{"id":31372,"date":"2014-07-26T17:08:53","date_gmt":"2014-07-26T15:08:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/2014\/07\/26\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/"},"modified":"2022-12-20T22:32:23","modified_gmt":"2022-12-20T21:32:23","slug":"a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/","title":{"rendered":"A One-Size-Fits-All Solution for the Ocean?"},"content":{"rendered":"
http:\/\/blog.oceanconservancy.org\/2014\/06\/09\/to-clean-or-not-to-clean-the-ocean\/<\/a>\n\nA One-Size-Fits-All Solution for the Ocean?\n\nPosted On June 9, 2014 by Nick Mallos\n\n**Update: June 10, 2014**\nOcean Conservancy has been a leader in beach cleanup efforts for nearly\n30 years and we are dedicated to continuing these efforts. We applaud\nBoyan?s creativity and ideas for an ocean cleanup and recognize that he\nhas conducted a feasibility study to further outline the ocean cleanup\nmodel. However, the majority of concerns previously voiced by ocean\nscientists, as well as Ocean Conservancy, regarding the ecological,\neconomical and logistical components of the technology still remain\nunanswered. Cleanups are an important part of the solution, but Ocean\nConservancy believes that in order to address the growing issue of\nplastic pollution in our ocean, we must also focus on preventing plastic\nfrom reaching the ocean in the first place. In addition to our Last\nStraw Challenge, we will be rolling out a series of efforts over the\ncoming year that we hope you?ll participate in, including the\nInternational Coastal Cleanup September 20th. Thank you for your\nfeedback, and we hope to see you all at this year?s cleanups!\n\nFACT: There are plastics in the ocean.\n\nFACT: Plastics are not good for fish, turtles, birds or marine mammals.\n\nFALSE: Ocean cleanup is the solution.\n\nOver the past year, much attention?some positive, some negative?has been\ngiven to Boyan Slat?s revolutionary concept and prototype for ?The Ocean\nCleanup.? Yes, perhaps in theory?and artistically sketched\nblueprints?you can boom, suck and snag plastics floating at the ocean\nsurface. But in practice, it just doesn?t make sense?ecologically,\neconomically or logically.\n\nIt would be unfair for me to criticize Boyan?s concept without giving my\nown opinion, so here it is.\n\nCleanups are an invaluable education and outreach tool that provide\npeople a tangible way to become aware and involved in the ocean plastics\ncrisis. And no one is better suited to discuss the effectiveness of\ncleanups than Ocean Conservancy. For the past three decades, volunteers\nin our International Coastal Cleanup have removed more than 175 million\npounds of trash?primarily plastics?from beaches and waterways around the\nglobe. Each year however, there?s more trash to pick up?cleanups cure\nthe symptoms of plastics pollution, not the disease itself.\n\nConcepts of an ocean cleanup technology are no different. If tomorrow we\ncould launch the array of 24 sifters outlined in Boyan?s proposal, it\nwould do nothing to stop the continuous and increasing flow of plastics\ninto the marine environment. Simply put, we?d increase the size of the\nbandage while our pipelines of plastics to the sea run unabated like the\nfaulty valve in the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster.<\/pre>\n
http:\/\/www.theoceancleanup.com\/blog\/show\/item\/responding-to-critics.html<\/a>\n\n08\nJUN\n\nResponding to critics\n\nI never intended to write this piece. The articles I am about to comment\non are now over a year old, and when people asked me for a response on\nthese articles, I always asked them to ?be patient and let the\nfeasibility study decide?.\n\nBut now the published feasibility study indicates The Ocean Cleanup is a\nfeasible and viable method to clean the oceans of plastic, these\narticles are still being used as if its arguments disprove the\nscientific research we conducted in the past year, while it?s actually\nthe other way around. May this piece serve as an instruction manual for\nfuture innovators, who will most certainly come across similar\nsituations while working to fulfill their mission.\n\nThree years ago ? aged 16 ? I suddenly realized I came across more\nplastic bags than fish. A high school science project gave me the\nopportunity to investigate the problem for half a year, and when\nstarting studying Aerospace Engineering, I couldn?t stop thinking about\nit. This thinking ultimately led to the passive ocean cleanup concept,\nwhich I presented at a TEDx conference in 2012.\n\nThe idea was simple. I wondered; why move through the oceans, if the\noceans can move through you? Instead of going after the plastics, you\ncould simply wait for the plastic to come to you. Without requiring any\nadded energy. An array of floating barriers would first catch and\nconcentrate the debris, enabling a platform to efficiently extract the\ndebris afterwards. The ocean current would pass underneath the barriers,\ntaking all neutrally buoyant sea life with it, preventing by-catch.\n\nI then decided to pause both university and social life, enabling me to\nfocus all my time on developing the idea. But with only 200 euros of\nbudget, and only several people that offered their help. That all\nchanged on the 26th of March 2013, when the first articles appeared on\nthe concept.\n\nBesides the tremendous amount of support I received, some critical\narticles inevitably started appearing. An article by Dr. Martini\ncompared it to a cocktail, while 5Gyres? Mr. Stiv Wilson called it a\n?fool?s errand?. Fortunately, the critics did confirm the 50 questions\nwe set out to answer were the right ones. So I put all 400 media\nrequests on hold, and started performing an extensive feasibility study.\n\nThis week, I presented the results of a year-long study me and my 100\ncolleagues have been working on. The 530-page report has been authored\nby 70 people, and concluded my concept is indeed likely a feasible and\nviable ocean cleanup technique. The conclusion has been peer reviewed by\nexternal experts. And because the now outdated plea by Mr. Stiv Wilson\ncontains most arguments, I will hereby compare and contrast these\narguments with what the research showed us.\n\nhttp:\/\/youtu.be\/QpDxE8BhPSM<\/a><\/pre>\n
 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
http:\/\/blog.oceanconservancy.org\/2014\/06\/09\/to-clean-or-not-to-clean-the-ocean\/ A One-Size-Fits-All Solution for the Ocean? Posted On June 9, 2014 by Nick Mallos **Update: June 10, 2014** Ocean Conservancy has been a leader in beach cleanup efforts for nearly 30 years and we are dedicated to continuing these efforts. We applaud Boyan?s creativity and ideas for an ocean cleanup and recognize that he has conducted a feasibility study to further outline the ocean cleanup model. However, the majority of concerns previously voiced by ocean scientists, as well as Ocean Conservancy, regarding the ecological, economical and logistical components of the technology still remain unanswered. Cleanups are an important part of the solution, but Ocean Conservancy believes that in order to address the growing issue of plastic pollution in our ocean, we must also focus on preventing plastic from reaching the ocean in the first place. In addition to our Last Straw Challenge, we will be rolling out a series of efforts over the coming year that we hope you?ll participate in, including the International Coastal Cleanup September 20th. Thank you for your feedback, and we hope to see you all at this year?s cleanups! FACT: There are plastics in the ocean. FACT: Plastics are not good for fish, turtles, birds or marine mammals. FALSE: Ocean cleanup is the solution. Over the past year, much attention?some positive, some negative?has been given to Boyan Slat?s revolutionary concept and prototype for ?The Ocean Cleanup.? Yes, perhaps in theory?and artistically sketched blueprints?you can boom, suck and snag plastics floating at the ocean surface. But in practice, it just doesn?t make sense?ecologically, economically or logically. It would be unfair for me to criticize Boyan?s concept without giving my own opinion, so here it is. Cleanups are an invaluable education and outreach tool that provide people a tangible way to become aware and involved in the ocean plastics crisis. And no one is better suited to discuss the effectiveness of cleanups than Ocean Conservancy. For the past three decades, volunteers in our International Coastal Cleanup have removed more than 175 million pounds of trash?primarily plastics?from beaches and waterways around the globe. Each year however, there?s more trash to pick up?cleanups cure the symptoms of plastics pollution, not the disease itself. Concepts of an ocean cleanup technology are no different. If tomorrow we could launch the array of 24 sifters outlined in Boyan?s proposal, it would do nothing to stop the continuous and increasing flow of plastics into the marine environment. Simply put, we?d increase the size of the bandage while our pipelines of plastics to the sea run unabated like the faulty valve in the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. http:\/\/www.theoceancleanup.com\/blog\/show\/item\/responding-to-critics.html 08 JUN Responding to critics I never intended to write this piece. The articles I am about to comment on are now over a year old, and when people asked me for a response on these articles, I always asked them to ?be patient and let the feasibility study decide?. But now the published feasibility study indicates The Ocean Cleanup is a feasible and viable method to clean the oceans of plastic, these articles are still being used as if its arguments disprove the scientific research we conducted in the past year, while it?s actually the other way around. May this piece serve as an instruction manual for future innovators, who will most certainly come across similar situations while working to fulfill their mission. Three years ago ? aged 16 ? I suddenly realized I came across more plastic bags than fish. A high school science project gave me the opportunity to investigate the problem for half a year, and when starting studying Aerospace Engineering, I couldn?t stop thinking about it. This thinking ultimately led to the passive ocean cleanup concept, which I presented at a TEDx conference in 2012. The idea was simple. I wondered; why move through the oceans, if the oceans can move through you? Instead of going after the plastics, you could simply wait for the plastic to come to you. Without requiring any added energy. An array of floating barriers would first catch and concentrate the debris, enabling a platform to efficiently extract the debris afterwards. The ocean current would pass underneath the barriers, taking all neutrally buoyant sea life with it, preventing by-catch. I then decided to pause both university and social life, enabling me to focus all my time on developing the idea. But with only 200 euros of budget, and only several people that offered their help. That all changed on the 26th of March 2013, when the first articles appeared on the concept. Besides the tremendous amount of support I received, some critical articles inevitably started appearing. An article by Dr. Martini compared it to a cocktail, while 5Gyres? Mr. Stiv Wilson called it a ?fool?s errand?. Fortunately, the critics did confirm the 50 questions we set out to answer were the right ones. So I put all 400 media requests on hold, and started performing an extensive feasibility study. This week, I presented the results of a year-long study me and my 100 colleagues have been working on. The 530-page report has been authored by 70 people, and concluded my concept is indeed likely a feasible and viable ocean cleanup technique. The conclusion has been peer reviewed by external experts. And because the now outdated plea by Mr. Stiv Wilson contains most arguments, I will hereby compare and contrast these arguments with what the research showed us. http:\/\/youtu.be\/QpDxE8BhPSM  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3504,3488],"tags":[1309,1587],"yoast_head":"\nA One-Size-Fits-All Solution for the Ocean? - One Earth - One Ocean e. V.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A One-Size-Fits-All Solution for the Ocean? - One Earth - One Ocean e. V.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.oceanconservancy.org\/2014\/06\/09\/to-clean-or-not-to-clean-the-ocean\/ A One-Size-Fits-All Solution for the Ocean? Posted On June 9, 2014 by Nick Mallos **Update: June 10, 2014** Ocean Conservancy has been a leader in beach cleanup efforts for nearly 30 years and we are dedicated to continuing these efforts. We applaud Boyan?s creativity and ideas for an ocean cleanup and recognize that he has conducted a feasibility study to further outline the ocean cleanup model. However, the majority of concerns previously voiced by ocean scientists, as well as Ocean Conservancy, regarding the ecological, economical and logistical components of the technology still remain unanswered. Cleanups are an important part of the solution, but Ocean Conservancy believes that in order to address the growing issue of plastic pollution in our ocean, we must also focus on preventing plastic from reaching the ocean in the first place. In addition to our Last Straw Challenge, we will be rolling out a series of efforts over the coming year that we hope you?ll participate in, including the International Coastal Cleanup September 20th. Thank you for your feedback, and we hope to see you all at this year?s cleanups! FACT: There are plastics in the ocean. FACT: Plastics are not good for fish, turtles, birds or marine mammals. FALSE: Ocean cleanup is the solution. Over the past year, much attention?some positive, some negative?has been given to Boyan Slat?s revolutionary concept and prototype for ?The Ocean Cleanup.? Yes, perhaps in theory?and artistically sketched blueprints?you can boom, suck and snag plastics floating at the ocean surface. But in practice, it just doesn?t make sense?ecologically, economically or logically. It would be unfair for me to criticize Boyan?s concept without giving my own opinion, so here it is. Cleanups are an invaluable education and outreach tool that provide people a tangible way to become aware and involved in the ocean plastics crisis. And no one is better suited to discuss the effectiveness of cleanups than Ocean Conservancy. For the past three decades, volunteers in our International Coastal Cleanup have removed more than 175 million pounds of trash?primarily plastics?from beaches and waterways around the globe. Each year however, there?s more trash to pick up?cleanups cure the symptoms of plastics pollution, not the disease itself. Concepts of an ocean cleanup technology are no different. If tomorrow we could launch the array of 24 sifters outlined in Boyan?s proposal, it would do nothing to stop the continuous and increasing flow of plastics into the marine environment. Simply put, we?d increase the size of the bandage while our pipelines of plastics to the sea run unabated like the faulty valve in the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. http:\/\/www.theoceancleanup.com\/blog\/show\/item\/responding-to-critics.html 08 JUN Responding to critics I never intended to write this piece. The articles I am about to comment on are now over a year old, and when people asked me for a response on these articles, I always asked them to ?be patient and let the feasibility study decide?. But now the published feasibility study indicates The Ocean Cleanup is a feasible and viable method to clean the oceans of plastic, these articles are still being used as if its arguments disprove the scientific research we conducted in the past year, while it?s actually the other way around. May this piece serve as an instruction manual for future innovators, who will most certainly come across similar situations while working to fulfill their mission. Three years ago ? aged 16 ? I suddenly realized I came across more plastic bags than fish. A high school science project gave me the opportunity to investigate the problem for half a year, and when starting studying Aerospace Engineering, I couldn?t stop thinking about it. This thinking ultimately led to the passive ocean cleanup concept, which I presented at a TEDx conference in 2012. The idea was simple. I wondered; why move through the oceans, if the oceans can move through you? Instead of going after the plastics, you could simply wait for the plastic to come to you. Without requiring any added energy. An array of floating barriers would first catch and concentrate the debris, enabling a platform to efficiently extract the debris afterwards. The ocean current would pass underneath the barriers, taking all neutrally buoyant sea life with it, preventing by-catch. I then decided to pause both university and social life, enabling me to focus all my time on developing the idea. But with only 200 euros of budget, and only several people that offered their help. That all changed on the 26th of March 2013, when the first articles appeared on the concept. Besides the tremendous amount of support I received, some critical articles inevitably started appearing. An article by Dr. Martini compared it to a cocktail, while 5Gyres? Mr. Stiv Wilson called it a ?fool?s errand?. Fortunately, the critics did confirm the 50 questions we set out to answer were the right ones. So I put all 400 media requests on hold, and started performing an extensive feasibility study. This week, I presented the results of a year-long study me and my 100 colleagues have been working on. The 530-page report has been authored by 70 people, and concluded my concept is indeed likely a feasible and viable ocean cleanup technique. The conclusion has been peer reviewed by external experts. And because the now outdated plea by Mr. Stiv Wilson contains most arguments, I will hereby compare and contrast these arguments with what the research showed us. http:\/\/youtu.be\/QpDxE8BhPSM  \" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"One Earth - One Ocean e. V.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/oeoo.world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-07-26T15:08:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-20T21:32:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"guenther\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"guenther\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"guenther\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/26a277b5ecd59a031fa6bd9553b40717\"},\"headline\":\"A One-Size-Fits-All Solution for the Ocean?\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-07-26T15:08:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-20T21:32:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/\"},\"wordCount\":7,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Marine debris\",\"Plastic pollution\"],\"articleSection\":[\"2014\",\"non research\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/\",\"name\":\"A One-Size-Fits-All Solution for the Ocean? - One Earth - One Ocean e. V.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-07-26T15:08:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-20T21:32:23+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A One-Size-Fits-All Solution for the Ocean?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"One Earth - One Ocean e. V.\",\"description\":\"Eine weitere WordPress-Website\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"One Earth - One Ocean e. V.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/logo_2020.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/logo_2020.png\",\"width\":216,\"height\":60,\"caption\":\"One Earth - One Ocean e. V.\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/oeoo.world\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/oneearthoneocean\/\",\"https:\/\/de.linkedin.com\/company\/one-earth-one-ocean\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/26a277b5ecd59a031fa6bd9553b40717\",\"name\":\"guenther\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8fb27961921ab3def25a7b423b743f1d?s=96&d=retro&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8fb27961921ab3def25a7b423b743f1d?s=96&d=retro&r=g\",\"caption\":\"guenther\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/author\/guenther\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A One-Size-Fits-All Solution for the Ocean? - One Earth - One Ocean e. V.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A One-Size-Fits-All Solution for the Ocean? - One Earth - One Ocean e. V.","og_description":"http:\/\/blog.oceanconservancy.org\/2014\/06\/09\/to-clean-or-not-to-clean-the-ocean\/ A One-Size-Fits-All Solution for the Ocean? Posted On June 9, 2014 by Nick Mallos **Update: June 10, 2014** Ocean Conservancy has been a leader in beach cleanup efforts for nearly 30 years and we are dedicated to continuing these efforts. We applaud Boyan?s creativity and ideas for an ocean cleanup and recognize that he has conducted a feasibility study to further outline the ocean cleanup model. However, the majority of concerns previously voiced by ocean scientists, as well as Ocean Conservancy, regarding the ecological, economical and logistical components of the technology still remain unanswered. Cleanups are an important part of the solution, but Ocean Conservancy believes that in order to address the growing issue of plastic pollution in our ocean, we must also focus on preventing plastic from reaching the ocean in the first place. In addition to our Last Straw Challenge, we will be rolling out a series of efforts over the coming year that we hope you?ll participate in, including the International Coastal Cleanup September 20th. Thank you for your feedback, and we hope to see you all at this year?s cleanups! FACT: There are plastics in the ocean. FACT: Plastics are not good for fish, turtles, birds or marine mammals. FALSE: Ocean cleanup is the solution. Over the past year, much attention?some positive, some negative?has been given to Boyan Slat?s revolutionary concept and prototype for ?The Ocean Cleanup.? Yes, perhaps in theory?and artistically sketched blueprints?you can boom, suck and snag plastics floating at the ocean surface. But in practice, it just doesn?t make sense?ecologically, economically or logically. It would be unfair for me to criticize Boyan?s concept without giving my own opinion, so here it is. Cleanups are an invaluable education and outreach tool that provide people a tangible way to become aware and involved in the ocean plastics crisis. And no one is better suited to discuss the effectiveness of cleanups than Ocean Conservancy. For the past three decades, volunteers in our International Coastal Cleanup have removed more than 175 million pounds of trash?primarily plastics?from beaches and waterways around the globe. Each year however, there?s more trash to pick up?cleanups cure the symptoms of plastics pollution, not the disease itself. Concepts of an ocean cleanup technology are no different. If tomorrow we could launch the array of 24 sifters outlined in Boyan?s proposal, it would do nothing to stop the continuous and increasing flow of plastics into the marine environment. Simply put, we?d increase the size of the bandage while our pipelines of plastics to the sea run unabated like the faulty valve in the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. http:\/\/www.theoceancleanup.com\/blog\/show\/item\/responding-to-critics.html 08 JUN Responding to critics I never intended to write this piece. The articles I am about to comment on are now over a year old, and when people asked me for a response on these articles, I always asked them to ?be patient and let the feasibility study decide?. But now the published feasibility study indicates The Ocean Cleanup is a feasible and viable method to clean the oceans of plastic, these articles are still being used as if its arguments disprove the scientific research we conducted in the past year, while it?s actually the other way around. May this piece serve as an instruction manual for future innovators, who will most certainly come across similar situations while working to fulfill their mission. Three years ago ? aged 16 ? I suddenly realized I came across more plastic bags than fish. A high school science project gave me the opportunity to investigate the problem for half a year, and when starting studying Aerospace Engineering, I couldn?t stop thinking about it. This thinking ultimately led to the passive ocean cleanup concept, which I presented at a TEDx conference in 2012. The idea was simple. I wondered; why move through the oceans, if the oceans can move through you? Instead of going after the plastics, you could simply wait for the plastic to come to you. Without requiring any added energy. An array of floating barriers would first catch and concentrate the debris, enabling a platform to efficiently extract the debris afterwards. The ocean current would pass underneath the barriers, taking all neutrally buoyant sea life with it, preventing by-catch. I then decided to pause both university and social life, enabling me to focus all my time on developing the idea. But with only 200 euros of budget, and only several people that offered their help. That all changed on the 26th of March 2013, when the first articles appeared on the concept. Besides the tremendous amount of support I received, some critical articles inevitably started appearing. An article by Dr. Martini compared it to a cocktail, while 5Gyres? Mr. Stiv Wilson called it a ?fool?s errand?. Fortunately, the critics did confirm the 50 questions we set out to answer were the right ones. So I put all 400 media requests on hold, and started performing an extensive feasibility study. This week, I presented the results of a year-long study me and my 100 colleagues have been working on. The 530-page report has been authored by 70 people, and concluded my concept is indeed likely a feasible and viable ocean cleanup technique. The conclusion has been peer reviewed by external experts. And because the now outdated plea by Mr. Stiv Wilson contains most arguments, I will hereby compare and contrast these arguments with what the research showed us. http:\/\/youtu.be\/QpDxE8BhPSM  ","og_url":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/","og_site_name":"One Earth - One Ocean e. V.","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/oeoo.world\/","article_published_time":"2014-07-26T15:08:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-12-20T21:32:23+00:00","author":"guenther","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"guenther","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/"},"author":{"name":"guenther","@id":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/26a277b5ecd59a031fa6bd9553b40717"},"headline":"A One-Size-Fits-All Solution for the Ocean?","datePublished":"2014-07-26T15:08:53+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-20T21:32:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/"},"wordCount":7,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#organization"},"keywords":["Marine debris","Plastic pollution"],"articleSection":["2014","non research"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/","url":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/","name":"A One-Size-Fits-All Solution for the Ocean? - One Earth - One Ocean e. V.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-07-26T15:08:53+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-20T21:32:23+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/nonresearch-en\/2014\/a-one-size-fits-all-solution-for-the-ocean\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A One-Size-Fits-All Solution for the Ocean?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/","name":"One Earth - One Ocean e. V.","description":"Eine weitere WordPress-Website","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#organization","name":"One Earth - One Ocean e. V.","url":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/logo_2020.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/logo_2020.png","width":216,"height":60,"caption":"One Earth - One Ocean e. V."},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/oeoo.world\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/oneearthoneocean\/","https:\/\/de.linkedin.com\/company\/one-earth-one-ocean"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/26a277b5ecd59a031fa6bd9553b40717","name":"guenther","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8fb27961921ab3def25a7b423b743f1d?s=96&d=retro&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8fb27961921ab3def25a7b423b743f1d?s=96&d=retro&r=g","caption":"guenther"},"url":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/author\/guenther\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31372"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31372"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31376,"href":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31372\/revisions\/31376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oneearth-oneocean.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}