This is an actual tweet from Elon Musk’s Twitter account following one of several Falcon 9 crash landings. Each time one of these rockets hit the landing pad and toppled over, debris and toxins fell into the ocean and were allowed to stay there.
This would never be permitted to happen on land. Debris would be collected and disposed, and a proper cleanup of any environmental hazards would be mandated. People would demand it.
When it comes to the ocean, however, we seem to take an “out of sight, out of mind” approach. For some reason, companies, governments and individuals pretend it’s not a problem because the debris quickly vanishes to the depths of the sea, and is forgotten.
If Musk’s rockets were littering the landscape of the U.S., people would be outraged. They should be just as outraged, however, by the fact that they are littering the ocean floor. We, along with billions of people from around the world, eat from those oceans. This garbage does not belong in our waters.
In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, Blue Ocean Environmental has issued formal requests of the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and NASA regarding the location and contents of the rocket debris that went into the ocean as a result of these landings. We expect a response within 20 days, as required by law. We will keep you posted as to what we learn from our inquiry.
This practice must be stopped. Out of sight is not out of mind.
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