SciShow and Wild Hope explain 'How to Save the World from Plastic'

I'm returning to topics that will be good to share in October with SciShow explaining How to Save the World from Plastic.

This video was inspired by the episode from Wild Hope: The Great Ocean Cleanup. Watch that episode now, and many more from Wild Hope, right here on YouTube – or follow @wildhopetv on Instagram to discover countless more stories of changemakers working to restore biodiversity around the globe. Change is closer than you think.

We've all heard about microplastics, but where do they come from? And what can we do about ocean plastics? We'll follow a single water bottle on its journey to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and beyond.

Hosted by: Stefan Chin

It was time for an update on plastic pollution since PBS NewsHour and SciShow explain the difficulties of recycling plastic and plastic pollution and SciShow provided it.

There's more to the story, so I'm embedding the episode Stefan Chin and SciShow referred to, Stopping Ocean Plastic Pollution at its Source | WILD HOPE from Nature on PBS.

Inventor Boyan Slat is on a mission to rid oceans of plastic. His team at The Ocean Cleanup designs and deploys systems that pull trash from the open ocean. Now, he’s stopping the pollution at its source: rivers where plastic is easier to catch, like those in Kingston Harbor, Jamaica.

Each year an estimated four million tons of plastic end up in the world’s oceans, killing thousands of marine creatures and accumulating up the food chain. The plastic gathers in five massive ocean gyres, the largest of which, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, holds 87,000 tons of trash. After years of research, The Ocean Cleanup has created a system that removes 7000 kilograms of trash from the sea every day and a half; the team aims to remove 90% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by 2040.

But plastics keep flowing into the ocean, largely from the world’s polluted rivers. In Jamaica, Boyan’s team has teamed up with Alecia Beaufort and a local group cleaning up their waterways. Together, they’ve deployed a new system to trap plastic at the source as it flows downriver during a storm. Their success has inspired others to join the effort, creating a virtuous cycle of citizen action.

While I thought SciShow's video to be informative, I felt Wild Hope's video to be inspiring. Both thought and emotion are necessary for people to act, so I'm glad I found both videos to inspire myself and readers to act.

Since plastic pollution is as much a problem for rivers as it is for oceans, consider today's post to be a late celebration of World Rivers Day.

Every year on the fourth Sunday in September, World Rivers Day highlights the many values of rivers and streams. It’s also a day to encourage the improved stewardship of rivers around the world.

Here's to remembering to celebrate World Rivers Day on time next year. That shouldn't be difficult, as it will fall on a day special to me.

That's a wrap for today's topic. Stay tuned for another entry worth sharing in October tomorrow.