GettingHelp
Lookingforanswersismorethanjustcombingthebeachesfortrash.Italsoinvolvestalkingtopeople.Often,peoplewholivenearthebeachesknowtheplasticsbetterthanwedo.Theycanhelpusaswedobeachcleanups together.
Plasticonthebeachesdoesn’tmeanthatpeoplewholivetherearetoblame.Intheocean,plasticcantravelallovertheworldridingonwavesandoceancurrents.That’swhywealsogooutonboatstofindplasticsstillinthewater.Withahomemadenetdevice,wesnagplasticsfromthe water.
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UsingtheMarineDebrisTrackerapp,IcanrecordwhattrashIfindandwhereit is.
Toolslikethisappareapartofamovementcalled citizenscience. Itmeansthatanyonecangooutandcollectdata,too.Ifyoufindplasticsononeofyourbeaches,youcanaddittothedataweare collecting.
Byworkingtogetheracrossvariousplaces,wecancomeupwithabetterpictureoftheproblem.Hopefully,thiswillleadto solutions.
MakingaRecord
Aswemakeourmonthlyrounds,webuildarecordofwhatwefind.Butwedon’twriteeverythingdowninournotebooks.Instead,weuseourcellphonestoreportwhatwefindonanappcalledMarineDebris Tracker.
Puttingourdatainonecentralplacehelpsuskeeptrackofwhatweknowandhelpsbuildthe“plasticsprofile”ofeachbeach.Italsoallowsustoshareourdata.Anyoneintheworldwhoisinterestedinlearningaboutourresearchcanlookupourfindings.And,there’smore.Thisfreeappcanbeusedbyanyone.Even you.
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IkeepcarefulrecordswhenI’mworkinginthe field.
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Evenunderamicroscope,itcanbehardtoidentifyplastictrashandwhereitcame from.
MovingForward
Theplasticsproblemfeelsbig,anditis.Somepeoplethinkitcan’tbesolved.Butwedohavethepowertoreduce—ifnoteliminate—ourplastics problem.
Wecanallmakeadifference.Wemightwanttocombthebeaches,record,andpickupplasticpollution.Wemightchangeourbehaviorsandavoidusingsingle‑useplasticslikestraws,bags,andcontainers.Wecanworktomakeouroceanscleaner. Idon’tmindpickinguptrash.Notreally.Becauseindoingso,I’mworkingtowardasolution.Youcanhelp, too.
UnderTheMicroscope
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