As ocean lovers, we’ve all seen the heartbreaking images – beaches strewn with plastic waste, animals caught in abandoned fishing nets, coastal dead zones depleted of oxygen. Our oceans are in crisis, but one innovative new technology aims to help: the Bownet Barrier.
What is the Bownet Barrier and How Does it Work?
The Bownet Barrier is a revolutionary floating net system designed to trap ocean garbage before it can cause harm. This barrier net hangs like a curtain below the ocean’s surface, secured to the seafloor with anchors and buoys. The net has small openings – small enough to block plastics and other debris, while allowing fish and other marine life to swim through. The currents pass smoothly through the net, but plastics and ghost fishing gear get caught in its depths.
The genius of the Bownet Barrier is its passive design. Rather than moving through the ocean collecting trash, it stays stationary and allows the debris to come to it. As plastics drift on currents, they encounter the net and are trapped. An occasional boat visit is all that’s needed to scoop up the accumulated garbage and transport it back to shore for recycling. This simplicity is key to the net’s potential for large-scale, low-cost deployment.
Major Threats Facing Our Oceans Today
To understand why innovations like the Bownet Barrier are so vital, we need to examine the major problems plaguing the world’s oceans today:
- Overfishing and destructive fishing practices
- Pollution from plastics and chemicals
- Climate change and ocean acidification
- Declining coral reefs and marine ecosystems
Each of these issues provides an existential threat to ocean life. Let’s look at the crisis of plastic pollution and ghost fishing gear as a prime example.
Overfishing and Destructive Fishing Practices
Industrial overfishing is stripping the oceans of fish stocks faster than they can reproduce. Harmful techniques like trawling also destroy seafloor habitats. The results are devastating – 90% of global fish stocks are now either fully exploited or overfished. While initiatives like Marine Protected Areas help, bolder solutions are still needed.
Pollution from Plastics and Chemicals
Plastics and other waste enter the oceans in massive quantities each year. These plastics break down into microplastics, which magnify toxins and enter the food chain. Ocean chemicals like fertilizer runoff create suffocating dead zones. The billions of tons of plastic in our oceans threaten nearly every creature, from tiny zooplankton to great whales.
Climate Change and Ocean Acidification
Climate change causes ocean warming, acidification, and oxygen loss. Warming and acidification bleach and kill coral reefs, which shelter 25% of all marine life. Deoxygenation suffocates species and creates more dead zones. The life sustaining properties of the ocean are deteriorating rapidly under climate change stresses.
Declining Coral Reefs and Marine Ecosystems
Due to the many threats they face, vital ocean ecosystems like coral reefs and kelp forests are declining at catastrophic rates. Coral cover has decreased by 50% in just the past few decades. These foundations of ocean life support countless species, and their collapse has disastrous implications.
The Vision Behind the Bownet Barrier
Invented by scientists and entrepreneurs at Bownet, the barrier system aims to help restore ocean health by filtering out trash. Deployed at scale in areas like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Bownet Barriers could prevent millions of tons of plastics from circulating through marine ecosystems.
The Bownet team understands that cleanups alone won’t save our oceans. We must also prevent plastic pollution at the source and make sweeping systemic change. But they recognized the unique potential for barrier nets to be part of a comprehensive solution, from source reduction to clean up.
Key Features and Technology of the Barrier
The patented Bownet Barrier design has several key features that allow it to effectively capture ocean plastic:
- Durable HDPE plastic fibers withstand corrosion and marine forces
- Small mesh gaps filter out microplastics down to 2mm in size
- Floating booms keep net suspended vertically in water column
- Anchors and GPS tracker keep net stationed in location
- Marine-safe mooring allows access for maintenance
Maintenance vessels visit periodically to collect the caught debris and bring it back for recycling. Solar-powered sensors monitor net conditions and trapped trash levels in real-time. The durable barriers can remain at sea for years before needing replacement.
Preventing Ghost Nets and Marine Debris
Ghost nets are a major contributor to ocean plastic. Up to 640,000 tons of abandoned fishing gear enters the ocean each year. These drifting nets entangle whales, seals, turtles and other animals, condemning them to starve or drown.
The Bownet Barrier is specifically designed to snag these harmful ghost nets and accumulated fishing debris before they can continue destroying marine life. The trapped nets are hauled away so they can no longer kill indiscriminately.
Letting Ocean Currents Pass While Blocking Plastics
An ingenious aspect of the barrier system is how it allows smooth water flow while capturing debris. The net has a distributed mesh pattern and hanging shape that doesn’t obstruct currents. Drifter studies confirmed that oceanographic conditions and plankton movement are unaltered when passing through the net.
Yet despite this free flow, the net successfully snares plastics, ropes, bottles, and other junk. This passive filtration stops trash transportation without disrupting the marine environment.
Testing and Deploying the Barriers Globally
Bownet conducted extensive prototype testing in controlled settings and ocean trials before launching the barrier product. 3rd party organizations have verified and validated the system’s functionality.
Now in commercial production, Bownet aims to deploy barriers in all five gyres and other high plastic zones over the next 5-10 years. Bornet has partnered with NGOs, researchers, and governments to monitor barriers and assess ecological impact. Outreach programs also train local communities for barrier operation and maintenance.
Bownet Barriers in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
One major target location for barrier deployment is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), a vortex of trash floating between California and Hawaii. This concentration of marine plastic pollution spans 1.6 million square kilometers, an area twice the size of Texas.
Bownet plans to install an interconnected “fence” of barriers surrounding the GPGP to prevent debris escape. Models suggest that containing over 80% of this trash would only require barriers spanning 3% of the gyre region. Strategic placement maximizes plastic capture.
Within 5 years, these passive barriers could sequester millions of tons of plastic that currently circulate endlessly in ocean currents. Stopping the movement and breakdown of GPGP plastics will help restore marine ecosystems in the surrounding Pacific.
Improving Marine Habitats and Coastal Economies
Beyond cleaning up beaches, the societal benefits of reducing ocean plastic are immense. Plastics in the ocean damage marine habitats, reduce biodiversity, and introduce toxins into the food web. Removing these plastics can help restore ocean ecosystems.
In turn, cleaner local waters boost tourism, property values, recreational fishing, and other coastal industries. Keeping plastics out of the oceans also saves removal costs that total billions per year.
Partnerships with Governments, NGOs and Businesses
Bownet is working with stakeholders across sectors to maximize the positive impacts of their barrier system. They have partnered with national governments to deploy strategic barriers in their territorial waters. Leading NGOs help provide data to improve barrier designs and placement.
Fishing industry groups can integrate barriers to catch dangerous ghost nets. Waste management companies recycle the recovered ocean plastic into consumer products and packaging. This cross-sector collaboration accelerates progress towards healthier oceans worldwide.
You Can Help Support this Breakthrough Innovation
While large-scale commercial deployment is underway, the Bownet Barrier still needs public support and funding to reach its full potential. Concerned citizens can help by:
- Spreading awareness about this innovative solution
- Urging your government to install barriers
- Volunteering for ocean cleanup events
- Reducing your plastic consumption
- Donating to support barrier deployment
With your help, the Bownet Barrier’s passive filtration technology can accelerate the recovery of dying marine ecosystems across the globe. This is one net that catches trash, not sea life. Join the movement to clean up our oceans – the time to act is now!
In our last section, we examined how the ingenious Bownet Barrier design can passively capture ocean plastics without disrupting marine life or ocean currents. Now let’s dive deeper into the major threats facing our oceans that make innovative solutions like the Bownet Barrier so critical.
Major Threats Facing Our Oceans Today
Our oceans are under assault from a range of human activities. The stresses of overfishing, pollution, climate change, and habitat destruction are converging to push marine ecosystems to the breaking point. If we want productive oceans that can sustain lives and livelihoods, we must confront these threats head on.
Destructive Fishing Practices Strip the Seas
Rampant overfishing is one of the most visible human impacts on the oceans. Technological advances have enabled industrial fleets to vacuum up fish species at astonishing rates, far surpassing natural reproductive levels. Up to 90% of global fish stocks are now fully exploited or overfished.
In addition to overharvesting, destructive fishing practices like trawling and longlining obliterate seafloor habitats and produce huge amounts of bycatch. The devastation of underwater ecosystems further reduces biodiversity and resilience.
Plastics and Chemical Pollution Poison Marine Life
Plastic waste is perhaps the most pervasive pollutant in our oceans. Over 8 million tons enter marine environments each year. Plastics leach toxins, concentrate industrial chemicals, and accumulate up the food chain. Microplastics in particular wreak havoc, infiltrating the cells of fish and shellfish.
Other chemicals like oil spills, fertilizer runoff, and pharmaceutical discharge create their own disastrous impacts. Toxic algal blooms starve water of oxygen, creating eerie dead zones devoid of life.
Climate Change and Acidification Disrupt Ocean Systems
Global warming severely alters the fundamental properties of ocean ecosystems. Warmer waters destroy corals through bleaching. Increased acidification makes it harder for shellfish to form shells. Shifting currents and oxygen loss restructure marine food webs.
We are already witnessing the dire effects – 22% of the Great Barrier Reef perished in just two years. Ocean life is highly sensitive to these changes, prompting mass die-offs around the world.
Collapsing Ecosystems Extinguish Ocean Life
Under combined human pressures, vital ocean habitats like coral reefs and kelp forests are vanishing at an alarming clip. It’s estimated that 50% of coral reefs have died off since the 1950s. Kelp forests disappeared along hundreds of miles of California coastline.
These productive ecosystems support up to 25% of all marine species. Their widespread collapse has catastrophic implications for global biodiversity, food security, and human wellbeing. Urgent interventions are needed.
In Summary: Oceans in Peril
Our oceans are under dire strain from an onslaught of human activities. Overfishing strips away marine life. Pollution poisons ecosystems. Climate change alters ocean chemistry and systems. Habitat destruction decimates biodiversity.
As oceans decline, so does all who rely on them. Bold new solutions like the Bownet Barrier provide a glimmer of hope, but much more must be done. We have solutions – what we need now is the will to use them, and quickly.
There is still time to change course and restore vibrant life to our water planet. But we must act immediately and decisively. A healthy future for humanity is intertwined with the fate of our oceans. Will we rise to meet this challenge?
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Previously, we explored the major problems threatening the health of global oceans – overfishing, pollution, climate change, habitat loss. Now let’s do a deeper dive into one critical issue: overfishing and destructive fishing practices.
Overfishing and Destructive Fishing Practices
Of all the strains on ocean life, overfishing stands out for its devastating and immediate impacts. Advanced technologies have enabled industrial fleets to remove fish from the oceans at astonishing rates, far faster than populations can reproduce. This global overfishing crisis is pushing many species to the brink of collapse.
The Shocking Scope of Overharvesting
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, over 90% of the world’s marine fish stocks are now fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted. Industrial fleets are vacuuming up seafood faster than we can track. Some major commercial species like Atlantic cod have seen populations decrease by over 75%.
This drastic overharvesting outstrips the oceans’ ecological limits. Given the chance, fish populations can bounce back through reproduction and growth. But relentless overfishing gives them no such opportunity. Extinction looms for many treasured seafood species.
Technologies That Empty the Seas
What enabled such dramatic overfishing? Modern technologies are incredibly effective at locating and capturing ocean wildlife. Industrial trawlers use satellite data and fish-finding sonar to pinpoint fish. Enormous nets and lines can harvest vast tonnage of species like tuna or cod.
On-board freezers and processing plants allow ships to stay at sea for months, extracting fish continuously. The cumulative catching power of the global fishing fleet far surpasses what oceans can produce naturally.
Fisheries Management Failures
Government fisheries policies have largely failed to curb overfishing. Quotas are frequently set far too high. Enforcement of regulations is minimal. Illegal, unreported fishing runs rampant. Even with management, we extract fish to the maximum while disregarding environmental impacts.
New approaches like rights-based fishing and protected ocean zones show promise. But political will and investment lag far behind the urgency of this crisis.
Solutions to Replenish the Seas
Recovering depleted fish populations will require a mix of solutions, such as:
- Stricter catch limits and enforcement
- Banning destructive practices like trawling
- Expanding marine reserves
- Holding seafood companies accountable
- Consumer awareness campaigns
Innovations like the Bownet Barrier can also help by removing deadly ghost fishing gear from the oceans. With commitment and creativity, we can shift course and bring life back to the seas.
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In previous sections, we’ve covered the scourge of overfishing and other threats facing global oceans. Now let’s examine another critical issue – pollution from plastics and chemicals.
Pollution from Plastics and Chemicals
Ocean pollution may be less visible than overfishing, but its impacts on marine life are equally devastating. Each year, millions of tons of plastic waste and industrial chemicals pour into our seas, poisoning ecosystems from the depths to the surface.
The Avalanche of Plastic Debris
Plastic pollution is arguably the most pervasive and destructive pollutant in our oceans today. Over 8 million tons of plastic enter the seas annually – the equivalent of dumping a garbage truck of trash into the ocean every minute.
This deluge of plastic accumulates in huge ocean gyres and washes up on beaches around the world. Plastics leach toxins, concentrate industrial chemicals, and get ingested by marine life all the way up the food chain to fish and humans.
The Threat of Microplastics
Microplastics have especially sinister impacts on ocean health. These tiny plastic fragments result from the breakdown of larger debris. Microplastics permeate the water column and act as sponges for toxins like DDT and PCBs.
Ingested by zooplankton, fish, and shellfish, the microplastics infiltrate organs and tissues and cause cellular damage. The impacts cascade up the food web, even reaching the seafood we eat.
Toxic Chemical Runoff
Beyond plastics, a toxic cocktail of chemicals enters our seas, including fertilizer runoff, oil spills, pharmaceutical discharge, and industrial effluent. This chemical pollution poisons marine life, fuels toxic algal blooms, and creates oxygen-deprived dead zones.
For example, the Gulf of Mexico dead zone is now over 16,000 square miles from agricultural runoff. These chemicals alter the fundamental biochemistry of ocean waters.
Solutions to Clean Our Oceans
Battling ocean pollution will take innovations like the Bownet Barrier plus systemic change, such as:
- Plastic bans and industry accountability
- Wastewater treatment upgrades
- Agricultural runoff regulations
- Consumer education on chemicals
- Cleanup technologies like Mr. Trash Wheel
The stakes could not be higher. But with smart policies, new tech, and public pressure, we can stem the tide of plastic and usher in clean, healthy oceans once again.
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So far we’ve explored overfishing and pollution as major strains on our oceans. Another existential threat is climate change, which is fundamentally altering ocean chemistry and ecosystems.
Climate Change and Ocean Acidification
Climate change severely disrupts the marine environment through warming waters, ocean acidification, oxygen loss, and changing currents. The life-giving properties of the seas are rapidly deteriorating under these stresses.
Warming Waters Disrupt Marine Life
As climate change heats the oceans, marine species are pushed beyond their tolerance levels. Warm waters cause coral bleaching, seabird die-offs, and algae blooms. Fish, mammals, and invertebrates migrate to cooler waters, disrupting food chains.
Even small temperature changes can be devastating. A warming of just 1-2°C bleached and killed up to 50% of coral in the Great Barrier Reef in just 2 years. Few ecosystems remain untouched.
Increasing Acidification Impacts Shellfish
Rising carbon dioxide emissions react with seawater to form carbonic acid, making oceans more acidic. This growing acidity damages the shells of pteropods, clams, oysters, and other marine calcifiers.
Acidification also impairs shell development in larval shellfish. Oyster hatcheries in the U.S. Pacific Northwest already see 80% mortality rates due to corrosive waters. Such failures reverberate up the food chain.
Oxygen Loss and Dead Zones
Climate change and pollution are depleting oxygen levels in our oceans. Warmer waters hold less oxygen, and runoff fuels algal blooms that suck oxygen from water. Over 700 ocean dead zones now exist, covering a combined area larger than the United Kingdom.
Low-oxygen waters asphyxiate immobile species like clams and drawfish first, followed by systemic ecosystem collapse in these “dead” zones. This expanding deoxygenation threatens ocean life globally.
Halting the Cycle of Destruction
Solutions to the climate change threat include:
- Slashing carbon emissions
- Protecting marine ecosystems
- Assisting species migration and adaptation
- Reducing agricultural runoff
- Emerging geoengineering approaches
Much remains unknown about how marine life will cope long-term. But we must limit future disruption by tackling the root causes of climate change immediately.
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In prior sections, we’ve explored the threats of overfishing, pollution, and climate change on ocean health. These strains are decimating crucial marine ecosystems like coral reefs and kelp forests at an alarming rate.
Declining Coral Reefs and Marine Ecosystems
Coral reefs, kelp forests, mangrove swamps, and other ocean habitats provide food, shelter, and nursery grounds for thousands of species. Their widespread decline signals a looming biodiversity catastrophe.
Coral Reefs Are Collapsing
Coral reefs harbor 25% of all marine life while occupying just 0.1% of the ocean floor. These rainforests of the sea face escalating threats from bleaching, acidification, pollution, tourism, fishing, and shipping.
Shockingly, over 50% of the world’s coral cover has already been lost since the 1950s. The Great Barrier Reef has lost half its corals in just the past three decades. At this rate, most reefs may be functionally extinct by 2050.
Kelp Forests Vanish Along the Coasts
Kelp forests proliferate along temperate coastlines, providing habitat and food for species from sea otters to orcas. But factors like overgrazing, pollution, warming waters, and disease have wiped out kelp along hundreds of miles of California coastline.
Likewise, the canopies of Tasmanian giant kelp have declined by over 90% in recent years. These “underwater rainforests” are fading away before our eyes.
Mangroves, Seagrass, and More
Mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, oyster reefs, and other productive habitats are all declining. Almost 30% of mangroves vanished between 1980 and 2005. Seagrass is disappearing at rates up to 7% per year. Each lost habitat fragments the web of ocean life.
Intervention Is Needed to Restore Marine Ecosystems
If we want to resuscitate ocean biodiversity, we must take bold action, such as:
- Expanding marine protected areas
- Improving water quality to help habitats recover
- Restoring habitats like oyster reefs and kelp
- Curbing toxins and climate change
- Innovations like artificial reefs
With proactive solutions, we can revive abundant life in our struggling seas once more.
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The oceans are in crisis. Pollution, overfishing, and climate change have pushed marine ecosystems to the brink. But one innovative solution seeks to change that: the Bownet Barrier.
The Vision Behind the Bownet Barrier
The Bownet Barrier is a revolutionary new type of net developed by the nonprofit Bownet Ocean Cleanup. While traditional fishing nets are designed to trap marine life, the Bownet Barrier allows fish, dolphins, turtles and other animals to pass through unharmed. At the same time, it captures dangerous debris like plastics, metals, and abandoned fishing gear that harms ocean habitats and wildlife.
The barrier’s innovative design is the brainchild of marine biologist Dr. Sara Bowman. During her career studying fragile coral reef systems, she became alarmed at their rapid destruction from pollution, warming and acidifying waters. She realized that cleaning up the worst plastic pollution hotspots could help give reefs a fighting chance to recover. From this spark of an idea, the ambitious Bownet Barrier project was born.
Constructed from durable, flexible plastic polymers, the Bownet Barrier forms a floating barrier up to 5 kilometers long. It surrounds areas choked with plastic debris, while its unique porous structure allows water to flow through. The openings in the net have a patented “wave” design that guides marine life to pass safely through. But plastics and other debris become trapped in the waves, collecting for periodic removal by Bownet cleanup ships.
The materials used for the Bownet Barrier were carefully engineered to be lightweight, low-cost and capable of withstanding corrosive seawater and extreme storms. The wave design was optimized after extensive computer modeling, tank tests and studies of fish behavior. Ensuring the barrier won’t harm fragile marine life was a top priority for the Bownet team.
And their design seems to work. In sea trials, the Bownet Barrier captured over 80% of plastic debris while allowing almost all fish, turtles, dolphins and whale species to pass through unimpeded. Some creatures even seem to enjoy playing in the structure!
Deploying the Bownet Barrier
After successful smaller-scale tests, Bownet’s first full-sized barrier was deployed in 2020 in the North Pacific garbage patch between Hawaii and California. Chosen for its severe plastic pollution levels, this remote region also has relatively low marine biodiversity. This allowed comprehensive monitoring and assessment of the barrier’s efficiency and environmental impacts.
Results have been very promising so far. Over 300 tons of plastic pollution has been captured over 18 months of operation – including ghost nets, microplastics and assorted trash. Camera monitoring has confirmed animals appear to be passing through the barrier without issues. And computer simulations suggest localized plastic levels have decreased by over 40% in the enclosed area.
Buoyed by these successes, Bownet is now raising funds and support for larger barriers in other badly polluted regions. Their sights are set on major plastics hotspots near Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean. Each new barrier cleans up local pollution while gathering data to optimize future designs.
The Bownet team recognizes the barriers are a temporary solution for removing existing plastic trash. Ultimately, the crisis of ocean plastic stems from waste mismanagement on land. While working to clean up the oceans, Bowman continues to advocate for reducing and regulating plastic use worldwide. “The Bownet Barriers can help restore ocean health in the short term,” Bowman says. “But preventing plastic from ever reaching the oceans is the only way to achieve lasting change.”
Community-Driven Cleanup
While led by Bownet’s scientists, the barrier project relies on support from local communities and marine industries. Before each new barrier installation, Bownet conducts outreach with fishermen, tourism operators, marine conservation groups and governments.
By involving local groups, Bownet solicits feedback to minimize the barrier’s impacts. They also recruit volunteer cleanup ships from local fishing and tourism fleets, whose crews are paid for their efforts. This provides income to communities while offsetting Bownet’s operating costs.
Some industry groups initially feared the barriers would restrict fishing grounds or vessel traffic. However, careful monitoring suggests the impacts are small while the environmental benefits are substantial. “The barrier was barely noticeable once deployed,” noted a spokesperson for Hawaii’s longline tuna fishermen. “But each day it removes tons of harmful plastics from areas our fishermen have worked for generations.”
To date, over 300 cleanup ships have participated from fisheries in Hawaii, Alaska, Japan, Indonesia and Australia. Their monitoring and plastic removal efforts are vital to the Bownet Barrier’s success.
An Oceanic Turning Point?
With plastics pollution projected to grow dramatically in coming decades, innovative solutions are vital. Most experts agree our current reliance on plastic is unsustainable. But technologies like the Bownet Barrier may help bridge the gap as society transitions toward reduced plastic usage.
“The barriers help buy precious time for struggling ecosystems and vulnerable species,” Bowman says. “Removing existing trash pollution will give threatened marine life a foothold for survival – so they’re still around when we solve the root problem.”
Bowman sees the Bownet Barrier as one piece of a global movement toward healthier oceans. “If we join forces with industry, government, scientists and local communities, we can stem the tide of plastic pollution,” she says. “In turn, that supports the livelihoods of hundreds of millions who depend on healthy oceans.”
It’s an ambitious vision. But the early successes of the Bownet Barrier suggest we’re capable of meaningful progress, not just talk. “We have a huge challenge ahead,” Bowman says. “But for the first time in years, I feel a sense of hope. Together, we can solve this crisis.”
The innovative Bownet Barrier offers a high-tech solution to removing dangerous plastic pollution from our oceans. But what exactly makes this novel net design so effective?
Key Features and Technology of the Barrier
The Bownet Barrier was engineered from the ground up to capture plastic debris while allowing marine life to pass through unharmed. To achieve this, the barrier’s developers carefully considered factors like net structure, materials, buoyancy and more.
Here are some of the key features that enable the Bownet Barrier to work its ocean-cleaning magic:
Wave-Patterned Net Openings
The net itself is made of durable plastic fibers woven together. But unlike a normal net, the Bownet Barrier has a unique wave pattern to its openings. The wavy gaps between fibers are optimized in size and shape to trap debris while guiding animals safely through.
Developing the wave design required extensive computer modeling and simulations. Factors like animal size, shape and swimming behaviors were analyzed to ensure safe passage. The final design has opening sizes tuned for capturing common plastic trash like bottles, bags, fishing gear fragments and microplastics.
Flexible HDPE Plastic Fibers
The plastic polymer used to construct the barrier’s net fibers is high-density polyethylene (HDPE). This material was chosen for its durability, flexibility and resistance to degradation from sun, salt and weather exposure. HDPE fibers can withstand years of ocean conditions while maintaining the net’s integrity.
The fibers are also made from recycled plastics, giving waste materials new life. Their high flexibility helps the net conform to currents and allows marine animals to pass through safely.
Dual-Chain Floatation System
Getting the barrier to float at the proper depth was crucial. After testing various designs, Bownet settled on a dual-chain system. Chains suspended from the net run vertically around the perimeter, with buoys attached at regular intervals.
This design helps the net maintain its shape in currents while floating just below the surface. The dual-chain system also keeps the middle of the net open, while the buoys provide flotation. By tuning the chain lengths and buoyancy, the net’s float depth can be optimized.
Modular and Scalable Sections
Rather than being one solid structure, the Bownet Barrier is composed of connecting modular sections. This allows the barrier to be scaled up or down. Sections can be added or removed to match a target area’s size and shape.
The modular design also facilitates maintenance and repair. Individual sections can be detached and towed back to shore if needed for net repairs or replacement. New or improved sections can also be added over time.
Low-Power onboard cameras and sensors
To monitor performance and impacts, each barrier section contains solar-powered cameras, sensors and transmitters. Cameras record wildlife activity and debris collection for analysis. And sensors track metrics like net depth, temperatures, stresses and openings.
This data helps Bownet continue improving the barrier by revealing behaviors and conditions. It also confirms that animals are not being harmed by encountering the net.
Eco-Friendly Capture Process
Once full of snared debris, sections of the barrier can be temporarily closed off at either end. A collection ship then comes to scoop out the captured plastic using pumps and hoses to transfer it to the ship’s tanks. This avoids having to haul up heavy nets by hand.
The plastic is processed and recycled wherever possible. Any trash not suitable for recycling gets converted to electricity through waste-to-energy systems. This eco-friendly capture process lets the barrier keep working at full capacity.
Through this combination of innovative design features, the Bownet Barrier provides an efficient, customizable system for removing ocean plastic. And its commitment to protecting marine life lets it operate sustainably for as long as needed.
With barriers now working successfully in high-trash regions, the Bownet team continues improving their design. Each new deployment reveals more information to help the barriers capture even greater amounts of pollution. Thanks to its sound technology, the Bownet Barrier offers real hope for tackling the ocean’s plastic pandemic.
Ghost nets and plastic trash choking our oceans exact a heavy toll on marine life. Now, the innovative Bownet Barrier is fighting back against this dangerous pollution.
Preventing Ghost Nets and Marine Debris
Of all the threats facing ocean creatures, discarded fishing gear and plastic debris are among the most deadly. Ghost nets – abandoned or lost nets that drift through the seas – can fatally entrap whales, seals, turtles and countless fish. Plastic trash like bags, bottles and microplastics are consumed by marine life, endangering their health. The Bownet Barrier was designed specifically to combat these hazards.
Ghost nets are a huge problem, with estimated 640,000 tons of fishing gear discarded annually. These nets drift indefinitely, trapping or injuring up to 200,000 marine animals per year. Marine mammals like dolphins, seals and manatees are especially vulnerable, but all creatures great and small are at risk.
Plastic pollution also seriously harms marine ecosystems. Over 250 species are known to ingest plastics, often mistaking them for food or getting tangled up. Plastics leach toxins and accumulate up the food chain. They also degrade habitats like coral reefs through pollution, shading and abrasion. With over 15 million tons of plastic entering our oceans each year, the threats keep mounting.
The Bownet Barrier is uniquely equipped to address these dangers. By surrounding and trapping plastics and nets, it lets marine life pass through safely. Gaps in the barrier’s net are designed to entangle debris while guiding animals through. The newest Bownet 2.0 models improve capture rates even further.
Trapping Deadly Ghost Nets
The barrier captures entire ghost nets before they can claim more victims. Its net fibers snag and tangle drifting nets, stopping them in their tracks. Anchored lines along the sea floor also help corral nets against the barrier.
Once snared, cleanup crews carefully remove the tangled ghost nets for disposal on land. This prevents them from resuming their deadly voyages across the seas. In one 18-month trial, a Bownet Barrier captured over 30 tons of abandoned fishing gear – preventing untold marine injuries and deaths.
Halting Harmful Plastic Debris
Plastic debris meets a similar fate. The barrier’s specifically engineered gaps trap and filter out everything from discarded bottles and bags to tiny microplastics less than 1 mm across. Its net openings allow water to pass through while optimally capturing plastic trash.
Periodic removal of the accumulated plastics prevents it from breaking down into more microplastics or resuming its ecosystem damage. In the same 18-month trial, the barrier stopped over 270 tons of plastic pollution including 17 tons of microplastics.
Protecting Marine Ecosystems
This physical removal of deadly debris provides immediate relief to struggling marine ecosystems. Species can begin to rebound when freed from the constant hazards of ghost nets and plastic. Coral reefs see reduced damage when shielded from plastic abrasion and smothering.
Bownet Barrier installations also raise public awareness about the scourge of ocean plastics. This supports wider debris cleanup efforts and prevention programs to stop waste ending up in our waterways. Installing barriers around plastic hotspots helps buy precious time for ecosystems to recover.
Learning Through Monitoring
Another benefit of the Bownet Barrier is the monitoring data it provides. Onboard cameras and sensors track debris capture rates plus interactions between marine life and the barrier. This helps Bownet continuously refine the barrier’s design.
Measurement of ghost nets informs fishing communities about gear loss hotspots and trends. And seeing how much plastic the barriers catch provides motivation for waste reduction initiatives. The data from each new installation advances our knowledge further.
With its unique ability to filter out deadly debris, the Bownet Barrier is helping lead the fight against ocean pollution. Its mix of protection, prevention and knowledge gathering empowers communities to achieve meaningful change. As the barriers expand globally, our threatened oceans are starting to breathe easier.
For the Bownet Barrier to work effectively, it needs to stop plastic debris without disrupting natural ocean currents. The barrier’s innovative design achieves this crucial balance.
Letting Ocean Currents Pass While Blocking Plastics
Ocean currents play vital roles in regulating climate, cycling nutrients, and transporting food sources. Any large floating structure poses risks of interfering with these currents and marine life behaviors that rely on them. So ensuring the Bownet Barrier allows currents and creatures to flow smoothly was a top priority.
The Bownet team studied ocean hydrodynamics extensively when engineering their barrier. Their goal was to create optimal porosity – openings that filter out trash but don’t impede water movement or animals. Years of design tweaks and testing resulted in a smart solution.
Modeling Fluid Dynamics
Advanced computer modeling clarified how factors like opening size, net depth, and placement influence current disruption. The models simulated fluid dynamics for various materials and configurations under real-world scenarios.
This modeling revealed that vertical openings spaced along the barrier avoid major horizontal current shifts. The spacing, size and orientation of the gaps allow water to keep flowing largely unimpeded around the structure.
Careful Site Selection
Where the barriers are located also minimizes their impact. They’re positioned to avoid known current corridors and migration routes that marine life relies upon. Site selection considers input from local fishing and conservation groups familiar with each area’s unique flows.
The modular design lets the barrier be shaped around sensitive locations. Sections can also be opened temporarily to accommodate seasonal changes or weather events affecting currents.
Monitoring Currents and Wildlife
Once installed, sensors on the barrier track currents passing through continuously. Acoustic monitors record marine mammal and fish movements. This data ensures currents remain stable and animals transit safely.
If any concerning changes occurred, the modular sections could be opened to restore flows. But monitoring to date has shown minimal impacts in practice.
Adaptive Management
Beyond sensors, regular visual inspections check for debris accumulation, biofouling, and structural issues. Cleaning, repairs and design tweaks are applied as needed to keep the openings unimpeded.
Sections can also be removed or reconfigured based on performance data. This adaptive management fine-tunes the barrier over time to avoid disrupting the seas it aims to protect.
Responsible Construction Materials
The barrier’s materials avoid introducing new hazards to marine life. The HDPE plastic fibers contain no toxic ingredients, leach minimal microparticles, and are buoyant to avoid seabed disruption.
Anchoring systems were designed to minimize seafloor contact and habitat damage. And no paints or coatings are used that could leach chemicals into passing currents.
Through extensive testing and monitoring, the Bownet Barrier has proven able to effectively capture drifting trash while allowing marine lives and livelihoods to continue flowing unimpeded. And its exemplary performance helps make the case for scaling up clean ocean technologies worldwide.
The Bownet team’s care in maximizing porosity, adaptively managing placements, and selecting safe materials sets a high standard for future ocean cleanup projects. When designed well, barriers to pollution don’t have to block other flows that communities and ecosystems rely upon.
Perhaps the days of unencumbered marine plastic pollution are numbered. Thanks to solutions like the Bownet Barrier, currents of healthy change are starting to gather momentum across our precious oceans.
Creating an effective ocean cleanup technology is one thing. Successfully deploying it worldwide is another. The Bownet Barrier has progressed from small tests to global installations thanks to rigorous trials and collaboration.
Testing and Deploying the Barriers Globally
Dr. Sara Bowman knew that realizing her vision of reducing ocean plastic pollution would take more than just developing the Bownet Barrier. Verifying its real-world performance and scaling up responsibly required a phased testing and deployment program.
Progressing carefully from computer models to localized trials to global barrier installations has enabled successful pollution reduction with minimal environmental impacts. Here’s an inside look at that journey.
Controlled Testing Phases
Early computer simulations of the Bownet Barrier helped optimize the structure and materials used. But Bowman knew on-water testing would be crucial.
A small 100-meter prototype was towed at sea to observe stability and porosity. Next, a 1-kilometer barrier was set up in a controlled bay environment. Here, debris capture rates and marine life interactions could be monitored in detail.
Finally, a full-scale 5-kilometer barrier was installed in the open ocean. This pilot project enabled assessing performance under real-world conditions before wider deployments.
Selecting Initial Deployment Sites
The first full-sized installation focused on the North Pacific garbage patch between Hawaii and California. Chosen for its extreme plastic pollution, this remote region offered an ideal test bed away from dense marine traffic or migration routes.
Extensive baseline surveys were conducted to characterize plastic levels, marine life activities, and hydrodynamics. This enabled comparing before-and-after data to quantify the barrier’s efficacy and impacts.
Adaptive Expansion
As the North Pacific barrier demonstrated positive results, Bownet began expanding to other polluted areas like the Mediterranean and South China Sea. Each new location provided learnings to enhance the design.
Barrier shape, size, anchor points and other parameters were tailored to match different coastlines, seafloor terrain, currents and marine life habitats.
Ongoing monitoring continues to refine placements and barrier modifications for optimal local impact. This adaptive approach results in steadily improving capture rates and reduced environmental effects.
Community Partnerships
Partnering with local groups has been crucial when siting and deploying new barriers. Bownet conducts extensive outreach to understand concerns, share plans, and gather feedback.
Involving fishing associations, tourism operators, indigenous groups and conservation organizations ensures minimal impact to livelihoods or protected species. It also creates local buy-in and volunteer participation opportunities.
Global Knowledge Sharing
As deployments expand worldwide, Bownet makes sure to share data and best practices openly. Workshops bring together stakeholders from regions about to install barriers. This spreads technical and social learnings globally.
A key aim is empowering local groups to take ownership of barriers protecting their regions. Bownet provides ongoing technical support while transitioning operations to community partners over time.
This knowledge sharing approach multiplies the Bownet Barrier’s pollution-fighting power worldwide. It also creates skilled jobs in environmental restoration for coastal communities.
Through gradual controlled testing and globally collaborative deployments, the Bownet Barrier continues living up to its early promise. And Dr. Bowman’s vision of cleaner, healthier oceans is coming into focus around the world thanks to the barrier’s well-planned expansion.
With sound science and partnerships guiding the way, innovative systems like the Bownet Barrier can scale up responsibly – and make big waves against oceanic environmental threats.
Bownet Barriers in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
As we gaze out over the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, it’s easy to overlook the hidden threat lurking beneath the waves: plastic pollution. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a massive accumulation of plastic debris swirling in the North Pacific Gyre, contains over 80,000 tons of plastic and covers an area twice the size of Texas. This plastic poses a severe threat to marine life and ecosystems. Thankfully, an innovative new technology called the Bownet Barrier offers hope in the fight against ocean plastic.
The Bownet Barrier is a revolutionary floating net system designed specifically to collect and remove plastic from the ocean’s surface. Created by The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch environmental non-profit, the Bownet Barrier uses the ocean’s currents to passively capture plastic as water flows through the net. Unlike previous cleanup devices, the unique U-shape of the Bownet Barrier allows it to retain all the plastic it catches, even in harsh weather conditions.
So how does it work exactly? The Bownet Barrier consists of a 600 meter long floater tube attached beneath a tapered 3 meter deep net. The floater keeps the net afloat while the skirt beneath creates a smooth flow of water into the system. The curved barriers on either end act like arms to corral plastic into the U-shaped system. Powered by wind, waves, and solar energy, the Bownet Barrier is completely autonomous once deployed into the garbage patch region.
Because plastics tend to accumulate in calmer waters, the Bownet Barrier is designed to sit static in the centers of gyres where plastic concentrates. The angled netting enables smooth water flow to prevent plastic from spilling over the top even in stormy seas. The skirt and barriers also eliminate plastic escape underneath or around the sides. As plastic builds up inside the system, a support vessel empties the collection every few months.
What’s truly revolutionary about the Bownet Barrier is how it takes advantage of the ocean’s own currents and winds to passively capture plastic. Unlike vessels that must burn fuel to actively collect debris, the Bownet Barrier uses sustainable hydropower and solar energy to autonomously gather plastic pollution. And because it sits stationary, it avoids harming marine life or habitats in the process.
In trials conducted in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a single Bownet Barrier prototype managed to capture and retain over 2 tons of plastic within its first year of operation. Although a drop in the massive ocean plastic bucket, scientists estimate a full fleet of 60 Bownet Barriers deployed in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch could remove half of its plastic within just 5 years. The efficiency and sustainability of this passive collection system could be a real game-changer.
Of course, capturing ocean plastic is just the first step. The team at Ocean Cleanup is also developing methods to recycle the collected debris into saleable products, creating a closed loop system. Recovered ocean plastic could be upcycled into textiles, footwear, or even 3D printer filament to help fund continued cleanup operations.
With over 11 million tons of plastic entering our oceans each year, the need for creative solutions to this ecological crisis is urgent. The Bownet Barrier offers a glimmer of hope through its innovative, nature-inspired ocean plastic interception technology. While preventing plastic pollution remains paramount, technologies like this can help tackle the accumulating environmental threats already swirling in ocean gyres across the globe.
As awareness grows around the plastic crisis polluting our blue planet, the public is hungry for solutions. The Bownet Barrier proves that with some human ingenuity and working with nature, we can begin to clean up the mess we’ve made in our oceans. With some tweaks and improvements, floating barriers like this could be deployed across every oceanic garbage patch, steadily extracting tons of dangerous debris. There may still be millions of tons left to collect, but the Bownet Barrier offers real progress through its passive plastic capture system.
While the road ahead is long, the Bownet Barrier provides an inspiring model of how we can innovate our way to cleaner oceans. By letting nature do the work, reducing harm to marine life, and even recycling what we collect, the possibilities are endless for technologies like this. Each piece of plastic removed is one less bit of pollution that can endanger our precious aquatic ecosystems. If we’re going to tackle the ocean’s plastic epidemic, solutions like the Bownet Barrier will lead the charge into cleaner waters.
Improving Marine Habitats and Coastal Economies
As a coastal resident, I’ve witnessed firsthand the degradation of our local marine environments. Pollution, overfishing, and climate change have damaged fragile aquatic ecosystems that both marine life and coastal communities depend on. But an innovative technology called the Bownet Barrier offers a glimmer of hope for restoring vitality to our oceans and shores.
The Bownet Barrier is a revolutionary floating system designed to reduce plastic pollution threatening marine habitats. Harmful plastic debris not only damages marine life directly, but also smothers sensitive coral reefs and seagrass beds critical for ocean health. By reducing this plastic menace, the Bownet Barrier can help marine ecosystems rebound.
How exactly does it work? The Bownet Barrier uses natural currents to passively capture and gather plastic floating on the ocean’s surface. Plastics accumulate in the U-shaped system held in place by a tapered net. The angled net allows water to flow through smoothly while retaining all collected debris. Solar-powered pumps then periodically empty the plastic into support vessels.
The passive design is key – it avoids the noise, habitat disruption, and marine life casualties caused by active collection methods like trawling. Sitting static in ocean gyres allows the system to harvest plastic pollution without impacting the surrounding environment or species.
In initial real-world testing, a single Bownet Barrier scooped up over 2 tons of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch within a year. But the benefits could spread much further than plastic removal alone.
Reducing marine plastic means less likelihood of entanglement or ingestion by vulnerable species like seals, turtles, dolphins, and seabirds. For many threatened aquatic animals, plastic poses an existential hazard. Fewer plastics in our oceans and waterways translates to healthier habitats and improved odds for sensitive marine life.
As coastal seas return to balance, we’re also likely to see rebounds in fish stocks and coral reef regrowth. Declining fish catches around polluted areas demonstrate how greatly marine habitats suffer from plastic-choked waters. The Bownet Barrier offers a sustainable solution to restore biodiversity underwater.
For those who live and work along the coast, revitalized oceans can bring prosperity onshore too. Commercial fisheries stand to gain from flourishing stocks no longer menaced by drifting nets of plastic debris. As marine habitats rejuvenate, so too will opportunities for recreation and tourism focused on pristine coastal scenery.
At my local beach, the influx of plastics has noticeably detracted from the area’s natural beauty in recent years. Fewer visitors are willing to pay for lodging, food, or activities around degraded shores. But clean waters, pleasant beaches, and abundant marine life will restore the charm and economic vitality of coastal communities.
As with any new technology, the Bownet Barrier faces challenges achieving scale across all ocean gyres. But initial tests demonstrate a proof of concept with immense potential. And innovations like using reclaimed plastic in manufacturing the system could boost cost-effectiveness and sustainability.
While stemming the plastic flood at its sources remains imperative, the Bownet Barrier exemplifies how human ingenuity can also undo existing harms to nature. In time, floating barriers dotting our oceans could allow habitats and coastal industries to thrive once again.
Of course, the Bownet Barrier is only one piece of restoring marine environments to balance. But innovative solutions like this give me hope we can revive the true splendor and prosperity of our oceans and shores. As someone who cherishes the coast, that possibility is worth all the effort and imagination we can muster.
With care, stewardship, and promising technologies like the Bownet Barrier, I see a brighter future for the beaches, waves, and marine life that coastal dwellers hold dear. We all have a stake in the health of our oceans. With the right attitude and innovations, we can pass thriving, plastic-free marine habitats on to future generations. The Bownet Barrier offers an auspicious start down that path to restoration.
Partnerships with Governments, NGOs and Businesses
Tackling a massive crisis like ocean plastic pollution requires collaboration on a global scale. That’s why partnerships between the creators of the Bownet Barrier, governments, NGOs, and businesses will be key to scaling this innovative technology worldwide.
The Bownet Barrier is a game-changing floating system designed to capture and remove plastic waste from our oceans. But one organization alone cannot deliver the full impact needed. Strategic partnerships will provide vital resources and infrastructure to deploy Bownet Barriers across all five gyres where plastic accumulates.
Partnerships with national governments offer opportunities to integrate the Bownet Barrier into larger policy initiatives on ocean conservation. Governments have jurisdiction over territorial waters where many plastic-choked habitats are located. Their navies and coast guards can provide vessels and personnel to install barriers and collect captured debris.
Governments also set standards and regulations for industries producing plastic products and packaging. Policy initiatives that encourage recycled plastic content and single-use plastic reduction can lower the quantity of waste reaching oceans. Paired with Bownet Barrier deployment, these policies create a holistic push for long-term plastic waste solutions.
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) focused on ocean health are ideal partners for testing barrier prototypes and demonstrating results. NGOs like Oceana and Ocean Conservancy can help lobby government leaders to fund large-scale barrier deployment within polluted gyres.
These NGOs also run public awareness campaigns that boost support for the Bownet Barrier among everyday citizens. As people see the technology’s success in capturing ocean plastic, they may be more inclined to reduce single-use plastics in their daily lives.
Businesses in industries like consumer goods, fishing, and ocean transport that rely on marine resources also have incentive to back the Bownet Barrier. Corporations can sponsor prototype testing or pledge funding for barrier production and maintenance.
Sustainable fishing interests could provide vessels to help install barriers without disrupting regional ecosystems. Plastic-reliant businesses may support barriers as part of a broader corporate sustainability plan to reduce ocean waste.
Partnerships with plastic manufacturers specifically open doors to repurpose collected debris for recycling. The Bownet Barrier creators plan to upcycle captured ocean plastic into textiles, 3D printer filament, and other goods. Industry could help build these circular supply chains.
Financial institutions and global development funds focused on sustainability are another piece of the partnership puzzle. These large-scale investors can help drive down costs of multiple barrier production and deployment. Lower financing costs means more barriers in our oceans capturing waste.
No single entity can tackle ocean waste alone. But strategic partnerships allow the Bownet Barrier technology to scale globally across ocean gyres. With connected support from policymakers, NGOs, corporates, and finance groups, this game-changing plastic capture system can reach its full waste-reducing potential.
Of course, barriers are only one part of the solution. Holistic partnerships must also focus on stemming the rapid flow of plastic entering our seas in the first place. NGO campaigns, government bans on certain single-use plastics, and business commitments to reduce packaging waste are all complementary pieces for systems change.
The path ahead will have challenges to mainstreaming barriers worldwide. But the Bownet Barrier model demonstrates proof of concept. With the right collaborative approach, floating barriers could one day be as ubiquitous in our seas as lifeguard stations on beaches.
As a global community, we created the problem of plastic-choked oceans together through carelessness and indifference. Now we must join forces once again to implement solutions like the Bownet Barrier for a restored, healthy marine environment.
Partnerships at all levels – community, corporate, NGO, and government – will bring the resources and expertise needed to maximize barriers’ plastic-capturing potential. Our shared oceans connect us all. With joint commitment, technologies like this can clean up decades of neglect.
The time is now to form unlikely coalitions for collective ocean impact. The Bownet Barrier is ready to be a unifying force for plastic waste solutions. Together, through shared funding, resources, and policy initiatives, we can scale this technology to sweep our seas clean of plastics for good.
You Can Help Support this Breakthrough Innovation
The Bownet Barrier offers hope in the fight against plastic pollution filling our oceans. But realizing the full potential of this promising technology requires public participation too. Here are some ways you can help support the development and adoption of the Bownet Barrier worldwide.
Education is key. The more people learn about the Bownet Barrier and its sustainable approach to reducing ocean plastic, the more they may advocate for its use. You can help spread awareness by sharing news and informational videos about the technology through social media.
Writing letters to your local, state, and national government representatives can also motivate policymaker support for Bownet Barrier testing and deployment. Politicians respond when enough constituents call for action on an issue like ocean conservation.
On an individual level, reducing your own plastic waste keeps more from reaching oceans in the first place. Trying alternatives to single-use plastics, properly disposing of plastic items, and recycling whatever possible all make a difference. The less plastic needing capture, the greater the Bownet Barrier’s impact.
When shopping, choose products using recycled ocean plastic. As the Bownet Barrier captures more waste debris, recycled ocean plastic will become a sustainable alternative across many consumer industries. Demand for these materials helps create economic incentives for plastic removal.
You can also support nonprofits advocating for the Bownet Barrier like Ocean Cleanup through donations or volunteering. Environmental groups provide immense value through research, conducting prototype tests, and promoting public awareness.
In your community, encourage businesses to reduce plastic packaging and offer discounts for reusable options. Preventing waste before it reaches oceans is the best long-term solution. Grassroots advocacy starts conversation and sparks change locally.
Writing reviews highlighting plastic reduction efforts made by brands reinforces corporate commitments and investments in solutions like the Bownet Barrier. Consumer voices help steer business decisions toward sustainability.
Where possible, participate in beach or river cleanup efforts to stop plastic from reaching the ocean. Community-led initiatives raise local awareness while removing existing debris. Every bit helps reduce what may eventually need capturing.
Talking to family and friends about the Bownet Barrier and the plastic crisis facing our oceans multiplies awareness exponentially. Share solutions happening around the world like the Bownet Barrier to inspire hope and action.
The crisis of plastic pollution can seem daunting, but innovations like the Bownet Barrier demonstrate we can clean up our mess. As concerned citizens, our individual choices, voices, and actions collectively influence change.
Perfecting technologies like the Bownet Barrier takes time, funds, and public backers. We can all contribute in small ways to clear plastics from ocean ecosystems worldwide.
Support takes many forms – political advocacy, consumer choices, volunteer work, donations – but it all fuels momentum. The Bownet Barrier needs engaged citizens to realize its full potential cleaning our seas.
Does the Bownet Barrier solve the whole plastic pandemic? No. But it provides hope we can correct past wrongs through human ingenuity. Our oceans connect and sustain us all. With public support, this new barrier technology can help restore that vitality.
Get informed, spread awareness, advocate politically, mobilize community – every voice and action combining to support innovations like the Bownet Barrier count. Small individual acts stack up to large-scale change.
The health of our shared oceans affects us globally, whether inland or coastal. Technological breakthroughs like the Bownet Barrier deserve all our help to maximize positive impact.
Supporting this technology means supporting the restoration of fragile aquatic habitats, marine life resurgence, climate regulation, indigenous communities and future generations – all who rely on thriving oceans.
Our oceans gave life to all Earthly beings. With promising innovations like the Bownet Barrier, we now have an opportunity to return the favor through our individual and collective support worldwide.