Summary/Reader Response Draft #4 - Ocean Clean Up Machine (a)
According
to Schiller (2017), "Boy Genius Boyan Slat's giant ocean clean up machine
is real". Schiller stated that Slat had set out a massive clean-up project
using his vision of the ocean clean-up machine. The article stated that
oceanographer Charles Moore discovered that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch had
waste so thick that it formed solid areas one could walk on, which was the
reason for Slat's initiation. Schiller reported that Slat received
criticisms and scepticism about the project when he proposed his initial design
of a clean-up machine measuring 60 miles long to repair the
seabed. Schiller then stated that after Slat made numerous vetting, his
new idea was to split his initial design into 50 smaller devices of 0.6 miles
each, which is a better innovation as it allows the remaining machines to still
work if any were to malfunction. Schiller pointed out that although
building an individual device is cost-saving and more efficient than a huge
clean-up machine, the individual devices require removal maintenance monthly.
The article then concluded with Slat's future goal of making use of the waste
collected to be recycled into useful materials.
The article by Schiller
was published in 2017. The prototype back then named "Wilson"
functions independently by clearing up trash along its pathway as the wind
blows (Dickie, 2021). Dickie mentioned that the flaw in Wilson was its over reliance on wind for movement, which caused it to not have a specific direction to steer towards, and ultimately it
broke due to the pressure from ocean currents. Dickie then stated that a new
prototype named "Jenny" was created to replace Wilson as the latest operational ocean clean up
machine.
The article by Dickie stated that Jenny works more effectively compared to Wilson. Dickie stated that as Jenny uses ships to manoeuvre its direction, it has a clear target area to clean up making it more efficient. According to another article by Bendix (2021), Jenny covers a larger surface area compared to Wilson. The ocean clean-up machine has evolved from 2017 till 2019. With the evolution of the machine, the benefits from implementing this project thus far are highly remarkable.
The first benefit of the
project lies in its high results in extracting trash from the ocean. In the
article "Group extract 63,000 pounds..." (2021), it was stated
that Jenny cleared more than 63,000 pounds of trash within a 3-month
cleaning phase. That is the estimated weight of a humpback whale! This
shows the huge potential of Jenny. With the amount of trash in the ocean, more
large-scale projects with the use of Jenny are bound to aid in the reduction of
ocean waste.
The second benefit lies
in the prevention of plastics from entering the ocean. Another innovation by
the project named "Interceptor" prevents plastics from entering the
ocean by being deployed to rivers. (Ocean Cleanup, n.d). According to the
director of ocean policy at the Center for American Progress think tank, the
best way to help the ocean in reducing its plastic is to first prevent plastic
from getting into the ocean (Dickie, 2021). Currently, there are 8 Interceptors deployed around the world (Ocean Cleanup, n.d). The
website also stated that under optimal operations, 50,000kg of plastics can be
extracted per day. This shows how much plastic was prevented from entering the
ocean. As such, Slat's group will have lesser plastic to deal with in the ocean,
which will ultimately aid their goal of plastic reduction.
The third benefit lies
in Interceptor's ability to work 24 hours a day. Interceptor does not
require any human labour or supervision (Ocean Cleanup, n.d). This means that
even during wee hours, the machine can continue operating autonomously, which
will bring about greater results in the same period as compared to a machine
which require manual labour. Hence, its ability to work autonomously is
definitely a benefit to look out for.
All that being said, the
drawback of the ocean clean-up project still lies in its reliance of using
ships to manoeuvre Jenny. The ships rely on heavy fuel usage, which in turn
releases climate-warming greenhouse emissions (Dickie, 2021). The
implementation of ships is essential for the machine to have a target area for
better efficiency. However, with the use of ships, fuel consumption is
inevitable. This leads to the production of oil pollution and carbon emissions
for the cause of clearing up trash.
However, it should be
noted that Slat's group is experimenting using less-polluting biofuels for
their ships (Dickie, 2021). If the introduction of biofuels is approved, alternative improvements to
Jenny may include the use of a better motor ship. Since the oil pollution and
carbon emission problems have been tackled, Slat's group can afford to improve
Jenny. The implementation of stronger motor ships can speed up the rate of
productivity for Jenny as it can move faster to clear the same area as before. In
all, the ocean clean-up project is definitely a notable project with great
accomplishments to come in the near future.
Bendix, A. (2021, October 15) A half-mile installation just took 20,000 pounds of plastic out of the Pacific - proof that ocean garbage can be cleaned. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/ocean-cleanup-device-removed-plastic-pacific-garbage-patch-2021-10
Dickie, G. (2021,
September 16). Ocean Cleanup struggles to fulfill promise to scoop up plastic
at sea.
https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/ocean-cleanup-struggles-fulfill-promise-scoop-up-plastic-sea-2021-09-16/
Schiller, B. (2017, June 30). Boy genius Boyan slat's giant ocean cleanup machine is real. Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/40419899/boy-genius-boyan-slats-giant-ocean-cleanup-machine-is-real
USA Today. (2021, October 29). Group extracts 63,000 pounds of trash from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/news/world/2021/10/29/ocean-cleanup-pulls-trash-great-pacific-garbage-patch/6180821001/
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