Hey Stemfam, I am writing this article to inform you about something you need to know about and leave you inspired to take action to help be a part of the solution. We have a huge garbage problem here on planet earth and most of our waste is in the form of used plastic. Plastics have been used commercially for 60 years or so and they take hundreds of years to break down. A good amount of this plastic has ended up in our oceans. Because of the currents that control the water, the plastic garbage has actually collected to form one huge mass. Think of it as a floating island of garbage. So just how big is this island? It's estimated at just around 1.6 square kilometers which is an area twice the size of Texas or three times the size of France! That's huge right?! I was shocked when I learned this and I'm pretty sure you are as well.
There is plenty of research on the internet for your study that I don’t need to repeat here. Start here if want to go further down the rabbit hole: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_garbage_patch
Image source
So all of our hands are dirty in some respect to this issue. But one kid actually took on the enormous task of cleaning up our mess at the age of 16! Who is this amazing human being? His name is Boyan Slat. He is a Dutch inventor (now 23) who has invented and built an invention that will clean up half this mess in five years! You can read more about this jewel of a human here: http://boyanslat.com/
His story has captured my heart and his sacrifice and dedication are truly awe-inspiring. In seven short years he has transformed this idea of cleaning up our oceans from a thought in his head to inventing several prototypes, starting a foundation (https://www.theoceancleanup.com/), raising millions of dollars, and now he is finishing up the first round of machines. This summer he and his team will begin using his machine to start the clean up.
Image source
I want to come together as a community and starting helping the cause. I will be donating the profit of this post to his foundation on our behalf. I encourage you to give what you can to the cleanup directly. Here is the quick link to do that: https://www.theoceancleanup.com/fund/. Using our upvotes is super simple and collectively we can make a difference.
I will also be reaching out to Boyan and asking him to come onto Dlive with me and talk to you directly about what he’s up too. You will also have a platform to ask him questions and learn more. Who knows maybe he will start using steemit to promote and share his work! His work is important to the planet. Having him speak on our platform and having him know that we are here supporting him helps everyone!
I will be using bid bots to promote this post
I will be asking whales to support the cause
I am asking you to do whatever you feel in your heart (donate directly, upvote this post, resteem, buy a bid bot for this post, send positive energy, or nothing at all)
I will be using USD to make the donation
I will make a post with photo proof of the donation three days after this post pays out
