The Blue Planet is in the age of climate crisis and it needs our help!
The end of the year is always an overwhelming period. The busy holiday season makes us all reflect the year that has passed, and thus make future plans. When planning the future, regardless of the personal or professional perspective, we must consider the bigger picture and dream greater and brighter.
It is also the most appropriate time to do something meaningful for a higher cause. Having this in mind, instead of giving away Christmas gifts to partners, clients and company’s friends, we have decided to contribute to the initiative for cleaning the oceans with a donation.
The ocean – the most diverse place on earth – is under constant threat. The flow of waste, such as plastic and chemicals, threaten the existence of many species, including human beings indirectly. Having this in mind, the beautiful coasts and vibrant ocean life slowly starts becoming a distant dream as the days go by.
The numbers speak for themselves. We dump an equivalent of a large garbage truck of plastic into the oceans every minute, which is eight million tons per year. By 2050, without a significant intervention, this plastic debris could weigh more than all the fish in the sea, combined together. Unfortunately, there is no way to retrieve the majority of these plastics and microplastics once they reach the ocean.
Even though people are creatures of habit and are difficult to change, we are capable of great and innovative things. There are many things that can be done. Therefore, cleaning up our lifeblood – called oceans – can easily approach the top of our priority list.
Cleaning up our world and protecting our ecosystems is the primary cause supported by many non-profit organizations. They are all involved in multiple campaigns and activities for protecting the oceans from such harms.
This year, we have decided to contribute to the cause of The Ocean Cleanup and its cleanup system. This is a non-government engineering environmental organization based in the Netherlands, that develops technology for extracting plastic pollution from the oceans.
Credits to: https://theoceancleanup.com/
What is the technology behind the Ocean Cleanup?
It is a 600 meter-long free-floating boom that captures and retains debris from the so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The vast cleaning system is designed to collect discarded fishing nets, large visible plastic objects, as well as microplastic.
The plastic barrier floating on the surface of the sea traps some of the 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic without disturbing the marine life below. The device is fitted with transmitters and sensors so it can communicate its position via satellites to a vessel that will collect the gathered rubbish every few months.
These are only part of the things that The Ocean Cleanup does. That’s why we’ve decided to become part of the family that supports their mission.
It is a great example of how true progress comes not just from leveraging exponential technologies, but also from collaboration, education, systemic change, and companies’ individual initiatives like this one.
