There is a lot we don’t know about our oceans - we’ve only explored less than 5% of them.
What we do know is that they are critical to life as we know it, and that it is not a neverending resource. The ocean plays a critical role in controlling the climate, weather patterns, absorbing man made CO2, and practically immeasurable economic value (think jobs, tourism, food, medicines made from marine resources, etc.) in addition to providing half of the world’s oxygen. If that isn’t of the utmost importance, you might as well say that cows don’t moo and that grass isn’t green.
What’s Going On?
Right now there are over 400 “dead zones” (areas where oxygen levels are so low, life cannot be supported). Occasionally this happens naturally, but the biggest dead zones have been found near bodies of water contaminated with lots of agricultural chemicals. Furthermore, there is so much plastic in the ocean that pieces have even been found in the arctic just 1,000 miles away from the North Pole; this kind of pollution affects the whole food chain as plastics absorb toxins. Plastic has even been found in the fish that we eat! Considering how much of the world has a diet dependent on fish, we should be concerned. It’s not just litter that is destroying the ocean: increased CO2 emissions are causing the ocean to acidify which has a domino like effect on marine life.
Ocean Cleanup: Cleaning From The Top Down
One company is trying to clean up our ocean - notably what is known as The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an area extremely saturated with microplastics. To put this in perspective, the UN recently had its first ever Ocean Conference where it was stated that if nothing is done, plastic could outweigh fish by 2050.
The Ocean Cleanup aims to cleanse 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 5 years. Founded by 23-year-old Boyan Slat, this project would use energy neutral floating screens to act as a filter as the currents move the debris around. Once the plastic has been trapped, it can be recycled into other products that the company would sell, the goal being that the entire concept will be self-sustaining. The downside? There are 5 garbage patches in the ocean… Is it possible to clean up the entire ocean before it’s too late?