HOW WE’RE REMOVING 1 MILLION POUNDS OF PLASTIC OUT OF THE OCEAN

We are removing the highest volume of plastics in the world for mid-ocean clean-up with donated maritime vessels combined with technology like GPS Trackers and Drones. Don’t let anyone ever say that mid-ocean clean-up is impossible! Mary Crowley is the founder and executive director of Ocean Voyages Institute established in 1979 as a non profit, public charity based in Sausalito, California, with the goal of preserving the ocean environment, the maritime arts and sciences, and island cultures. Mary’s efforts since 2009 at Ocean Voyages Institute have focused on the removal of toxic plastics from our global ocean and conducting cleanups of consumer plastics and derelict fishing gear which entraps sea life, kills reefs and marine habitats. Mary is one of the founders and project directors of the environmental mission Project Kaisei and personally led two month-long expeditions on board the 151′ Brigantine Kaisei to the North Pacific Gyre. She has previously served as Executive Director of the Oceanic Society, publisher of Oceans magazine and on the board of Directors of WELL Network, Richardson Bay Maritime Association, Project Jonah, the Maritime Museum of San Diego, Sail San Francisco and many other organizations. She is a founding member of Planetree, which enhances healing environments in hospitals and healthcare education. Besides being an educated and ardent environmentalist, Mary has found time to enjoy exploring the world via yacht, logging over 115,000 miles at sea. She was a teacher and program director for the Oceanic School of New York on board the 345′ Brigantine Statsraad Lehmkuhl for nine months, (a school year). She was also on the first voyage of S.E.A. of Woods Hole on board the Brigantine Westward as staff. She has sailed in the Galapagos archipelago 23 times as well as repeat visits to most of the world’s ocean areas. It is Mary’s lifelong passion for sailing, snorkeling, diving, and exploring the world’s oceans that has fueled her continuing commitment and dedication to ocean conservation and the marine environment. She feels we all have an opportunity to be part of the solution and take action to change behaviors around the epidemic of throw-away plastics and support ocean cleanup. To Learn More Visit: www.oceanvoyagesinstitute.org This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx