Let Me Introduce You to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
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
Why Should You Give a F*ck?
- There are about 200 times more plastic particles floating on the surface of the water than plankton and other marine life. This plastic sludge gets eaten by all the different species of animals that are feeding in the area who mistake it for food.
- Those species now have plastic in their stomachs, swim away, and get eaten by larger species who live further away from the patch.
- Those larger fish and animals swim even further way and get eaten by even larger species. I think you are starting to get the idea. If this isn’t enough to move you....
- You probably eat something from the sea at some point in your life. Most likely it will have some part of this toxic plastic in it.
- Maybe you're vegan and don’t eat meat. Well, your seaweed and kelp wraps are also part of this ecosystem and are being contaminated as well.
The bottom line here is we are all in some way connected to this floating garbage problem whether we know it or not. This problem is growing at an alarming rate and we are showing no signs of slowing down our dependence on plastics.
In Walks Boyan Slat
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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.
So You Want to Help
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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
