Journalistic Intentions Writings

Polluting and Cleanup

Polluting and Cleanup by Judith D. (Apondia)Journalism Intentions project 1 4/7/2022

Besides this YouTube there are several others by the ImarEST group, that explain in depth what this article presents.

Do you ever wonder if anything positive is being done to fix the environmental problem of pollution on the earth?

Bryan Slat, a Dutch inventor founded the Ocean Cleanup at the age of 18. It started for Slat, when he was scuba diving in a river at the age of 16. He noticed the plastic pollution and wondered where it all came from. This is a case of a school project turning into a life work.

The accompanying YouTube is about ocean pollution. It's about more than just the pollution occurring. It's about the people who are using their brains and think tanks to solve Ocean pollution.

Let's look at some facts. Approximately 8 million tons of plastic annually enter the ocean. There are 5 major Pacific Garden Patches. Those are places, that exist because of water currents. They are places where masses of polluting plastic congregate within the ocean. Many Garden Patches are the size of the USA or three times the size of France.

Where do the plastics enter the ocean? They flow in from the mouth of rivers.

Plastic doesn't degrade easily; it stays in the water for hundreds of years. If it stays in the water for decades, it sinks. Eventually, covering the ocean floor with whole and broken pieces of degrading plastic.

A proven fact shows plastic is entering the ocean food chain. Even some plankton, that fish and ocean mammals use as a food source, is found to have plastic within their bodies. There are approximately, 700 species affected by the plastic polluting the ocean. More than 100 of them are threatened by extinction. Specifically, threatened by the plastic pollution.

There are A few places in the world where people work by hand to remove polluting plastic from rivers before it enters the oceans. A slow and mind boggling task.

In a 2019 YouTube Slat said, "We need to close the tap." Then he revealed the system that was going to give the world hope.

There are 100,000 rivers in the world. Only about 1000 of those rivers are carrying 80 percent of plastic that flows into the oceans. The Institute of Marine Engineering Science, developed a monitor that could be attached to bridges and would calculate the flow of plastic, that moves in the river currents flowing under the bridge.

Then a robotic floating ship called Interceptor was developed. Interceptor can be used on any river. It is placed on the current within the river, that carries the accumulating plastic to the ocean. Interceptor is not manned by any human. It is totally able to gather and store plastic in bins. It has a computer monitor that is able to communicate to shore when it is full and needs emptied. The computer is also set up to monitor all the working systems of Interceptor.

Some rivers like the one in Jamaica, have special needs. So, the ImarEST works with each river to develop and expand solutions that meet the needs.

The river in Jamaica has gullies, that trap plastic and won't send it properly into an Interceptor. A different kind of barrier is set into place catching the plastic. A special tender is then attached to the barrier, gathering the plastic. The tender is similar to interceptor; smaller and more specific, because of it's attachment to a barrier in the current.

Jamaican people are excited about the new river management. One citizen stated, "It will bring back the fishing industry." Presently, the plastic on the river is interfering with fish near villages. People have to move further from their homes to find enough fish to continue to meet the needs of their communities.

It didn't take long for Interceptor to gain a following of environmental conscious people. Some of the countries who have already put interceptors on rivers within their boundaries are Indonesia, Malasia, Viet Nam, Thailand and the USA.

The above YouTube shows you the 001 system, that is now in place, to strain plastic from the ocean, then deliver it to recycling places on land. Basically, they use large manned ships dragging container systems made of buoys, and netting behind them to strain plastic from the ocean. Of course it is not a simple venture. They incur storms that affect their drag system. Repairs to ships and equipment are a regular part of the work.

At an annual conference of ImarEST in 2021, a new ocean system was revealed. There is a point being made to attempt 90 percent clean of oceans by 2040. Because of that goal, system 002 has been developed and was revealed at the meeting and was implemented in July 2021.

The new plan uses ocean currents along the coastline of the Pacific to move plastics into capture zones. Capture and hold systems were put into place. The plastic is pulled from the ocean, before it spreads by currents into the entire earth water system. New netting systems are pouring the plastics directly into the ships instead of the hand syphoning that was done in the 001 systems.

A project of robotic ships to do the work of gathering the plastic, from the oceans, on a regular basis is being discussed with hopes of design for the future. This work all takes minds and money to accomplish.

Gathered plastic is pulverized into tiny pieces, then remanufactured into usable materials, by factories.

Other think tanks and corporations are attempting to turn waste into energy. Sustainable waste management solutions are being attempted in many countries.

If people can make waste, they can find ways to turn waste into a valuable commodity. We are beginning to see the future right now. When the earth will be a clean, well managed planet.

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