Hi everyone.
I’ve came across an article about a unique expedition that hope to raise awareness of plastic waste in the ocean, as well as to raise interest in using waste in new ways. Have you heard of The Plastiki Expedition?? The Expedition is a bold adventure that aims to capture the world's imagination and draw our attention to the state of our oceans.
The Plastiki concept was birthed nearly three years ago following the United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP) report 'Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Deep Waters and High Seas'. The report highlights the way fisheries, pollution and other stresses such as those arising from global climate change are impacting and affecting the marine world.
The Expedition is the brainchild of David de Rothschild, and the goal is audacious: to sail 12,000 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco, California to Sydney, Australia in a boat made entirely out of plastic bottles and recycled waste products.
Now, the idea is not just a sweet dream anymore when the Plastiki, a 60-foot (18-meter) catamaran made of over 12,000 plastic bottles, as well as other recyclable plastic is already built and set for departure. The Plastiki was engineered by a number of experts in the field of sustainable design, boat building, architecture, materials and innovative design technology. The design aims to be completely self-contained in terms of its energy generation, fresh water creation and waste treatment.
The Plastiki expedition carries (among others) four scientists from the Scripps Research Institute who will study ocean acidification, marine debris, overfishing, and coral bleaching. The four month voyage will see The Plastiki pass through a number of environmentally sensitive regions. The most notable of which has been ominously named the 'Eastern Garbage Patch' (the world's largest landfill located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean), a region six times the size of the United Kingdom where vast quantities of plastic pollution have accumulated because of the currents.
"We hope that this expedition will not only bring light to the marine litter problem, but also inspire innovative solutions," said Elisabeth Guilbaud-Cox of UNEP's Regional Office for North America.
For more information, you can google ‘the Plastiki’ and lots of information is out there for you.
And guess what guys, the Plastiki is ready to begin her momentous voyage on Saturday 20th March 2010 at around 9:30am PST (TOMORROW!).
Farewell Plastiki… I would love to know about your discoveries later.
p/s: Anyone have ever heard of this ‘Great Pacific or Eastern Garbage Patch’?? This is the first time I heard about it and very eager to see its photos.
-Muharniza-
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Awesome article. I never knew such sea travels existed. Imagine this sort of event in Malaysia, would it suceed in bringing in the volume of participants? The monsoon event in the east coast attracts many annually.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is Dash. And if you want to know how they're doing, u can check it out at http://www.theplastiki.com/
ReplyDeleteI think it's a good idea to make something similar to that in Malaysia. And I strongly believe it will urge the malaysian inventors out there to put their ideas to reality also. I know that in some secondary schools, students do built small boat, etc using straws, plastics, etc and test it.
OR even a better idea dash..can we sail one at our Faculty of Engineering lake? :)
Excellent idea! Can I adopt it? I will tell it was your idea.
ReplyDelete