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Ice sheets reflect the sun's Ray's and are habitats for animals, what if we used the plastic in the ocean to create artificial ice sheets


Description

Summary

I was recently watching David attenborough's documentry on Netflix "our panet" and like many other people I was stunned by the scene where the walruses were falling off cliffs that they had climbed due to the lack of ice sheets in the arctic for them to rest on.

This got me thinking, what if we cleaned up the Pacific garbage patch melted down the plastic we collect and recycle it into large artificial ice sheets that we let float in the arctic. This would make a habitat that the animals would/could get used to and possibly create a surface capable of reflecting some of the sun's Ray's back out of the atmosphere. If these sheets were perhaps printed using a large 3D printer then it may be also possible to print a tidal turbine on the bottom of these artificial ice sheets creating sustainable green power in this fragile environment.


Is this proposal for a practice or a project?

Not sure


What actions do you propose?

My idea involves paying fishing trawlers to collect plastic from the Pacific garbage patch. Then take said plastic to a place we could process it and break it down the ideal situation would be to a large ship that could break this down on the move. Once the plastic has been broken down into a usable substance we use large 3D printers perhaps attached to two ships to print these large artificial ice sheets in place in the arctic.


Who will take these actions?

This would not be a cheap idea, however if presented correctly to the right people it is entirely possible. Governments would have to be involved crowd sourcing would have to happen and a large company with good intentions would have to help out such as Tesla etc.


Where will these actions be taken?

These actions would have to be taken in New Zealand as it's the closest port to Antarctica, the Pacific garbage patch and Antarctica 


In addition, specify the country or countries where these actions will be taken.

Antarctica


Country 2

New Zealand


Country 3

No country selected


Country 4

No country selected


Country 5

No country selected


Impact/Benefits


What impact will these actions have on greenhouse gas emissions and/or adapting to climate change?

These actions would clean up our oceans, reflect some of the sun's Ray's out of the ocean in effect keeping the ocean cooler, it would provide habitats and hunting grounds for animals that are loosing these areas. And if possible would create sustainable energy in a very harsh environment


What are other key benefits?

As specified earlier it would have an effect globally, animals would have habitats, the oceans would be cooler, reducing the risk of oceans raising and there would be sustainable energy in the arctic which could be used for scientific research in the arctic


Costs/Challenges


What are the proposal’s projected costs?

The biggest challenge would be getting the money to do this, there would have to be crowd sourcing or government funding or a large company supporting this. The other problem would be recycling the plastic In an environmentally friendly way


Timeline

I believe the technology already exists so if we found a way to get the money this project could have artificial ice sheets being printed in the arctic in 5 years


About the author(s)

Well this is just an idea I personally have had, i got the picture from Google the rest is all just an idea I've been thinking about. I'm a scaffolder from Christchurch New Zealand, I'm just an average person with an idea that I think can change things. I dont particularly care if I'm involved in the process or if I evan get a mention I just want to do my bit to help


Related Proposals


References

Phys.org for the image I used, Netflix for our planet