GettingHelp

Lookingforanswersismorethanjustcombingthebeachesfortrash.Italsoinvolvestalkingtopeople.Often,peoplewholivenearthebeachesknowtheplasticsbetterthanwedo.Theycanhelpusaswedobeachcleanups together.


Plasticonthebeachesdoesn’tmeanthatpeoplewholivetherearetoblame.Intheocean,plasticcantravelallovertheworldridingonwavesandoceancurrents.That’swhywealsogooutonboatstofindplasticsstillinthewater.Withahomemadenetdevice,wesnagplasticsfromthe water.

JustinetraveledtotheArctictofindoutmoreaboutocean plastics. 

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.

IkeepcarefulrecordswhenI’mworkinginthe field. 

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

LiveSmarteronOurPlanet

Reducinghumanpressureonourplanetisimportant!TheNationalGeographicSocietyhopestoreducetheamountofplasticenteringourriversby30percentby 2030.