Plastiki about to set sail to raise pollution awareness
It’s so nice to see billionaires spending their money on worthwhile causes. Take for example 30-year-old British adventurer David de Rothschild, who is currently making his final preparations for a journey across the Pacific Ocean on a boat made of plastic bottles. Hear me out, I’m serious about this.
David de Rothschild with the Plastiki
De Rothschild, an avid environmentalist, has spent millions of dollars working on the Plastiki, a boat made almost entirely of plastic bottles and other recycled waste, and will soon set sail from San Francisco on a trip to raise awareness about the dangers of pollution and alternative uses for waste materials like plastic. The boat has been three years in the making, and de Rothschild hopes to get started on his trip across the Pacific to Sydney, Australia, within the next couple of weeks.
Along his journey, de Rothschild will collect water samples and post blogs, photos, and videos from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a large patch of ocean northwest of Hawaii that is littered with tons of plastic caught in the region’s circulating water currents. The pollution has been devastating to fish and seabirds in the area, and de Rothschild wants to call more global attention to this disgusting, disturbing problem. Don’t be fooled by the term “patch” — this “plastic soup,” as the researcher who discovered it describes it, spans an area larger than the state of Texas.
De Rothschild says he is not trying to protest the use of plastic, but rather it’s non-reuse. “I want the Plastiki to make a statement that it’s our lack of reuse, uses and disposal that it is at fault, not the material itself,” he explained. He hopes that his journey not only raises awareness about pollution, but inspires people to recycle and reuse their waste materials.
The Plastiki itself will be a showcase of recycled and environmentally friendly materials. Only about 10% of the boat will be made from new materials, while the majority of the Plastiki is comprised of thousands of plastic bottles and recycled PET, a woven plastic fabric.
Artist Rendering of the Plastiki -- www.adventureecology.com
A crew of six will join de Rothschild on the maiden voyage of the Plastiki, and the trip is estimated to take about 100 days from San Francisco, California to Sydney, Australia, with stops at Hawaii, Midway Island, Bikini Atoll, and Vanuatu along the way.
For more information about the Plastiki, and to follow along with its journey once it sets sail, check out de Rothschild’s website, Adventure Ecology. Here’s a sneak peek video from de Rothschild:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDWzb-iKZE8[/youtube]
