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These are all good points, but considering that humans are already ingesting microplastics found in seafood and rice, at least someone is trying to do something

These are all good points, but considering that humans are already ingesting microplastics found in seafood and rice, at least someone is trying to do something about the problem. Beach cleanup does not help solve this. It may already be too late due to the incredible amount of microplastics already in the Earth's major bodies of water and the fact that science doesn't know how much it will impact the ecosystem or create/exacerbate human medical problems.

mreome 8y ago
... at least someone is trying to do something about the problem ... I really can not fathom this sentiment, which seems to be the primary counter-argument to virtually all criticism of this project (as well as to criticisms of many other pie in the sky solutions to major issues). There are countless people who have devoted their lives to studying ocean eco-systems, safeguarding the nature, and understanding our impact on the environment. Many who have been trumpeting the problem of ocean plastics decades before it became a pop-issue. There are also millions of people, and billions of dollars worth of industry that is dependent on a healthy ocean eco-system. Do you really believe that nobody else is trying to take action on this issue? Or could it be that people who have devoted lifetimes to understanding the reality of this issue and the engineering requirements and impact of large scale ocean structures have done the risk assessment and realized that this kind of approach is not viable? The people who understand the problem have a solution, which is unfortunately the only viable one: The reduction of single use plastic products, more effective recycling and waste disposable programs, and a general reassessment of the volume of, and manner in which, we use plastics. But people want a magic pill that doesn't require them to accept that they are a part of the cause of ecological issues like this, and the only solution is for us, as a society, to change some of the aspects of our day-to-day lives. So they happily ignore the real solutions, click "Like" on posts that say their going to solve the world's problems, and berate entire fields worth of scientists, engineers, and ecologists for not "doing something about the problems".
- deleted 8y ago
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- rizzom5000 8y ago
  I don't disagree, my comment was directed to the problem of the plastic that is already in the ocean. There are many problems that need to be addressed, but plastics are continuing to get poured into the ocean and it doesn't appear that humanity is successfully addressing that problem at the moment unfortunately.
ummonk 8y ago
The Ocean Cleanup net does nothing to clean up microplastics though...
- rizzom5000 8y ago
  Removing macroplastics from the ocean removes the chance of them turning into microplastics. Microplastics are what all the great garbage patch gets broken down into over time, so yes I do think it addresses it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplastics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplastics

mreome 8y ago

... at least someone is trying to do something about the problem ... I really can not fathom this sentiment, which seems to be the primary counter-argument to virtually all criticism of this project (as well as to criticisms of many other pie in the sky solutions to major issues). There are countless people who have devoted their lives to studying ocean eco-systems, safeguarding the nature, and understanding our impact on the environment. Many who have been trumpeting the problem of ocean plastics decades before it became a pop-issue. There are also millions of people, and billions of dollars worth of industry that is dependent on a healthy ocean eco-system. Do you really believe that nobody else is trying to take action on this issue? Or could it be that people who have devoted lifetimes to understanding the reality of this issue and the engineering requirements and impact of large scale ocean structures have done the risk assessment and realized that this kind of approach is not viable? The people who understand the problem have a solution, which is unfortunately the only viable one: The reduction of single use plastic products, more effective recycling and waste disposable programs, and a general reassessment of the volume of, and manner in which, we use plastics. But people want a magic pill that doesn't require them to accept that they are a part of the cause of ecological issues like this, and the only solution is for us, as a society, to change some of the aspects of our day-to-day lives. So they happily ignore the real solutions, click "Like" on posts that say their going to solve the world's problems, and berate entire fields worth of scientists, engineers, and ecologists for not "doing something about the problems".

deleted 8y ago
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rizzom5000 8y ago
I don't disagree, my comment was directed to the problem of the plastic that is already in the ocean. There are many problems that need to be addressed, but plastics are continuing to get poured into the ocean and it doesn't appear that humanity is successfully addressing that problem at the moment unfortunately.

ummonk 8y ago

The Ocean Cleanup net does nothing to clean up microplastics though...

rizzom5000 8y ago
Removing macroplastics from the ocean removes the chance of them turning into microplastics. Microplastics are what all the great garbage patch gets broken down into over time, so yes I do think it addresses it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplastics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplastics