Every week we ask you to help us #spreadthelust (STL) and get more people stoked about having a Waterlust state of mind. This week's contest is focused on the theme "artificial"
We live in a finite world with finite resources. In recent decades, humans have had to develop new technologies to access and utilize new and innovative forms of energy, space, and information. Many of these innovations re-use or recycle other, once new objects and ideas.
However, not all things can be re-used or recycled, and much of what we may consider trash has to end up somewhere on this planet... and a good deal of it finds its way into our oceans. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a gyre of marine debris (plastic, chemical sludge, etc.), trapped in the central North Pacific Ocean. The size of the patch is unknown, but estimates of its size range from 700,000 square kilometres (270,000 sq mi) to more than 15,000,000 square kilometres (5,800,000 sq mi -- 8.1% of the size of the Pacific Ocean), or, in some media reports, up to "twice the size of the continental United States." Very sad and very scary.
But, not all wreckage in the ocean is doom and gloom for the marine environment. When certain man-made objects, like vessels (e.g. the Titanic, the ship pictured above), cement structures, or glass bottles, are submerged in water for long periods of time, they can create new habitats that underwater species can utilize for structural growth and aggregation. These structures are called artificial reefs and they have become popular dive sites.
This week we want you to capture images that show anything artificial (man-made) that you find in the ocean. This can be anything from trash you picked up at the beach (major karma points) to photos of marine life you found utilizing man-made structures as a home.
This week's winner gets tons of positive karma along with having their work showcased on our social media outlets. All entries must be submitted between now and October 28, at 12pm EST. They must contain the hashtags #STLartificial and #Waterlust to be eligible. Official rules are published at www.waterlust.org