<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[SwittersB &amp; Exploring]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[http://swittersb.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[SwittersB &#38; Exploring]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://swittersb.com/author/swittersb/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Eco News: Catch A Whale? Plastic Bags, Sweat Pants or Golf&nbsp;Balls]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p>&#8220;According to <a href="http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/WSeattle-ER.htm">Cascadia Research  Collective</a>, 50 gallons of stomach contents were sorted through.  Most of it was real food<a rel="attachment wp-att-12596" href="https://swittersb.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/eco-news-catch-a-whale-plastic-bags-sweat-pants-or-golf-balls/golf-ball/"><img loading="lazy" data-attachment-id="12596" data-permalink="https://swittersb.com/2010/04/21/eco-news-catch-a-whale-plastic-bags-sweat-pants-or-golf-balls/golf-ball/" data-orig-file="https://swittersb.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/golf-ball.jpg" data-orig-size="116,116" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}" data-image-title="golf ball" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://swittersb.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/golf-ball.jpg?w=116" data-large-file="https://swittersb.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/golf-ball.jpg?w=116" class="alignright size-full wp-image-12596" title="golf ball" src="https://swittersb.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/golf-ball.jpg?w=116&#038;h=116" alt="" width="116" height="116" /></a> &#8211; algae and other bits common to a gray whale  diet &#8211; but also included were  more than 20 plastic bags, small towels,  surgical gloves, sweat pants, plastic pieces, duct tape, and a golf  ball.</p>
<p>If there were any doubt before, there is none now &#8211; the ocean has  become a landfill. However, if there&#8217;s a bit of a silver lining, the  trash made up just about 2% of the total contents, and it doesn&#8217;t seem  to have been the cause of death. But what Cascadia Research points out,  &#8220;It did clearly indicate that the whale had been attempting to feed in  industrial waters and therefore exposed to debris and contaminants  present on the bottom in these areas.&#8221;  <strong><a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/04/washed-up-whale-found-with-gallons-of-our-garbage-in-its-gut.php" target="_blank"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Tree Hugger</span></a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Ok, maybe not he cause of death, but none the less interesting that the whale was vacuuming along in Puget Sound and gathering such diverse stuff. I imagine the guy hitting golf balls from his roof top condo had no idea his pilfered driving range ball would end up in a whale&#8217;s stomach. </strong></p>
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