McMahon, L. and Fleming, D. (2023, February 27). Ocean Plastic: How Tech Is Being Used to Clean up
Waste Problem. Retrieved August 23, 2023 from, www.bbc.com/news/technology-64744926
The great pacific garbage patch along with other ocean plastics are an extreme threat to ocean ecosystems. However, Boyan Slat began the non-profit, The Ocean Cleanup, and has ever since been looking for ways to clean plastic out of oceans and rivers throughout the world. Slat began the non-profit 10 years ago and has been working tirelessly to innovate a way to clean up the oceans. Slat finally found his solution, by attaching nets to boats, The Ocean Cleanup is able to clear plastic from the most polluted areas of the ocean. Although this seems great, the boats do not make the cleanup net zero. Professor “Richard Lampitt of the National Oceanography Center” believes that stopping plastic from its source will be the most effective and carbon-neutral solution to the situation. The Ocean Cleanup is now focusing on stopping plastic from major rivers instead of releasing fossil fuels chasing down plastics in the ocean.
Nets attached to boats seem like a great idea in concept, and works well as shown in the article, with an expected 1% of Ocean plastics to be hopefully removed come the end of the year. However, unlike the article, I think that emitting Carbon from using the boats to drag in the plastic is not the most terrible thing. In the article it mentions how finding it at the source it would be more environmentally friendly, although already being quite environmentally friendly by removing toxic plastics from the oceans. I do believe it is a good idea to stop the plastic from entering the oceans at the end of rivers, however if they are unsuccessful in completely stopping the plastics from entering the oceans, the nets engineered on the back of the boats seems like a great solution too a terrible problem. Despite this, it looks like they are able to use AI in the ocean and rivers to see where the most heavily polluted areas are, and stop the spread of plastics in our waters, a win-win for the earth and the environment.
I completely agree with your stance on the potential drawbacks of the boats. I think it’s important for the cleaners to be aware though and for them to take preventative measures to not emit excess carbon just the bare minimum. How can the integration of AI technology in identifying and targeting heavily polluted areas contribute to more effective and sustainable solutions for addressing ocean plastic pollution?
Hi Shayla, thank you for your response! I think using AI can track patterns of plastic movement and ultimately help us stop most plastics from entering the oceans at the source. This is obviously much more sustainable than the boats because using AI would allow us to clean up the plastic without emitting carbon through the boats.