Chernobyl compared to, 127
discovery of, 118
Eastern and Western patches, 120
as an ecosystem, 119
fishing net in, 138–39, 146–47
galaxy compared to, 148
inaccessibility of, 120, 148–49
nonvisual nature of, 147–48
not an island, 118, 119, 126, 148
origins of material in, 119–120, 129, 149
plastic confetti in, 126–27, 129
questions needing research, 149–150
size of, 119
varied nature of, 142
voyage from, 151–55
voyage in, 146–151
voyage to, 117–18, 129–146
Greenpeace
on cancer due to Chernobyl, 36
Cargill negotiations, 190–91, 199–200
on Crane Lake, 66
oil sands activism by, 67–68
people excluded from environment by, 179–180
on shipping electronic waste, 207
Guiyu, China, 206–19
described, 205–6
pollution in, 206, 215, 216–17, 219
temple tour by children, 215–16
India
environmentalism in, 248
environmental law in, 260, 261
ghats in, 256, 257, 262–66
holy rivers in, 247–48
judiciary rulings in, 260
as land of contrasts, 249–250
origin of name, 247–48
sexual abuse of children in, 257
crew of, 122–25
daily life on, 135–37
described, 121
going aloft, 142–43
misgivings about, 121–22, 124, 125
oddity of, 123–24
previous Garbage Patch voyage of, 129
propeller fouled by net, 138–39
squall false alarm, 151
steering, 132–33
Kiev
Chernobyl Museum, 3–4
electronics black market, 9–10
fled after Chernobyl accident, 2
journey to Chernobyl from, 14
practices after Chernobyl, 2–3
radiation detector sought in, 6–7, 9–11
radiation levels in, 14, 18
Linfen, China
Audi sales in, 233–36
billboards on outskirts, 229
coal pervading, 232
drum tower in, 222–23
healthy civic life in, 223–24, 225–26
as most polluted city in the world, 220–22, 223, 229–232
Sad Coal Man symbol of, 224–25, 230, 239–240
Spring Festival in, 223–24
tourist attractions in, 227–29
Oil drilling
by big vs. small companies, 106–8
continuing on Spindletop, 103–9, 110–12, 115
equipment for, 104–6
kerosene as original goal of, 76
original Lucas oil well, 75, 76, 88–89, 113, 114–15
process of, 105
stripper fields, 106
Oil sands
air pollution from, 56
amount in Canada, 43
amount of oil produced from, 56–57
as dirty oil, 43–44
duck holocaust due to mining, 41–42, 54
helicopter tour of, 68–71
Keystone XL pipeline from, 73–74
land reclamation, 57, 59, 61–62, 63–66
older dragline system of mining, 54–55
overburden covering, 59
process of removing oil from, 43, 47–48
salaries paid for mining, 55–56
size of mining equipment, 54–55, 58–59
sulfur byproduct from, 48–49, 69
Suncor bus tour of, 50, 53–59
tailings mountain from mining, 69
US attitudes toward, 43, 44
Oil spills
fishing after, 94–95
pelican rescue after, 92–93, 95–97
work generated by, 90–93
Pollution
