

Man (Re)Builds Mexican Island Paradise on 250,000 Recycled Floating Bottles - eru
http://ecoble.com/2007/11/18/250000-bottles-amazing-recycled-mexican-island-paradise/

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xccx
I met this guy Richie in Tulum in 2005, just after hurricane Gilberto tore up
his first island. He plays guitar. His plan to rebuild his island was to
charge admission. I imagine that's how he's paying for it, but he started by
hand. From the video, sounds like the Mexican government wants a piece of the
tourism action, so sounds like Richie wants to teach his island to travel.

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ph0rque
That island was washed ashore by a hurricane in 2005
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_Island>). He has since built a second
island. More info here: <http://www.spiralislanders.com/>

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andyking
On the spiralislanders.com site:

"First tour group... when we arrived we were blown away!"

Made me chuckle, anyway.

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wyclif
Very cool, short video. This guy has the right idea, esp. since the housing
market is collapsing and lending is going to get really tight, not to mention
the low environmental footprint of this "island."

One thing I wish they had asked him, though. What happens when the
bottles/nets begin to deteriorate? (Does he replace bottles on a revolving
basis?)

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jaycee
Plastics degrade into smaller plastic particles. Assuming the land mass above
them is sufficiently rough to entangle rising particles, the degraded material
would still provide buoyancy, and simply contribute to the underlayer of the
island.

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stupiduser
Plastic is heavier than water; are you suggesting that plastic bottles degrade
into smaller plastic bottles?

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Tichy
That would be so cute!!!

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maxklein
Where does he have the money to do this from? It must be quite expensive. Does
he work in insurance or something, and this is his hobby?

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dkokelley
The video says he moved to Mexico and started collecting bottles for cash. I
imagine that at first he wanted a super-simple lifestyle and then decided that
this would make a great hobby.

I don't think he has much money but he has a lot of time and the skills (he
was a carpenter) to make it happen.

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hugh
Ah, so that's why those homeless people keep stealing bottles out of my trash.

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dkokelley
What I want to know is this:

What kind of internet speeds does he get on his island?

