GPS Tracking

Theft of High Priced Items is Priority

High Tech Answers Being Deployed

You know those semis that you pass on the Interstate systems around our nation are carrying lots of merchandise – many thousands of dollars of merchandise.  Groups of thieves have been targeting these trailers for the goods that they carry so that they can steal and profit from them on the black market.

The most popular items to steal are electronics, with food and drinks about even.  The reason is because electronics are in such high demand by consumers, and the food and drinks are very easy to move once they have been stolen.  Pharmaceuticals are popular, too because of their high street value.

Thieves are smart, though, and so a concerted effort is needed by the manufacturers, logistics industry, law enforcement and government to stem the tide of these types of theft.

The First Line of Defense

GPS Tracking devices are considered the first line of defense because they can be used in three ways.  First, to track the big rigs, large ships, and rail engines that provide the horse power to pull their cargo.  These vehicles have already been using satellite-based navigation systems to help monitor the shipping departure and arrival times of their cargo. (more…)

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If people weren’t concerned before about non-biodegradable plastic circulating around in the ocean for hundreds of years, they should be now. It looks like the North Pacific gyre isn’t an isolated human blunder. Another huge, toxic cluster has been discovered in the Atlantic Ocean.

The North Pacific gyre, also known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is pretty well-known today because it has gained infamy as the subject of numerous documentaries and an Oprah television show. The area is about the size of Texas and it’s located about halfway between California and Hawaii. From decades of consumer neglect and carelessness, bazillions of plastic bags, bottles, storage drums, packing materials, traffic cones, rope and what-have-you have found their way into the earth’s major oceans.

How does it get into the ocean? Mostly through the watershed. A watershed is a section of land that, due to its topography, accumulates water that comes in the form of snow or rain, and then eventually drains it into a stream or river, which pools in lakes and eventually makes its way to the ocean.

About 20 percent of garbage is dumped into the ocean from cruise ships and other boats. It’s illegal for ships to dispose of their plastics in the ocean but the rules are not actively enforced. Still more garbage is believed to be transported to the ocean from landfills and purposely dumped.

Plastic is strong and durable. It will break down into tiny bits from being jostled about in the ocean and heated by the sun, but it never really goes away. In parts of the seas where currents converge, the garbage just circulates and pools. Some say, aside from material that has been incinerated, every bit of plastic that has ever been created is still around today in some form. (more…)