News May 06, 2013
Video! The 'Gar-barge' Debacle Revisited
Retro Report and the New York Times are launching a documentary series aimed at revisiting some of the biggest stories of the past in the “clear light of now.”
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The partners launched their first video on Monday, focusing on the 1987 “Gar-barge” debacle. For those too young to remember… it all started with a businessman hoping to transport trash from New York to North Carolina.
He believed the plan would alleviate garbage problems in NYC, while providing a heat source in North Carolina (by converting it into methane).
When officials in North Carolina and other states turned the boat away, the plan quickly unraveled and the 3,000 tons of floating rubbish became known as the “Gar-barge” and “Barge to Nowhere.”
Looking back, environmentalist and government regulators now admit the idea made business and ecological sense. Watch the video to find out why!
