The Oceans Have No Borders - How Do We Keep Them Clean?

Shout Out To Friends In Bali For The Invention And Grass Roots Initiative

Garbage is a huge problem here in America, but because it's not in your face the way it is in other countries without internal garbage systems, people don't realize the scope of damage it causes to the oceans and the environment. After traveling to places like India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Cambodia where the problem of garbage is an in your face reality, the scope is only hard to to wrap the mind around because it's so incredibly huge. Whether you're in a city, a small village, or out in nature, there is the constant reminder that waste and plastic doesn't just disappear when it's thrown away. In India I have seen the most beautiful landscapes of pristine nature covered in garbage a foot thick. In places like this, the daily trash burn is the only way to get rid of the waste. So trash is burned in the streets and around the homes of people who have nowhere else to put their trash. The smell of burning plastic becomes the standard familiar scent. A lot of the trash that is not burned often finds its way into rivers and is swept into the oceans during the rainy seasons, cleaning the land but trashing the coastlines and ultimately the oceans. Have you ever seen the beautiful beaches of Bali during the rainy season? It broke my heart. 

 Lets face it Oceans undeniably effect the entire world, covering more of the earths surface than any land mass, a source of food for billions, a source of life, energy, transportation, economy, peace, fun,  and our earth without borders.

Bringing awareness to this issue is only the first step. Im not a big fan of complaining for the sake of complaining, its way more powerful to FIND SOLUTIONS. And thats where the the focus of this article is being directed.  I have connected recently with friends in Bali who are creating small machine that can recycle plastics into usable fuel. Its still in the preliminary stages of trial and they are working with a European Universities to find solutions. This grassroots initiative could be amazing. All the supplies are locally sourced and the manual they are composing would allow each village to create their own machines thus contributing to the solution of recycling and furthermore, turning the recycled plastic into fuel which could supply energy for the village.. For more info on this initiative check out: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/plastic-not-fantastic.

This is a great step in a solution based direction, and it takes dedicated people to solve these problems. If you are familiar with any organization, inventions, or people doing something about garbage, oceans, clean up, and finding solutions please write it in the comments. Lets be part of a solution for a problem bigger than us all. Lets connect to sources and support people making a difference for the earth, future generations, and the future of our planet. Also try thinking outside the box connecting new technologies or efforts originally designed for some things completely unrelated that could be of help in oceanic issues.