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by apacheCamel
2101 days ago
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>First of all, one common statistic is that 90% of trash in the ocean that comes from people dumping it (in rivers) comes from just 10 rivers, all in China/Asia. >So while still very clever, I sadly don't think this could ever make a difference. I get what you mean by this, but why can't these solutions be used in places that are willing to make a difference? Anywhere this is deployed is making a difference locally. In the grand scheme of the world, yes we do need some big solutions to get some places up to speed but if a bubble wall cleans up some of the 10% other plastic in the water, then I am all for it. We can't keep our heads in the sand over the 90%, but we need to be happy about the small victories we can get. I remember hearing about the machine that picks up trash in Baltimore at the Inner Harbor. It would take the current and push the trash into the machines conveyor belt. It was probably pick up a percent of a percent of the total world trash, but it made the harbor area much cleaner. |
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Our efforts (and resources) might be better allocated in an area that has a bigger impact. This is basically the idea behind cap and trade. Why spend $10 to pick up 1 ton of plastic waste in the first world (made up numbers), when you can spend $10 to pick up 5 tons of plastic waste in asia? A more concrete example would be the water conservation measures in calfiornia a few years ago. The vast majority of the water usage is by agriculture, but residents were asked to engage in water saving practices (not watering laws, short showers, opt-in water at restaurants) at great inconvenience to them, even though any savings would be a drop in the bucket overall.