ALL ABOUT CLEANING UP OUR OCEANS PLASTIC & MORE

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There are reports and studies about humpback whales being caught up, drowning or otherwise being killed in ghost fishing nets or ropes. Ghost fishing is the term used to describe the entanglement or trapping of marine animals by lost or abandoned fishing gear. Ghost fishing can cause serious injuries, infections, starvation, suffocation, drowning, or predation to the affected animals. Humpback whales are just one of the species that are vulnerable to ghost fishing, especially in their migration and breeding grounds. They have been waffling about the problem for years, without any action. Perhaps there should be fines for trawler and other large fishing vessels who discard nets without reporting the loss. If such ghosting of nets was policed, such as with mandatory tagging of nets. Boats could be confiscated, along with other assets as proceeds of crime. About a million tons of fishing gear enters the ocean every year. Baleen whales (filter feeders) ingest around a million pieces of microplastic every day. By shopping for food and other goods wrapped in plastic. You are killing whales, turtles and seals by strangulation. Governments that refuse to take action against trawler skippers who discard nets, are guilty of nothing less than murder. When next you vote for a politician, make sure they agree to take action to stop the slaughter at sea.

ENGAGING YOUTH IN STEM EXPLORATION - FIRST® LEGO® League introduces STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) to children ages 4-16 (varies by region) through fun, exciting hands-on learning. 

Participants gain real-world problem-solving experiences through a guided, global robotics program using LEGO® technology, helping today’s students, families, and educators build a better future together. 

FIRST LEGO League’s three divisions inspire youth to experiment and grow their critical thinking, coding, and design skills and showcase what they learned.

HELP US LOBBY FOR A CHANGE IN THE LAW - WITH OUR 7SEVEN POINT PLASTIC PLAN

Lobbying for preventative change where existing plastic policies are damaging our oceans, is as important as the development of after-event clean up technology - and cheaper. Plastic is at present an environmental justice issue looking for disinfecting reckoning.

The oceans cover 71% of Earth's surface, yet fisheries (including farmed fish) contributes only 2% to the world's food supply on a caloric basis. Fish consumption is projected to rise 58% between 2010 and 2050, but according to the FAO 33% of fish stocks were over-fished in 2015 and 60% fished at maximum sustainable levels. With micro plastics contaminating this valuable resource, is it possible to increase the food supply from the oceans in a sustainable way, to be able to feed a rapidly growing population?

Governments may also wish to factor in the fertilizer world shortage, and cost of living crisis into their thinking. And the industrial cocktail of heavy metals and nitrates, leaching from factories into the sea.

Seafood is becoming more poisonous as it becomes more carcinogenic, from ingesting carcinogenic plastics raising cancer rates in humans and overburdening our health services. Whaling will have to be re-instated to make up for lost fish protein. Or, we could eat each other! Perhaps starting with the leaders who engendered the climate crisis, bankers, corrupt civil servants, and finally irresponsible industrialists. The electorate would be (literally) living off the fat of the land.

Where it appears too late to prevent the mess we have created, we desperately need an International Agreement like MARPOL, to stop the flow of plastic from rivers into the sea.

Please write to your MP, Senator, Prime Minister, President, Queen or King, to ask them to agree to introduce laws that make it illegal in their countries to allow river waste (including microplastics) into territorial waters - and from there into international waters. A law like this is sure to trigger the introduction of monitoring, barriers and cleaning operations with equitable rewards for any organization providing such services. Make your leaders care as an election issue, where votes count.

ARTICLES

1. Supermarket packaging transformation (back) to paper predominantly
2. Glass bottles, metal cans, waxed cartons over plastic, unless genuinely biodegradable 
3. Monitoring rivers and strict enforcement against micro-fiber spillages from treatment plants
4. Trackers for fishing nets and strict enforcement for dumping, unless accidents reported
5. Recycling of plastic to 95% with controlled incineration of 5% non-reusable elements, banks
6. Filtration on domestic machines to remove microfibres from clothing
7. Introduction of plastic credit (incentives) trading scheme to drive the clean up

We must encourage and help such endeavours until equilibrium is reached. THIS WILL BE A BEGINNING.

CREATIVE CAMPAIGNS - The Cleaner Ocean Foundation are backing a trilogy of ocean awareness scripts, featuring a hydrogen powered ship as part of the adventures of conservationist: John Storm.

POPULAR TITLES - From the Amazon to the Nile, the adventures of John Storm promote zero emission sailing, with an underwater theme, based on real historical events, mixed with cutting edge advances in science.

TOMORROW IS NO MORE THAN THE CHOICES WE MAKE TODAY - ADAPT OR PERISH

We would urge those who do care about out planet to lobby politicians for common sense, starting with your local MP, ending with the G20. A growing number of corporations are now pushing for a sustainable economy.

We all need to think about changing to a circular economy with food security and sustainable recycling of waste as hard points, but also cleaning up the mess we have created.

If you are not going to stop buying food in plastic packaging. Why not stop buying clothes made of plastic. We doubt that will happen either. If you are not going to stop buying clothes made of plastic. Then you deserve what is coming to you, your children and grand children. Those of us who do care are being condemned to watch as the oceans become more plastic than fish by volume - powerless to do anything other than remind you of the consequences of your inaction.

Those of you who did nothing, will have their great grand children look back in wonder at the complete lack of concern that their forebears demonstrated - as they do what they can to survive in the ruins you - as a non-caring citizen of planet earth - have left behind.

AUGUST 2022 - Climate change is causing misery in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, with the Sargasso Sea producing colossal sargassum blooms of 22 millions tons this year, an increase over 18 million tons in 2021. It would take a fleet of 300 specially adapted SeaVax machines, operating at a speed of one load per hour, to deal with such quantities. Clearly, that is not going to happen, where the world would not pay to clean the ocean of plastic, using the similar fleet logistics. The only sparkle on the brown tinged horizon is that sargassum can be a cash crop. Even so, the sums being bandied about don't come close to managing this crisis. We would though recommend a study, to see if a commercial business plan may be an equitable proposition.

INDUSTRY

Supermarkets should look for alternative packaging if it would not detract from the quality of produce or make them uncompetitive. They might support a plastic-oil circular economy with recycling depositories at their stores. In a climate emergency, growth represents rising temperatures. Industry should be looking for cooling stability.

GOVERNMENTS

Governments might revise their policies, to accept responsibility for their dumping of waste in the ocean. It is illegal for ships to dump waste at sea. How then is it legal for countries to dump waste in rivers that ends up in the sea? Countries should be fined for river waste, with the fines going to ocean cleaning projects or services in mitigation, like these bad boys below.

ABS - BIOMAGNIFICATION - CANCER - CARRIER BAGS - COTTON BUDS - DDT - FISHING NETS - HEAVY METALS - MARINE LITTER - MICROBEADS

MICRO PLASTICS - NYLON - OCEAN GYRES - OCEAN WASTE -  PACKAGING - PCBS - PET - PETROLEUM - PLASTIC - PLASTICS -  POLYCARBONATE

POLYOLEFINS - POLYPROPYLENE - POLYSTYRENE - POLYTHENE - POPS -  PVC - SHOES - SINGLE USE - SOUP - STRAWS - WATER

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This website is provided on a free basis as a public information service. copyright © Cleaner Oceans Foundation Ltd (COFL) (Company No: 4674774) 2023.

Solar Studios, BN271RF, United Kingdom. COFL is a company without share capital whose founding objects are charitable, being not-for-profit.