The goods news about the possibility of collecting the tons of plastic polluting the world's waters with the Ocean Cleanup Array was welcomed by many.
Not so fast, says Stiv Wilson of 5 Gyres.
"There are no great estimates (at least scientific) on how much plastic is in the ocean, but I can say from firsthand knowledge (after sailing to four of the world’s five gyres) that it’s so pervasive it confounds the senses. Gyre cleanup has often been floated as a solution in the past, and recentlyBoyan Slat’s proposed Ocean Cleanup Array went viral in a big way. The nineteen-year-old claims that the system can clean a gyre in five years with “unprecedented efficiency” and then recycle the trash collected. The problem is that the barriers to gyre cleanup are so massive that the vast majority of the scientific and advocacy community believe it’s a fool’s errand—the ocean is big, the plastic harvested is near worthless and sea life would be harmed. The solutions starts on land."
Read more at EcoWatch: http://ecowatch.com/2013/fallacy-cleaning-gyres-of-plastic-with-ocean-cleanup-array/
Connect with 5 Gyres: http://5gyres.org/
Not so fast, says Stiv Wilson of 5 Gyres.
"There are no great estimates (at least scientific) on how much plastic is in the ocean, but I can say from firsthand knowledge (after sailing to four of the world’s five gyres) that it’s so pervasive it confounds the senses. Gyre cleanup has often been floated as a solution in the past, and recentlyBoyan Slat’s proposed Ocean Cleanup Array went viral in a big way. The nineteen-year-old claims that the system can clean a gyre in five years with “unprecedented efficiency” and then recycle the trash collected. The problem is that the barriers to gyre cleanup are so massive that the vast majority of the scientific and advocacy community believe it’s a fool’s errand—the ocean is big, the plastic harvested is near worthless and sea life would be harmed. The solutions starts on land."
 |
| Photo: Stiv Wilson 5 Gyres |
Read more at EcoWatch: http://ecowatch.com/2013/fallacy-cleaning-gyres-of-plastic-with-ocean-cleanup-array/
Connect with 5 Gyres: http://5gyres.org/
