Is there a solution?
The problem is, because it is in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean, no specific country is responsible for the damage already done. As a result of this, no government has put forward a plan or money to attempt to clean it up. These are some solutions that have been suggested...
Solution 1 It is believed that instead of using nets, or vessels which will affect the environment, we should use solid floating barriers, which make it impossible for animals to become entangled. After cleaning up the mess in the ocean, to avoid it happening again, we can use biodegradable plastic. Biodegradable plastics can be decomposed by bacteria or other living things, which means by the time it would eventually get to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch it would already have decomposed into solely organic materials. Not only is it better for the environment but it is cheaper! The only bad thing is, if we replace normal plastic with biodegradable plastic we would remove 715 million tons from the worlds food supply. All of which we need. Solution 2 We can remove the plastic from the oceans by using a fungus discovered by Pria Ananad and Jonathan Russell. The fungus is able to digest the polyurethane and it can survive underwater in environments where there is no oxygen available. It is an 'endophytic microorganism' which means it lives on other plants without affecting them. Pria and Jonathan were able to find other microorganisms but no other were able to live underwater. Solution 3 Boyan's solution is simple, all we have to do is use natural ocean currents and winds to move the rubbish towards a collection point. Boyan believes that if this process is undertaken for 10 years, half of the rubbish will be removed. Once the rubbish is moved he believes it is simple from there, stop using plastic! |
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