Although it is widely known that our biggest garbage dumps
are in fact in the oceans, only recently has serious consideration been given
to solve this problem. We take a quick look at the why and how?
For a long time we have been aware that marine litter is
harmful to biodiversity and us, primarily due to plastic not biodegrading, and
finding its way into the food chain. Further, the tiny particles of plastic
which do enter the food chain can soak up toxic chemicals, compounding the risk1.
It seems policy makers have woken up to these very real
problems, and at Rio in 2012, a commitment to
a “significant reduction” in marine litter by the year 2025 was made2. In Europe ,
marine litter has been recognised as a main threat to achieving ‘good
environmental status’ by 20202.
So it seems the stage has been set for real momentum to tackle this big issue,
but how might we do that?
Well, a young Dutch student thinks he may have the solution.
Boyan Slat, a 19 year old aerospace engineer, has come up with the Ocean
Cleanup Array3. The idea involves anchoring ocean sifters to
seabed, and letting ocean currents do the rest. The aim would be the filter
7.25 million tons of plastic over a five year period4. However, some
potential issues have already been raised, including the hazard to marine
biodiversity.
At the end of May we blogged
about the Protei project5, another potential solution to the ocean
garbage problem. The potential idea here is to combine the developed shape
shifting sailing robot with the power of open source technology. Essentially
meaning that anyone can pick-up the knowledge from this project and apply it to
any suitable problem, including ocean garbage.
What do you think of the Ocean
Cleanup Array? Do you think sailing robots might provide the answer? Are there
any other potential solutions out there?
Sources
1 – http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/oceanography/great-pacific-garbage-patch1.htm
Photo
NOAA's National Ocean Service Flickr Account - CC by 2.0
No comments:
Post a Comment