Sea clean-up record
Every minute, 15 tons of new plastic end up in the words’ oceans, according to WWF. Removing all this plastic again seems like an impossible quest. But last month, an encouraging record was set in the North pacific.
The marine plastic recovery vessel S/V KWI successfully removed 103 tons of fishing nets and consumer plastics from the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Sone For Ocean Voyages Institute, who owns the vessel, this was the largest at sea clean-up in the area to date.
“I am so proud of our hard-working crew,” said Mary Crowley, founder and executive director of Ocean Voyages Institute after the ship docked at the port of Honolulu on 23 June.
"We exceeded our goal of capturing 100 tons of toxic consumer plastics and derelict ‘ghost’ nets, and in these challenging times, we are continuing to help restore the health of our ocean, which influences our own health and the health of the planet."
80 per cent of the plastic that ends up in the ocean, comes from activity on land, and 20 per cent from fisheries and other activities on the sea. Most of the plastic end up at the bottom of sea, where it is difficult to remove it and where it is transformed into microplastic. Eventually, it ends up causing harm to birds, fish and humans. Plastic pollution is the most widespread problem affecting the marine environment, and therefore one of the biggest challenges to the environment.
Did you know that the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former US Vice President Al Gore is the first honorary citizen of ‘the Trash Isles’ in the Pacific Ocean?
The campaign from 2017, was being led by the Plastic Oceans Foundation and LADbible. “We are seeing the rising generation demanding a better world,” said Gore at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum in Oslo in 2018. “We have, what only can be described as a global emergency. The phrase all hands on deck applies,” he said.
Every Friday at noon, the Nobel Peace Center will release a peace dove together with “The good news of the week.”The dove is released from a window at the Nobel Peace Center, situated on the City Hall Square. As the dove crosses the square, the John Lennon song Give Peace a Chance will play from the bell towers.
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