Introduction
Technology plays a critical role in addressing contemporary environmental concerns. One of the main challenges facing the world today is the spread of oceanic plastic. The planet’s garbage patches are increasing in size and are a serious threat to marine biodiversity (National Geographic, 2019). Solutions such as the Ocean Cleanup are designed to collect plastic from the oceans and save vital ecosystems that are critical to the earth’s survival.
The Ocean Cleanup
The marine plastic pollution problem is a planetary crisis of epic proportions. It stretches from the world’s poles to remote islands and extends from the ocean depths to the surface (Tekman et al., 2022). The spread of plastic across the oceans and seas is directly linked to human activity. The relatively new phenomenon started with the wide use of plastic after the Second World War (Tekman et al., 2022). The production of plastic has skyrocketed in recent years contributing immensely to the global pollution problem.
Proponents of The Ocean Cleanup technology emphasize the fact that the devices have the capacity to effectively address oceanic plastic pollution. The Ocean Cleanup uses ocean currents and computational modeling devices to predict the movement of plastic and deploy cleanup systems to collect the plastic (The Ocean Cleanup, 2022). However, according to Jones (2022), the technology’s critics contend that the ocean cleanup systems may cause pollution and may lead to the death of sea creatures.
Ocean Cleanup systems are currently operational in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The systems are designed to collect varying sizes of plastic from the sea. The organization that designed the systems contends that their predictive models indicate that ten of their full-sized systems are capable of clearing the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (The Ocean Cleanup, 2022). The institution further estimates that after full deployment, its systems will remove approximately 90% of the ocean’s plastic by 2040 (The Ocean Cleanup, 2022). The Ocean Cleanup’s goal of deploying 60 screens means that the entire project is likely to cost at least 360 million dollars (Rainey, 2019). The organization is currently running its first system, which it claims has demonstrated the effectiveness of its operation.
The main drawback of the technology is the fact that it is likely to endanger marine life. Despite the aforementioned challenges, there is evidence to suggest that the technology is effective. The first system deployed has demonstrated its ability to collect plastic. Reports from the organization responsible for the technology highlight its efficiency by providing evidence of 8400 pounds of plastic waste collected from the system (Jones, 2022). There are indications that the systems are effective at collecting oceanic plastic.
Conclusion
Technology provides numerous solutions to some of the world’s most challenging problems. The Ocean Cleanup is a valiant attempt at ridding the planet of oceanic plastic. Despite strong criticism, the systems deployed have demonstrated their capacity to eliminate pollutants from marine ecosystems. The Ocean Cleanup’s efforts must be lauded given the severity and the challenges associated with the problem they have dedicated themselves to solving.
References
Jones, B. (2022). Why marine biologists think ocean cleanups are a bad idea. Vox. Web.
National Geographic. (2019). Stopping ocean plastic at the source. Web.
Rainey, J. (2019). Ocean Cleanup device breaks down, well before ridding Pacific of plastics. NBC. Web.
Tekman, M. B., Walther, B. A., Gutow, L., & Bergmann, M. (2022). Impacts of plastic pollution in the oceans on marine species, biodiversity and ecosystems. In World Wide Fund for Nature. Web.
The Ocean Cleanup. (2022). Oceans: Cleaning the garbage patches. Web.