Brian McGuinn waded through a sea of more than nine tons of garbage. He came to the dump because just days before, he accidentally threw away his wife’s $10,000 diamond engagement ring. Brian needed to find that diamond ring. It was a symbol of his marriage, of his love for his wife, and of their promise to share the rest of their lives with each other.
The Earth Is Growing
We think of islands as being fixed in size, but some do grow. On the Big Island of Hawaii, Kilauea volcano erupted almost continuously from 1983 to 2018. For 35 years, lava poured out, and some of it reached the ocean, which caused the island to grow fresh land. Between 1983 and 2002, the island’s landmass grew by 542 acres.
The House That Rubbish Built
We live in a disposable society and generate tons of garbage each year. Yet one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as Scotsman Angus Carnie discovered when he built a house out of rubbish. After 20 years of working in the recycling industry, the 55-year-old decided to put his skills to good use. In six months, he built a modern house from scratch. And he only used recycled waste in its construction.
Leave Only Footprints
Burn it or bury it. In most places around the world, that’s what we do with our garbage. Pretty grim choices. Burning garbage releases dangerous gasses and dust, which contribute to pollution of the air, land, and water, not to mention global warming. While burying it leads to more pollution of the ground and water. And to make matters worse, tons of garbage – most of it plastic – ends up in the ocean.
Treasure Hunting In The Trash
The process of looking for discarded food is called dumpster diving. Maximus started dumpster diving as a student in Boston. At night, he and his friends jump supermarket fences after the stores close, open up the dumpster and look for edible treasure. On an average night, they find fruits, vegetables, bread, coffee and even processed foods like ravioli in the trash.