Cleaning our oceans: a big plan for a big problem
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0:07 - 0:13What do you think when you take
a look at these two images? -
0:13 - 0:15Do you see any connection?
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0:15 - 0:18Maybe, maybe not.
-
0:18 - 0:21We will talk about it later.
-
0:21 - 0:23Now look at this picture.
-
0:23 - 0:27My dad keeps watching a lot
of movies of this man, -
0:27 - 0:34and he has his own version of a very
famous dialogue from one of his movies: -
0:34 - 0:38"There are two kinds of people
in the world. -
0:38 - 0:41The ones who create problems
-
0:41 - 0:46and the ones who solve them."
-
0:46 - 0:49I want to be in the latter category.
-
0:49 - 0:53Now, let me tell you what
I really want to do, -
0:53 - 0:59besides showing simple
correlational pictures. -
0:59 - 1:04I want to solve a problem,
a very big problem. -
1:04 - 1:10A 5-trillion-piece problem
that's plaguing us today: -
1:10 - 1:14the problem of what we throw
into our oceans. -
1:14 - 1:19Did you know by 2050
we will have the same, or maybe more, -
1:19 - 1:22plastic in the ocean than fish?
-
1:22 - 1:28Or if we were to take all the plastic
on the ocean surface and pile it up - -
1:28 - 1:32do you know how far
a distance it would cover? -
1:32 - 1:34Take a guess.
-
1:34 - 1:40It would be enough to stack two-liter
bottles from here to the moon and back -
1:40 - 1:42twice.
-
1:42 - 1:46That's one long walk.
-
1:46 - 1:51To put into perspective
the ocean pollution, as you can imagine, -
1:51 - 1:55is a very, very big problem.
-
1:55 - 1:59While these statistics are huge
and mind-boggling, -
1:59 - 2:04what really moved me was the impact
that this waste has on life. -
2:04 - 2:08I learned something about whales recently.
-
2:08 - 2:15Only July 2013, this young whale ended
up on the shores of Northern Netherlands. -
2:15 - 2:21The people were very surprised to find
an unusually bloated stomach. -
2:21 - 2:24When they opened it up, they found,
among other things, -
2:24 - 2:27two horse pipes,
-
2:27 - 2:29nine-meter rope,
-
2:29 - 2:34and 37 pounds of plastic.
-
2:34 - 2:36It's cause of death?
-
2:36 - 2:39Intestinal blockage.
-
2:39 - 2:43What emotions run within you
when you see this helpless seal -
2:43 - 2:46entangled within this net?
-
2:46 - 2:52Anger, pain, or perhaps even shame?
-
2:52 - 2:55There are many more
horrifying pictures i have seen, -
2:55 - 2:58which I found extremely disturbing.
-
2:58 - 3:01Every time I see people eating fish,
-
3:01 - 3:05I feel that we're not just feeding
plastic to fish, -
3:05 - 3:09we are feeding it to ourselves as well.
-
3:09 - 3:13The plastic we dispose,
which ends up in the ocean, -
3:13 - 3:19gets consumed by small organisms
which are later eaten by bigger fish, -
3:19 - 3:23which might just be the fish
that ends up on our plate. -
3:23 - 3:27Talk about the vicious karmic cycle.
-
3:27 - 3:33All this while we are trying to find
water and life on other planets, -
3:33 - 3:35and I think and smile.
-
3:35 - 3:39If we cannot do justice to life
and water on our planet, -
3:39 - 3:45what are we trying to achieve
by searching it outside our Earth? -
3:45 - 3:47With so much happening around us,
-
3:47 - 3:51it got a bit depressing
and overwhelming for me -
3:51 - 3:56that I felt I had to do
something about it. -
3:56 - 3:59Hence, I came up with an idea
of an invention -
3:59 - 4:03that could help make the oceans
a cleaner place: -
4:03 - 4:06an ocean cleaner called ERVIS.
-
4:06 - 4:11Now getting back to the two pictures
we saw in the beginning. -
4:11 - 4:17Garbage plus the sink
equals to ERVIS. -
4:17 - 4:20So what is ERVIS all about?
-
4:20 - 4:25ERVIS is an intelligent ship which
sucks waste from the surface of the ocean -
4:25 - 4:28and cleans it.
-
4:28 - 4:32It all started last year when I saw
some documentaries -
4:32 - 4:36on water pollution
and how it is plaguing us. -
4:36 - 4:41I also happened to see Boyan Slat's
TED Talk on the same problem -
4:41 - 4:44and how he wanted to tackle it.
-
4:44 - 4:48Then one day, as I came home
from playing football, -
4:48 - 4:52my mom asked me to wash my hands.
-
4:52 - 4:55And as I went to the sink
to get the dirt off, -
4:55 - 4:58I saw how the water flowed
into the sink hole -
4:58 - 5:03and an idea came to my mind
and I smiled. -
5:03 - 5:07As I saw the swirl of the water
whirlpooling down the drain, -
5:07 - 5:10I figured I could use the same concept
-
5:10 - 5:13to suck in waste from
the surface of the water -
5:13 - 5:15and store it in a chamber.
-
5:15 - 5:17So I rushed to the bathtub,
-
5:17 - 5:20filled it with water and my toys,
-
5:20 - 5:21opened the nozzle,
-
5:21 - 5:24and was delighted to see
a whirlpool being created -
5:24 - 5:28which started to suck in the water
and toys in the tub -
5:28 - 5:31and I immediately knew what I had to do.
-
5:31 - 5:35And so I went to my room,
drew a rough model, -
5:35 - 5:38a circular ship with saucers attached,
-
5:38 - 5:40a very futuristic design,
-
5:40 - 5:44much like the USS Enterprise
from Star Trek - -
5:44 - 5:48we all loved the series, right?
-
5:48 - 5:51So I zoomed around the house,
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5:51 - 5:54scrambled and collected the following:
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5:54 - 5:56an inflatable tube,
-
5:56 - 5:59straws, connection pipes,
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5:59 - 6:00scissors,
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6:00 - 6:03some cardboard to make the saucers,
-
6:03 - 6:05and voila!
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6:05 - 6:07ERVIS Version 1 was born.
-
6:07 - 6:09This was just the first draft.
-
6:09 - 6:11The propellers weren't automated
-
6:11 - 6:17and it only lasted seven seconds
in water before coming apart, -
6:17 - 6:19but there it was,
-
6:19 - 6:23my ERVIS,
my vision of changing the oceans. -
6:23 - 6:25I then got a little more serious,
-
6:25 - 6:27did some exhaustive research,
-
6:27 - 6:33and realized that a circular shape
was not very efficient, -
6:33 - 6:37so I redesigned it
to be more stretched with curves. -
6:37 - 6:43I worked with a 3D designer
to make the new design and model of ERVIS. -
6:43 - 6:47Another interesting fact I came across
during my research -
6:47 - 6:51was that large ships like the one you see
in the picture -
6:51 - 6:55are actually one of the
biggest pollutants on Earth. -
6:55 - 7:00They use high-sulfur fuel,
which creates a lot of air pollution. -
7:00 - 7:04I wanted to make sure ERVIS didn't
become part of that problem, -
7:04 - 7:08so I looked at renewable energy,
like solar and wind, -
7:08 - 7:12and cleaner ones like hydrogen
and RNG. -
7:12 - 7:16I investigated into using
lighter materials, like graphene, -
7:16 - 7:18which is as durable as steel,
-
7:18 - 7:22and making it autonomous, like Tesla.
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7:22 - 7:26I eventually want to see multiple
ERVISes manning the ocean, -
7:26 - 7:29cleaning and scavenging the waste.
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7:29 - 7:32So, what do I want ERVIS to do?
-
7:32 - 7:36As I was doing my research, going through
a variety of resources, -
7:36 - 7:41and after guzzling down innumerable
cups of hot chocolate- -
7:41 - 7:46hey, I'm still a kid, no coffee for me-
-
7:46 - 7:51I realized part of the problem
was that we actually don't know -
7:51 - 7:54a lot about the waste that pollutes
our oceans, -
7:54 - 7:58and so I started zeroing down
on the following things -
7:58 - 8:01I really want ERVIS to do:
-
8:01 - 8:04the first, to clean the current waste
floating in the ocean, -
8:04 - 8:10second, to analyze the data
from the waste which we collect, -
8:10 - 8:15and the third, stopped at source,
which is getting disposed by the ships. -
8:15 - 8:17So here's how it works.
-
8:17 - 8:19The ship is essentially a large boat
-
8:19 - 8:24with various compartments
and saucers surrounding it. -
8:24 - 8:29The working of waste collection
is based on some basic physics concepts, -
8:29 - 8:33like saucers which rotate
to capture waste, -
8:33 - 8:37a multi-stage cleaner
which is a size-based separation, -
8:37 - 8:40and a compactor to compact the trash.
-
8:40 - 8:45The saucers float on the surface
gravitate to create a whirlpool -
8:45 - 8:47to pull the waste towards its center.
-
8:47 - 8:51These saucers will have a central outlet
which will swallow the waste -
8:51 - 8:56and is connected through a tube
to various chambers in the ship. -
8:56 - 8:58Imagine a gigantic vacuum cleaner
-
8:58 - 9:03with many cleaning tubes
attached to many dust bags. -
9:03 - 9:04Once the waste enters the tube,
-
9:04 - 9:08we'll have various stages,
which will then segregate it. -
9:08 - 9:13First, we have an infrared sensor,
which alerts ERVIS for marine life. -
9:13 - 9:17The waste then goes to various chambers
for processing. -
9:17 - 9:23The first chamber is the oil chamber,
which collects waste oil. -
9:23 - 9:27The second, third, fourth,
and fifth chambers -
9:27 - 9:32are for large, medium, small
and micro-waste respectively. -
9:32 - 9:34Once the waste enters those chambers,
-
9:34 - 9:39we analyze, segregate,
and compact it, -
9:39 - 9:43and pump the filtered water
back into the oceans. -
9:43 - 9:48Beyond ERVIS, I see myself tackling
other ocean problems, -
9:48 - 9:51like the waste which lies
at the bottom of the sea, -
9:51 - 9:55and the waste which lies on beaches.
-
9:55 - 9:57I would like to do more research on
-
9:57 - 10:02how I can help effectively dispose
of the waste - -
10:02 - 10:05maybe process it on the ship itself-
-
10:05 - 10:10or creating different storage stations
at the oceans for holding the waste. -
10:10 - 10:12Collector ships can bring the waste there
-
10:12 - 10:16and transport ships
can take them back to land. -
10:16 - 10:20Someone asked me how confident
I was about the success of ERVIS. -
10:20 - 10:23As Chris Anderson wonderfully put it,
-
10:23 - 10:28this idea exists and will always
remain a part of me, -
10:28 - 10:31and nobody can take that away.
-
10:31 - 10:37Before I end, I want this to be
a new beginning of hope -
10:37 - 10:40that one day I will see
my creation in action, -
10:40 - 10:42going there,
-
10:42 - 10:44cleaning the oceans,
-
10:44 - 10:48and restoring the natural habitat
of our marine world. -
10:48 - 10:49Thank you.
- Title:
- Cleaning our oceans: a big plan for a big problem
- Description:
-
When 11-year-old Haaziq Kazi first prototyped his invention to clean plastic from the surface of the ocean, it lasted for about 7 seconds before coming apart in his bathtub. But that didn't stop him! In fact, his invention just got better and more elaborate. In this Talk, Haaziq's enthusiasm and creativity remind us that, when it comes to solving some of earth's biggest problems, our imagination may be one of our greatest assets.
This talk was recorded at TED-Ed Weekend in New York City. To learn more about the event, go here: https://www.ted.com/attend/conferences/special-events/ted-ed-weekend
The TED-Ed Clubs program supports students in discovering, exploring and presenting their big ideas in the form of short, TED-style talks. In TED-Ed Clubs, students work together to discuss and celebrate creative ideas. Club Leaders receive TED-Ed's flexible curriculum to guide their Members in developing presentation literacy skills to help inspire tomorrow's TED speakers and future leaders.
To learn more about TED-Ed Clubs or to start your own club, go to http://ed.ted.com/clubs.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 10:53
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Retired user
2:23:82
misspelling in English, correct: hose pipes