project many mega corporations such as Royal Dutch Shell and British Petroleum, and Exxon Mobil decide to abandon the massive offshore oil rigs in favor of the smaller, less expensive plastic collection stations. The Pacific has now become a plastic waste field as these stations spring up tens of nautical miles apart harvesting the now precious plastic and storing it until it can be shipped to the back to shore for refinement. The stations require very little maintenance and as a result workers only visit the site once every 45 days to empty the station’s holding cistern. Meanwhile IINC has managed to seize an abandon oil platform and relocate it to the Northeast Pacific Gyre. This newly reno-vated plastic refinery serves as a trading post and colony for the many plastic extraction workers (or scavengers as the oil companies call them). The IINC pays the workers based on commission, refines the plastic into petroleum, and then ships it out on freights to the very nations that discarded the plastic in the first place. With the profits split between the IIC nations the funds have supported research into aquatic infrastructure that will withstand the inunda-tion of the islands while giving these nations financial independence not seen since before the 19th century.

LEXICON

PHOTODEGRADE(V)Syllabification: pho·to·de·gradePronunciation: /fōdōde grād /

Of a substance or object) be decomposed by the action of light, especially sunlight

-Oxford Dictionary

GYRE(N)

Syllabification: gyrePronunciation: /’jī(e)r /

A spiral; a vortexGeography_ A circular pattern of currents in an ocean basin

-Oxford Dictionary

PLASTIC(N)Syllabification: plas·ticPronunciation: /’plastik /A synthetic material made from a wide range of organic polymers such as poly-ethylene, PVC, nylon, etc., that can be molded into shape while soft and then set into a rigid or slightly elastic form.

-Oxford Dictionary

WASTE(N)Syllabification: wastePronunciation: /wāst /An act or instance of using or expending something carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose: Material that is not wanted; The gradual loss or diminution of something: the unusable remains or byproducts of something-Oxford Dictionary

Coalition(N)

Syllabification: co·a·li·tionPronunciation: / kōeliSH(e)n/

An alliance for combined action, especially a temporary alliance of political parties forming a government or of states:

-Oxford Dictionary

INUNDATION(N)

Syllabification: in·un·da·tionPronunciation: /inen’dāSH(e)n/

Flooding -Oxford Dictionary

WASTE(N)Syllabification: wastePronunciation: /wāst /An act or instance of using or expending something carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose: Material that is not wanted; The gradual loss or diminution of something: the unusable remains or byproducts of something-Oxford Dictionary

COMMODIFICATION(V)Syllabification: com·mod·i·fi·ca·tionPronunciation: / ke,mädefekāSH(e)n/The action or process of treating something as a mere commodity:-Oxford Dictionary

HYPEROBJECT(N)

Syllabification: hy·per·ob·jectPronunciation: / hīper äbjekt/

“Entities of such vast temporal and spatial dimensions that they defeat traditional ideas about what a thing is in the first place.”

-Timothy Morton

A NEW NETWORK

FIJI

NEW CALDONIA

SAMOAAMERICAN SAMOA

TUVALU

TONGA

NAURU

VANUATU

FRENCH POLYNESIA

KIRIBATI

KIRIBATI

KIRIBATI

SOLOMON ISLANDS

MARSHALL ISLANDS

MIDWAY

NIUE

MICRONESIA

GUAM

NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS

JARVIS ISLAND

HOWLARD + BAKER ISLANDS

WAKE ISLAND

JOHNSTON ATOLL

PALMYRA ATOLLPALAU

CANADA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

MEXICO

PANAMA

EL SALVADORNICARAGUA

HONDURASGUATEMALA

COSTA RICA

ECUADOR

PERU

CHILE

EASTER SLAND

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

JAPAN

CHINA

N KOREA

S KOREA

RUSSIA

TAIWAN

PHILIPPINESVIETNAM

SINGAPORE INDONESIA

MALAYSIA

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

AUSTRALIA

THAILAND

NEW ZEALAND

USA

COLOMBIA

NORFOLK ISLAND

WALLIS + FUTUNA ISLANDS

PITCAIRN ISLAND

COOK ISLANDS

TOKELAU

NZ

AUS

INA

FR

USAJP

CL

180° 155° 135° 120° 105° 90° 75° 60°135°120°105°90° 155°

30°

45°

30°

15°

0°

60°

15°

60°

45°

EQUATOR

EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONES

SHIPPING LANES

CURRENTS

PROPOSED PLASTIC NETWORK

CURRENT PLASTIC NETWORKPROPOSED OUTPOST LOCATION

THE LIFE CYCLE OF PLASTIC

Plastic photodegrades into tiny pieces of micro-plastic

FIJI

NEW CALDONIA

SAMOAAMERICAN SAMOA

TUVALU

TONGA

NAURU

VANUATU

FRENCH POLYNESIA

KIRIBATI

KIRIBATI

KIRIBATI

SOLOMON ISLANDS

MARSHALL ISLANDS

MIDWAY

NIUE

MICRONESIA

GUAM


JARVIS ISLAND


WAKE ISLAND

JOHNSTON ATOLL

PALMYRA ATOLLPALAU

CANADA


MEXICO

PANAMA

EL SALVADORNICARAGUA

HONDURASGUATEMALA

COSTA RICA

ECUADOR

PERU

CHILE

EASTER SLAND

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

JAPAN

CHINA

N KOREA

S KOREA

RUSSIA

TAIWAN

PHILIPPINESVIETNAM

SINGAPORE INDONESIA

MALAYSIA

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

AUSTRALIA

THAILAND

NEW ZEALAND

USA

COLOMBIA

NORFOLK ISLAND

WALLIS + FUTUNA ISLANDS

PITCAIRN ISLAND

COOK ISLANDS

TOKELAU

NZ

AUS

INA

FR

USAJP

CL

180° 155° 135° 120° 105° 90° 75° 60°135°120°105°90° 155°

30°

45°

30°

15°

0°

60°

15°

60°

45°

EQUATOR

EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONES

SHIPPING LANES

CURRENTS

PROPOSED PLASTIC NETWORK

CURRENT PLASTIC NETWORKPROPOSED OUTPOST LOCATION

THE LIFE CYCLE OF PLASTIC

Plastic photodegrades into tiny pieces of micro-plastic

The Life Cycle of PlasticPlastic is a byproduct of petroleum extraction. After it is refined into plastic and transformed into a product (mainly single use containers) it makes its way to the consumer whom inevitably disposes of it. whether it is recycled or placed in the trash the vast majority of plastic in the United States ends up in a landfill where it is washed downstream into the water ways and makes its way into the ocean. Once in the ocean the currents carry the plastic across hundreds of thou-sands of miles to distant shores or to the center of the gyres. This process takes years to decades depending on where the objects enter the ocean. For example Japanese items from the tsunami of 2011 reached US shores as early as 2013 riding the strong Kuroshio Current while other items will remain in the gyre or sink the bottom of the ocean where researchers believe up to 70% of the ocean’s plastic waste resides. 80% of this waste is land base where naval vessels only account for 20% of ocean pollution. Once in the water plastic photo degrades breaking down into microplastics while releasing toxins into the ocean and absorbing others. Many sea creatures are affected by the presences of plastic, causing physical damage such as sea turtles getting caught in ghost nets (tangled plastic nets) and fish and albatross eating plastic , or environmental as invasive species attach to the plastic and ride it across the ocean to foreign ecosystems. Because fish have been contaminated by plastic it is virtually impos-sible for humans to eat fish from seas and even fresh water lakes without digesting plastic themselves. The proposed plastic network integrates itself within this al-ready vast life cycle of plastic. The goal is to collect the plastic in the Pacific, chemically transform it into petro-leum, and then redistribute it into the world market.

Small vessel docking

Plastic to oil refinery equipment

Deep sea SPAR oil rigreappropriated for plastic refinery use

Worker and visitor lodging

The Inundated Island Nations Coalition Northeast Pacific Gyre Outpost

Islet of Tarawa Island, Kiribati 2015

Islet of Tarawa Island, Kiribati, 2045

Islet of Tarawa Island, Kiribati 2075

Islet of Tarawa Island, Kiribati, 2100

Building Framing + Base Aggregation

Rain watercollection storage cells

Footprint of house

PLATFORMOPTIONS

FLOATATIONOPTIONS

Plastic bottles Barge platform

Exterior sidewalks

Patio Yard

Public/PrivateOPTIONS

Fully private Private with open public walkways

Private upper levels public lower level

Private with enclosed public walkway

BALCONYOPTIONS

Exposed side pop-out

Enclosed side pop out

Exposed roof balcony

The Inundation of Kiribati

TELLING A WORLD

Plastic bottle manufacturing plant, Omni Plastics_ Suzhou, ChShell Petrochemicals

“Plastics account for 53% of the material used in packaging... in the United States a third of garbage landfill annually is packaging- 83 mil-lion tons, equivalent to 6.9 million semitrucks. It is the largest category of solid waste, according to the EPA. “-Plastic Oceans, pg 130

“The international chemical industry is worth a reported $3 trillion an-nually, and the plastic part reportedly accounts for up to 80%.”-Plastic Oceans, pg 246

“Current estimates put world wide plastics production at 300 million tons a year, fifteen million tons more than the annual world consumption of meat... .”

-Plastic Oceans, pg 41

“Of a forty-two-gallon barrel of crude oil, 42% will be used to make petroluem products... the rest, lighter fractions are cracked into individual

hydrocarbon compounds... Oil refineries process oil. Chemical plants make things like plastics and pesticides from petroleum by-products.”

-Plastic Oceans, pg 34

A PLASTIC WORLD

KAMCHATKA CURRENT

180° 155° 135° 120° 105° 90° 75° 60°

155°

135°120°105°90° 155°

30°

45°

30°

15°

0°

60°

15°

60°

45°

OYASHIO CURRENT

ALASKA CURRENT

KUROSHIO CURRENT

NORTH PACIFIC CURRENT

NORTH EQUATORIALCURRENT

CALIFORNIA CURRENT

EQUATORIALCURRENT

SOUTH EQUATORIALCURRENT

EAST AUSTRALIA CURRENT

PERU CURRENT

ANTARCTIC CIRCUMPOLAR CURRENT

NORTH EAST PACIFIC GYRE

NORTH WEST PACIFIC GYRE

CONVERGENCE ZONE

SOUTH PACIFIC GYRE

GYRES

COLD CURRENTS

AREAS WITH INTENSE PLASTIC DEBRIS

PACIFIC OCEAN_CURRENTS AND GYRES

WARM CURRENTS

KAMCHATKA CURRENT

180° 155° 135° 120° 105° 90° 75° 60°

155°

135°120°105°90° 155°

30°

45°

30°

15°

0°

60°

15°

60°

45°

OYASHIO CURRENT

ALASKA CURRENT

KUROSHIO CURRENT

NORTH PACIFIC CURRENT

NORTH EQUATORIALCURRENT

CALIFORNIA CURRENT

EQUATORIALCURRENT

SOUTH EQUATORIALCURRENT

EAST AUSTRALIA CURRENT

PERU CURRENT

ANTARCTIC CIRCUMPOLAR CURRENT

NORTH EAST PACIFIC GYRE

NORTH WEST PACIFIC GYRE

CONVERGENCE ZONE

SOUTH PACIFIC GYRE

GYRES

COLD CURRENTS

AREAS WITH INTENSE PLASTIC DEBRIS

PACIFIC OCEAN_CURRENTS AND GYRES

WARM CURRENTS

The Great Pacific Trash Vortex

Every hour humans discard an estimated 2.5 million plastic containers into the world’s oceans where given time, the majority is sucked into the vortex that is the Northeast Pacific Gyre, amassing into an amorphous “island” of waste known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Discovered in 1997 by Cap-tain Charles Moore on a return voyage from a sailing competition, the vortex has inspired the creation of many research and non-profit organizations world-wide such as Algalita Research Institution (founded by Morre), Project Kaisei and Ocean Recovery Alli-ance (both founded by Douglas Woodring) , and The 5 Gyres Project (founded by Marcus Eriksen). These organizations working in tandum with renowned NOAA and Scripps Research Institution estimate the area of this patch to be twice the size of Texas and at a depth of 300 meters. Plastic is not biode-gradable and only photodegrades, breaking down into smaller micro-plastics but on a chemical level, always remaining plastic. The Gyre lies in interna-tional waters far beyond the territorial jurisdiction of any one nation.

Captain Charles Moore with Gyre Sample_Northeast Pacific GyreMatt Cramer, AMRF, 2002

“This is what we found in the middle of the Northeast Pacific Gyre. Mi-croplastic bits weighing on average six times more than plankton in our samples. A total of 27,484 of plastic flakes, chunks, and pellets sifted from an eighty-mile-by-three foot-wide strip of mid-ocean. [we] have calculated 2.7 pounds ofplastic particles per square mile in the 62,458 square-mile study area- the size of Wisconsin- where we pulled our samples , an aver-age of 334,271 per square kilometer. This works out to 84.3 tons of tiny little plastic bits in this tropical Gyre. “-Plastic Oceans, pg 116

“Plastic is like an invasive species. Once established, it doesn’t go away. the oceans, to a point, can assimilate pollutants, even oil. But oil that’s been

catalyzed and converted into a synthetic form, plastic, doesn’t dissipate. It accumulates. Its presence on earth grows by 300 million tons each year.”

-Plastic Ocean, pg 118

NORTHEAST PACIFIC GYRE

Plastic Pollution in Manila Bay_ Manila, PhJoshua Mark Dalupang, EPA

A scavenger in a dugout canoe paddles through a sea of garbage along a Manila waterway_ Manila, PhJAY DIRECTO/AFP/Getty Images, 2005

Kamilo Beach Sunrise_Hawaii, USASuzanne Fraser, B.E.A.C.H.

Kahuku & Kamila Beach Cleanup, Hawaii

“On the southeast coast of Hawai’i Island, the small 1 km cove near Kamilo Point accumulates tons of the debris escaping the gyre. The natural combina-tion of local currents, strong onshore winds in this region, and the low sandy beach appear to make it an ideal deposition site for floating debris. However, we humans must take the blame for the presence of this non-natural debris in the ocean.

Aproximately 15 – 20 tons of debris wash ashore here annually. About every other month, HWF coordinates a community-based cleanup effort at the “dirt-iest” section of this coastline. On average, they bag and remove about 3,600 lbs. of marine debris in a single day’s effort. By weight, about 62% (199,600 lbs.) of the total debris removed has been derelict fishing net bundles. Nets are generally pulled from the shoreline using a specialized winch/cable and hook setup connected to the HWF pickup. About once a year HWF ships about seven tons of these nets to O’ahu in a donated 40’ Matson® container for inclusion in NOAA’s Nets-to-Energy program where they are burned to create household electricity. The remaining 38% (120,500 lbs.) of the debris removed includes a wide variety of colors, shapes, sizes, and functions but almost all of which (>90%) are composed of plastics. Finds range from everyday items like shampoo bottles, combs and toothbrushes; fishing industry items like buoys, hagfish eel traps and glowsticks; mariculture leftovers like oyster spaces; children’s items like army toys; and a remarkable number of unidentifiable bits and pieces, broken fragments and resin pellets (aka “nurdles”). Some of the more interesting debris items include a full-size refrigerator with Japanese kanji, a military box with Soviet Union tags, and a select few glass floats made in Norway, Korea or Japan.”

-Restoring “Plastic Beach” Back to Kamilo Point, 2013

Plastic Debris on Kahuku Shoreline_Oahu, USANina Wu, 2011

Plastic Sand_Kamilo Beach, Hawii, USAJeffery Ernst, AMRF, 2007

TECHNOLOGIES

Ocean Cleanup Station 3_ Northeast Pacific GyreThe Ocean Cleanup

The Ocean Cleanup“The Ocean Cleanup develops technologies to extract, prevent, and intercept plastic pollution. The Ocean Cleanup’s goal is to fuel the world’s fight against oceanic plastic pollution, by initiating the largest cleanup in history. Boyan Slat is The Ocean Cleanup’s founder who, while diving in Greece at age 16 became frustrated by coming across more plastic bags than fish. He then wondered: “Why can’t we clean this up?” While still in secondary school, he decided to dedicate half a year of research to understand plastic pollution and the prob-lems associated with cleaning it up. This ultimately led to the passive cleanup concept, which he presented at a TEDx conference in 2012. To be able to show the concept he envisioned is technically feasible and financially viable, Boyan Slat paused his life as a first-year Aerospace Engineering student, to focus all his time to developing it. Together with a team of 100 people, The Ocean Cleanup commenced on an extensive feasibility study. On June 3rd 2014, The Ocean Cleanup presented the 530-page feasibility study report (au-thored by 70 scientists and engineers), which indicated the concept is indeed a feasible method to clean almost half the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in just 10 years.

In the pilot phase, The Ocean Cleanup will now work towards a large-scale and operational pilot in 3-4 years’ time. To get the funding needed to start the pilot phase, The Ocean Cleanup raised over 2 million dollars through crowd fund-ing. In 2012, The Ocean Cleanup Array was awarded Best Technical Design at the Delft University of Technology. Boyan Slat has been recognized as one of the 20 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs Worldwide (Intel EYE50), and was awarded the Sustainable Entrepreneurship Award in 2014.

After collecting almost half a ton of plastic from the Hawaiian shoreline, The Ocean Cleanup measured how degraded the plastic was, which turned out to be surprisingly positive. With this knowledge we continued testing, and proved ocean plastic is suitable to be turned into oil. We have also been testing whether or not the plastic can be turned into new materials through mechani-cal recycling, with promising results.”

-The Ocean Cleanup, 2014

segmented inner tube for flotation (Ø 1.5m)

5m

The Ocean Cleanup Boom system

10m 20m0m

Non-permeable skirt (3m)Ballast (sand)

Load carring cable (steel)

Catenary taut leg configurationmooring line

Boom system

The Ocean Cleanup station

Ø 11.4m

41m

16m

6,000m³

Mooring lines 3x(120° from each other)

Mesh Conveyor

20m

Battery compartment

Ballast

Solar Deck

SPAR Steel Hull Offshore Oil Rig Platform

Damage control bulkhead

Flare boom

Variable ballastMooring fairleads

Strakes

Boat docking

Tanks used for trimming during tow out andinstatllation

Workover rig

Production riserbuoyancy cans

Seawater fills centerwell

Open to the sea

+125’ Drilling deck+100’ Production deck+75’ Cellar deck-55’ Deck 10Deck 9

Deck 8

Deck 7

Deck 6

Deck 5

-220’ Deck 4

Deck 3

Deck 2-650’ Deck 1

SPAR Offshore Oil Rig PlatformThere are many different offshore oil platform designs used across the globe but the tried and true SPAR platform is the most reliable design for deep sea drilling withstanding open sea conditions.

“Today’s oil rigs are truly gigantic structures. Some are basically floating cities, employing and housing hundreds of people. Other massive production facili-ties sit atop undersea towers that descend as far as 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) into the depths - taller than the world’s most ambitious skyscrapers. In an effort to sustain their fossil fuel dependency, humans have built some of the largest floating structures on Earth.”

“The drilling platform sits atop a giant, hollow cylindrical hull. The other end of the cylinder descends around 700 feet (213 meters) into the ocean depths. While the cylinder stops far above the ocean floor, its weight stabilizes the platform. A network of taunt cables and lines trail out from the cylinder to secure it to the ocean floor in what is called a lateral catenary system. The drill string descends down through the length of the cylinder’s interior and down to the ocean floor.” - Robert Lamb, 2008

Processor No. 3 at JBI’s Niagara Falls, NY, USA Plastic2Oil

Plastic2Oil

“With its revolutionary Plastic2Oil (P2O) technology, JBI has pioneered the development of a process that derives ultra-clean, ultra-low sulphur fuel which does not require further refining, directly from unwashed, unsorted waste plastics.”

-Plastic2Oil, 2014

Plastic Refinery Equipment

Burn chamber

Smoke scrubber

Draft fan

Chimney

Cooling tower

Waste gas burner

Condensers

Sync gas recycling system

Distillation column

Chamber

Plastic2Oil

“The conversion ratio for waste plastic into fuel averages 86%.Approximately 1 gallon of fuel is extracted from 8.3 lbs. of plastic.The processor uses its own off-gases as fuel (approximately 10-12% of pro-cess output); minimal energy is required to run the machine.Approximately 2-4% of the resulting product is Petcoke (Carbon Black), a high BTU fuel.Emissions are lower than a natural gas furnace of similar size, and the quality of the emissions improve with increased feed rates.”

-Plastic2Oil, 2014

Vaka Taurua (Maori double sailing canoe)

Vaka (main hull)

Akas (crossbeams)

Manu(stern and bow pieces)

Crab Claw Sail

The Tepukei ( Melanesian/ Polynesian ocean-going proa)

Crab Claw Sail

Vaka (main hull)

Ama (windward hull)

Akas (crossbeams)

Makoko Floating School, Lagos, NigeriaNLE

Makoko Floating School

“A new initiative aimed at assisting the clustered Makoko community area of Lagos, South-West Nigeria to adapt to the effect of climate change has re-sulted in the construction of a floating school, courtesy of NLE- an architectur-al firm with the support of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Africa Adaptation Programme and Heinrich Boll Stiftung.

The Floating school, designed in a triangular shape on two floors to with-stand wind and sea level rise, is built on water with planks and light materials sourced locally.”

-Kayode Aboyeji, 2013

POLITICS OF THE PACIFIC

1899 TRIPARTITE CONVENTIONpartitioned the Samoan Islands into German Samoa and American SamoaGermany gives Solomon Islands and Tonga to uK

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIAUK commonwealth 1901

UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

REPUBLIC OF FIJIrepublic 1987

INDEPENDENT STATE OF SAMOAsoverign state 1962

NIUENZ associated state 1974

COOK ISLANDSNZ associated state 1965

NEW ZEALANDUK commonwealth 1852

REPUBLIC OF NAURUrepublic 1968

SOLOMON ISLANDSUK commonwealth 1978

REPUBLIC OF KIRIBATIrepublic 1979

NEW CALDONIAFR special collectivity 1999

FRENCH POLYNESIAFR overseas collectivity 2003

FRENCH REPUBLIC

REPUBLIC OF VANUATUsovereign state 1980British-French condominium 1906-1980

WORLD WAR I1914-1918

SECOND SAMOAN CIVIL WAR1898

LEAGUE OF NAITONS1920-1946

UNITED STATES MINOR OUTLYING ISLANDS TRUST TERRITORY OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDSunited nations 1947-1951

UNITED NATIONS1945

COMPACT OF FREE ASSOCIATION1985

HOWLAND AND BAKER ISLANDSUSA unincorporated territory 1974

PALMYRA ATOLL USA incorporated territory 1912

WAKE ISLANDUSA unincorporated territory 1899

MIDWAY ATOLL USA unincorporated territory 1867

KINGMAN REEFUSA unincorporated territory 1860

JOHNSTON ATOLLUSA unincorporated territory 1859

JARVIS ISLANDUSA incorporated territory 1856


GUAMUSA unincorporated territory 1950

AMERICAN SAMOAUSA unincorporated territory 1967

REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDSsovereign state 1979

FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA sovereign state 1984

REPUBLIC OF PALAUsovereign state 1994

COMMONWEALTH OF NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDSUSA commonwealth 1978

WORLD WAR II1939-1945

KINGDOM OF SPAIN

TREATY OF PARIS 1898Spain gives Guam and the Philippines to USA

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR1898

GERMAN-SPANISH TREATY OF 1899Spain gives Northen Mariana Islands to Germany

League of Nations Trusteeship 1914German territoties, German Samoa +Nauru (German Marshall Islands) given to UK

TUVALUUK commonwealth 1978

KINGDOM OF TONGAsovereign state 1970

EVENT ACTIONNATION PUBLIC ENTITYCONNECTION PREVIOUS ASSOCIATION

COLONIALISM OF THE PACIFIC

FIJI

NEW CALDONIA

SAMOAAMERICAN SAMOA

TUVALU

TONGA

NAURU

VANUATUFRENCH POLYNESIA

KIRIBATI

KIRIBATI

KIRIBATI

SOLOMON ISLANDS

MARSHALL ISLANDS

MIDWAY

NIUE

MICRONESIA

GUAM


JARVIS ISLAND


WAKE ISLAND

JOHNSTON ATOLL

PALMYRA ATOLLPALAU

CANADA


MEXICO

EASTER SLAND

GALA-

JAPAN

N KOREA

S KOREA

RUSSIA

TAIWAN

PHILIPPINES

INDONESIA

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

AUSTRALIA

NEW ZEALAND

USA

NORFOLK ISLAND

WALLIS +FUTUNA ISLANDS

PITCAIRN ISLAND

COOK ISLANDS

TOKELAU

NZ

AUS

FR

USAJP

180° 155° 135° 120° 105° 90°135°120°105° 155°

EQUATOR

INDEPENDENT NATIONS

USA AFFILIATED

COLONIALISM OF THE PACIFIC_PRE SPNISH AMERICAN WAR 1898

UK AFFILIATED

FR AFFILIATED

ES AFFILIATED PT AFFILIATEDDE AFFILIATED

NL AFFILIATED

POLYNESIA

MICRONESIA

MELANESIA

FIJI

NEW CALDONIA

SAMOAAMERICAN SAMOA

TUVALU

TONGA

NAURU


KIRIBATI

KIRIBATI

KIRIBATI

SOLOMON ISLANDS

MARSHALL ISLANDS

MIDWAY

NIUE

MICRONESIA

GUAM


JARVIS ISLAND


WAKE ISLAND

JOHNSTON ATOLL

PALMYRA ATOLLPALAU

CANADA


MEXICO

EASTER SLAND

GALA-

JAPAN

N KOREA

S KOREA

RUSSIA

TAIWAN

PHILIPPINES

INDONESIA

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

AUSTRALIA

NEW ZEALAND

USA

NORFOLK ISLAND


PITCAIRN ISLAND

COOK ISLANDS

TOKELAU

NZ

AUS

FR

USAJP

180° 155° 135° 120° 105° 90°135°120°105° 155°

EQUATOR

INDEPENDENT NATIONS

USA AFFILIATED

COLONIALISM OF THE PACIFIC_WWII SEPTEMBER 1939

UK AFFILIATED

FR AFFILIATED

JP AFFILIATED

PT AFFILIATED

INA AFFILIATED

POLYNESIA

MICRONESIA

MELANESIA

FIJI

NEW CALDONIA

SAMOAAMERICAN SAMOA

TUVALU

TONGA

NAURU


KIRIBATI

KIRIBATI

KIRIBATI

SOLOMON ISLANDS

MARSHALL ISLANDS

MIDWAY

NIUE

MICRONESIA

GUAM


JARVIS ISLAND


WAKE ISLAND

JOHNSTON ATOLL

PALMYRA ATOLLPALAU

CANADA


MEXICO

EASTER SLAND

GALA-

JAPAN

N KOREA

S KOREA

RUSSIA

TAIWAN

PHILIPPINES

INDONESIA

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

AUSTRALIA

NEW ZEALAND

USA

NORFOLK ISLAND


PITCAIRN ISLAND

COOK ISLANDS

TOKELAU

NZ

AUS

FR

USAJP

180° 155° 135° 120° 105° 90°135°120°105° 155°

EQUATOR

INDEPENDENT NATIONS

USA AFFILIATED

COLONIALISM OF THE PACIFIC_POST WWII 1947

UK AFFILIATED

FR AFFILIATED

AUS AFFILIATED

NZ AFFILIATED

POLYNESIA

MICRONESIA

MELANESIA

National Economic Zones

200 NM Exclusive Economic Zone

24 NM Contiguous Zone

11 NM Territorial Sea

25M 100M 150M50M

+200 NM High Seas

United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea 10 December 1982

Amongst its 320 articles the UN convention laid down rules and guidlines for the world’s oceans and seas including the creation of national economic zones.

National Economic Zones:

11 NM Territorial SeaExclusive enforcement jurisdiction for all matters

24 NM Contiguous Zonejurisdiction for customs, immigration and sanitary matters

200 NM Exclusive Economic ZoneLimited jurisdiction in areas of pollution, marine natural resources, national security

+200 NM High SeasSubject to UNCLOS and other international treaties but freedom of high seas applies. Vessel are subject to the jurisdiction of the flag they fly

All other States have freedom of navigation and overflight in the EEZ, as well as freedom to lay submarine cables and pipelines;

Archipelagic States, made up of a group or groups of closely related islands and interconnecting waters, have sovereignty over a sea area enclosed by straight lines drawn between the outermost points of the islands; the wa-ters between the islands are declared archipelagic waters where States may establish sea lanes and air routes in which all other States enjoy the right of archipelagic passage through such designated sea lanes;

Coastal States share with the international community part of the revenue de-rived from exploiting resources from any part of their shelf beyond 200 miles;

REFERENCES

Morton, Timothy. Hyperobject:Philosophy and Ecology after the End of the World. Minneapolis: Univ of Minnesota Press. 2013

Keenan, Thomas., Weizman, Eyal.Mengele’s Skull: The Advent of Forensic Architecture.Berlin: Sternberg Press/Portikus, 2012

Weizman, Eyal. N0 62:Forensic Architecture: Notes from the Field and Forums. dOCUMENTA (13) Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz,9/6/2012-16/9/2012

Wright, Ronald. A Short History of Prgress. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers. 2004

Weisman, Alan. The World Without Us. Picador. 2007

Moore, Charles., Phillips, Cassandra. Plastic Ocean. New York: Penguin Group, 2011

Angeles, Merci L. Beyond the Mountain of Trash : The People of Smokey Mountain Continue Their Struggle. 2013. http://demilitarize.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Beyond-the-mountain-of-trash.pdf

“Great Pacific Garbage Patch- Pacific Trash Vortex.” - National Geographic Education. National Geographics, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2014. <http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/en-cyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/?ar_a=1>.

Barnaby, Lo. Living Off Toxic Trash in the Philippines, CBSNews. 2010 http://www.cbsnews.com/news/living-off-toxic-trash-in-the-philippines/

Morton, Thomas. “Garbage Island: An Ocean Full of Plastic.” Vice-Documentaries. Vice, 2008. Web. 04 Dec. 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D41rO7mL6zM>.

Wright, Ronald. A Short History of Prgress. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers. 2004

“Algalita | Marine Research and Education.” Algalita Marine Research and Education. Al-galita Marine Research & Education, n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2014. <http://www.algalita.org/>.

Barnaby, Lo. Living Off Toxic Trash in the Philippines, CBSNews. 2010 http://www.cbsnews.com/news/living-off-toxic-trash-in-the-philippines/

Konner, Jeremy, Jeremy Irons, Sarah Bates, and Regie Miller. “The Majestic Plastic Bag - A Mockumentary.” YouTube. YouTube, 2010. Web. 04 Dec. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=GLgh9h2ePYw>.

Morton, Thomas. “Garbage Island: An Ocean Full of Plastic.” Vice-Documentaries. Vice, 2008. Web. 04 Dec. 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D41rO7mL6zM>.

Lamb, Robert. “How Offshore Drilling Works” 10 Sept 2008. HowStuffWorks.com. Web. 29 March. 2015. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/offshore-drilling.htm>

“Ocean Recovery Alliance - Ocean Recovery Alliance.” Ocean Recovery Alliance - Ocean Recovery Alliance. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2014. <http://www.oceanrecov.org/>.

Aboyeji. Kayode. “Flagship floating school berths in Makoko”. 04 March 2013. WorldStage News.Web. 15 Feb. 2015. < http://worldstagegroup.com/index.php?active=news&newscid=7826&catid=44 >.

Weizman, Eyal. Hollow Land: Israel’s Architecture of Occupation. London: Verso, 2007

“Project Kaisei: Capturing the Plastic Vortex.” Project Kaisei. Project Kaisei, n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2014. <http://projectkaisei.org/project-kaisei/>.

“5 Gyres - Understanding Plastic Pollution Through Exploration, Education, and Action.” 5 Gyres – Understanding Plastic Pollution Through Exploration, Education, and Action. N.p., n.d. Web. 03

Dec. 2014. <http://5gyres.org/>.

Hoare, Rose. “Research Ship Finds the World’s Oceans Are ‘plasticized’” CNN World. CNN, 22 May 2012. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2012%2F05%2F21%2Fworld%2Fasia%2Falgalita-eco-solutions%2F>.

“Project Kaisei: Capturing the Plastic Vortex.” Project Kaisei. Project Kaisei, n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2014. <http://projectkaisei.org/project-kaisei/>.

“Scripps Study Finds Plastic in Nine Percent of ‘Garbage Patch’ Fishes.” Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego |. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography, n.d. Web. 04

Dec. 2014. <https://scripps.ucsd.edu/news/1928>.

Islanderparkscience. "Restoring "Plastic Beach" Back to Kamilo Point." Pacific Island National Parks. N.p., 22 Mar. 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.

Hall, Chris. Paradise trashed: The beautiful island in the Maldives that’s been reduced to a pile of rubbish. The DailyMail2012. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/ar-ticle-2162653/Maldives-island-paradise-Thilafushi-trashed-reduced-pile-rubbish.html

”United Nations Convention on Laws of the Sea- Convention & Related Agreements.” UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 29 March. 2015.< http://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_overview_convention.htm>

“ The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” Marine Debris Program. National Oceanic and Atmo-spheric Administration, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2014. <http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/info/patch.html>.

plasticized_the commodification of plastic waste in the pacific

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