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Mr. Trash Wheel, a mechanism that collects trash from tributaries that feed into Baltimore's Inner Harbor sits in the water, Friday, May 13, 2022, in Baltimore. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean. Officials say Mr. Trash Wheel has inspired fans to begin recycling or join trash cleanups.
An employee of Osprey Initiative lays boom as the company installs a trap called a Litter Gitter to help collect trash floating in a canal before it can travel into larger bodies of water in Metairie, La., Thursday, May 19, 2022. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean.
Employees of Osprey Initiative lays boom as they install a Litter Gitter, to help collect trash at the source before it travels into larger bodies of water, in Metairie, La., Thursday, May 19, 2022. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean.
Jack Bates, of Osprey Initiative, collects trash that was captured by the company’s Litter Gitter, which catches trash in waterways in nine states before it can travel into larger bodies of water, in New Orleans, Friday, May 27, 2022. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean.
Jack Bates, of Osprey Initiative, collects trash that was captured by the company’s Litter Gitter, which catches trash in waterways in nine states before it can travel into larger bodies of water, in New Orleans, Friday, May 27, 2022. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean.
FILE - A device that uses a curtain of tiny air bubbles to catch floating plastic and move it to a collector, bottom right, in the capital's canals works on Nov. 6, 2019, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Great Bubble Barrier captures plastic floating on and in the water while letting wildlife and boats pass by.
FILE - A device that uses a curtain of tiny air bubbles to catch floating plastic in the capital's canals works on Nov. 6, 2019, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Great Bubble Barrier captures plastic floating on and in the water while letting wildlife and boats pass by.
In this July 2018 photo provided by AlphaMERS Ltd, a floating fence collects trash in the Cooum River in Chennai, India. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean.
Employees of Osprey Initiative install a Litter Gitter to help collect trash before it can travel into larger bodies of water, in Metairie, La., Thursday, May 19, 2022. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean.
Jack Bates, of Osprey Initiative, collects trash that was captured by the company’s Litter Gitter, which catches trash in waterways in nine states before it can travel into larger bodies of water, in New Orleans, Friday, May 27, 2022. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean.
Collected trash sits in bags as Jack Bates, of Osprey Initiative, launches a canoe to clean out one of the company’s Litter Gitters -- traps to collect trash in waterways before it can travel into larger bodies of water, in New Orleans, Friday, May 27, 2022.
Mr. Trash Wheel, center left, a mechanism that collects trash from tributaries that feed into Baltimore's Inner Harbor, sits in the water as a man rolls by on a scooter, Friday, May 13, 2022, in Baltimore. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean. Officials say Mr. Trash Wheel has inspired fans to begin recycling or join trash cleanups.
Floating fences in India. Whimsical water- and solar-driven conveyor belts with googly eyes in Baltimore. Rechargeable aquatic drones and a bubble barrier in The Netherlands.
These are some of the sophisticated and at times low-tech inventions being deployed to capture plastic trash in rivers and streams before it can pollute the world's oceans.
The devices are fledgling attempts to dent an estimated 8.8 million tons (8 metric tons) of plastic that gets into the ocean every year. Once there, it maims or kills marine plants and animals including whales,dolphins, and seabirds and accumulates in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and other vast swirls of currents.
Trash-gobbling traps on rivers and other waterways won’t eliminate ocean plastic but can help reduce it, say officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program.
“It’s just hard to get out to our big open oceans and collect the trash there," said Director Nancy Wallace. “We’d much rather collect that trash closer to shore, which is easier. It's less costly, and we can have that impact before it gets into the ocean.”
Trash is blown, washed or thrown into waterways nearly everywhere. Storm drains funnel in litter tossed onto streets. In places without refuse collection, people use convenient waters to carry trash away.
The science of plastic pollution is new and almost as much in flux as the waters it studies. For instance, a scientist who reported in 2017 that rivers might carry anywhere from 450,000 to 4.4 million tons (410,000 to 4 million metric tons) of plastic a year into the sea also was part of a 2021 study that narrowed the range considerably, with an upper limit of nearly 3 million tons (2.7 million metric tons).
“Compared to other pollutants ... available data on plastics is still scarce,” Christian Schmidt, of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig, Germany, wrote in an email.
D.C. Sekhar of Bengaluru, India, designed a low-tech trap for rivers in his country after he left a career in commercial shipping.
As an oil tanker captain, “I had traveled around the world and seen waterbodies that were fairly clean,” while trash fouled India’s, he said.
Wanting something modular, inexpensive, easy to maintain and able to withstand monsoons, he designed stainless steel mesh fences that extend above and below aluminum floats 3.9 feet (1.2 meters) long.
Sekhar's AlphaMERS Ltd. has installed big floating barriers across rivers at eight southern cities from Hyderabad to Tuticorin. Each is angled to guide trash to a riverbank where excavators pile it into dump trucks.
Eight traps on India’s Cooum River at Chennai, costing about $120,000 total, corralled about 2,400 tons (2,200 metric tons) of plastics and 21,800 tons (19,800 metric tons) of other trash and floating plants in 2018, their first year in position, said Sekhar.
The system with the biggest fan base may be the anthropomorphized Trash Wheels at the mouths of four Baltimore watersheds.
“We’ve got 100,000 followers across major social media platforms,” said Adam Lindquist, vice president of programs and environmental initiatives for the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, which owns three devices.
“They are a really great model for how to get the public involved and attentive to the issue,” MaryLee Haughwout, then acting director of NOAA's Marine Debris Program, said in April. The program has helped pay for trash traps in the Anacostia River outside Washington, D.C., and the Tijuana River estuary in California and Mexico but is not involved with the Trash Wheels.
Lindquist said Mr. Trash Wheel has inspired fans to begin recycling or join trash cleanups, and its trash collection data helped convince the Baltimore City Council to ban foam food containers, effective October 2019.
The number of foam clamshells and cups collected by Mr. Trash Wheel has plummeted from an average of more than 147,000 a year from 2015 through 2018 to 26,760 in 2021, according to data on the website.
The devices use ancient and modern technology to run rakes and a conveyor belt that move floating trash into barge-mounted dumpsters. Usually, the current carrying bottles and cigarette butts also turns a water wheel for power. When the current slows, a solar-powered water pump spins the wheel.
Together, Mr. Trash Wheel, Professor Trash Wheel, Captain Trash Wheel and Gwynnda the Good Wheel of the West, named for Gwynns Falls, have taken in more than 2,000 tons (1,800 metric tons) of trash, including 12.6 million cigarette butts and nearly 1.5 million plastic bottles. They are turned on only during and after rainstorms, when large amounts of trash show up.
Mr. Trash Wheel and his younger “relatives” have curved sailcloth shells above their workings, a water wheel on one side, and sport 5-foot (1.5-meter) googly eyes. Each has a personality profile on the web, and Mr. Trash Wheel has an active Twitter account.
A similar device called Wanda Díaz is being installed on the Juan Díaz River at Panama City, Panama by nonprofit La Marea Verde. It won't have googly eyes but will have AI software to analyze the trash on its conveyor belts.
Larger, entirely solar-powered conveyor belts have been designed for Ocean Cleanup founder Boyan Slat, who is now testing those $775,600 “Interceptors” for river trash.
In The Netherlands, Bubble Barrier Amsterdam pumps compressed air through a perforated tube set across the River IJ at Westerdok, where several canals flow into the river. The tube is set diagonally to direct trash to a rectangular collecting device near the shore.
The WasteShark, a boxy 5 foot, 2 inch long (157 centimeter) aquatic drone, was developed about 35 miles (57 kilometers) away in Rotterdam. A drone's hold can accommodate 42 gallons (160 liters) of trash, floating plants and algae, according to RanMarine Technology. They can operate up to eight hours on a charge.
More than 40 have been sold worldwide to buyers in a dozen countries including the U.K, U.S., Nigeria and Singapore, chief operating officer Esther Lokhorst said in an email. Prices start at 23,500 euros (about $25,600) for manually controlled models, more for programmable versions.
Osprey Initiative LLC, of Mobile, Alabama, works on an even smaller scale, setting up floating traps on creeks, canals and rivers in the U.S. Southeast and training local crews to empty the traps, then sort, analyze and dispose of trash.
The company employs about eight to 10 people full-time, with about 30 part-time local workers at projects across nine states, said owner and founder Don Bates. “If you can work with us part time for six months -- and our work is dirty, nasty work -- you come out of it with a changed view of your impact on the environment,” he said.
In the end, said NOAA’s Haughwout, reducing marine plastic will require fundamental changes such as making and using less, particularly single-use plastics such as straws or cutlery; recycling; reusing what you can and choosing reusable items over disposable ones.
“In addition to disposing of waste I like to emphasize awareness,” she said. “I think people don't understand how they contribute.”
AP video journalist Carrie Antlfinger contributed to this report from Milwaukee.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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From the first antivirus program in the 1970s to the zero-trust protocols of today, security has evolved over the years as developers strive to stay one step ahead of hackers.
Taser developer Axon said this week it is working to build drones armed with the electric stunning weapons that could fly into schools and “help prevent the next Uvalde, Sandy Hook, or Columbine.” But its own group of technology advisers quickly panned the idea as a dangerous fantasy. The publicly traded company, which sells Tasers and police body cameras, floated the idea of a new police drone product last year to its artificial intelligence ethics board, a group of well-respected experts in technology, policing and privacy. Some of them expressed reservations. But they did not expect Axon’s Thursday announcement that it wants to send those Taser-equipped drones into classrooms.
The federal government is taking the first step to set up a program that could offer more than $7 billion of loans to repair aging dams across the country. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a proposed rule Friday for the program, which could be open for applications in 2023. The Corps' Water Infrastructure Financing Program was authorized under a 2014 law. But it hadn't been set up because it lacked funding. A series of laws adopted over the past 18 months finally provided that funding. The safety of the nation's 92,000 dams has come under increased scrutiny in recent years after some high-profile failures forced evacuations.
Major automakers are asking Congress to lift the cap on how many people can receive tax credits for buying a hybrid or fully electric vehicle. Currently the number of tax credits allowed is capped at 200,000 per company. General Motors and Tesla have already reached the cap and Toyota is close to it. In a letter to leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives on Monday, the chief executives of Ford, Toyota, GM and Stellantis asked that tax credits be extended to anyone who seeks to buy a qualified vehicle. General Motors and Tesla have already reached the cap and Toyota is close to it. Automakers say they want the cap lifted until “the EV market is more mature,” without giving a time frame.
The head of the Federal Trade Commission says the agency is pushing a robust agenda of actions and policies to help safeguard children’s privacy online. The ongoing work will include toughened enforcement of a long-standing law governing kids’ online privacy and eyeing the algorithms used by social media platforms targeting young people. Lina Khan has led the consumer-protection agency for a year. She calls the issue of children’s privacy enormously important and says the FTC is working to protect children from data abuses. Around the country, parents’ concerns have deepened over the impact of social media on kids.
New York this week became the second state to pass a law attempting to force gunmakers to adopt microstamping. The technology imprints a tiny serial number on shell casings, potentially making it easier for police to link a crime to a specific weapon. However, it’s unclear whether the law will ever result in such guns being offered for sale. California enacted a similar law years ago, only to have gunmakers pull new handgun models from the market rather than embrace the technology. Meanwhile, critics claim microstamping isn’t an effective crimefighting tool. Both states are now applying new tactics to pressure manufacturers, including limiting future sales of older models that lack the technology.
Cyprus police say they have seized servers that were used to sell social security numbers and other personal information stolen from 24 million U.S. citizens. A cybercrime official said Thursday that four websites were taken down in a joint operation with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. A U.S. Department of Justice statement said the websites operated for years and generated more than $19 million in sales revenue. The personal information that was hacked included the names, dates of birth and social security numbers of U.S. citizens. The justice department also credited Latvia with helping it stop the international operation.
Stocks rallied in a roller-coaster day of trading on Wall Street Wednesday after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by the biggest margin since 1994, but also said such mega-hikes would not be common. The Fed did signal that more increases are on the way as it tries to tackle the worst inflation in four decades. The increase of three-quarters of a percentage point was three times as big as the central bank usually makes. The S&P 500 rose 1.5% after several sudden moves up and down immediately after the Fed’s announcement. Treasury yields fell.
With record-high gas prices, travelers can save money on summer road trips by considering alternatives. They can plan a trip to U.S. regions with lower-cost fuel, like the Midwest or South. If travelers need to rent a car, they might find affordable options by going to a cheaper car rental location or considering a car rental alternative like car sharing. With more hotels offering electric vehicle charging, renting an electric car could be more convenient and less expensive than expected. No matter what car or region, spending on a rewards credit card, particularly one that earns extra points on gas, could help lessen the sting of road trip expenses.
The Environmental Protection Agency is warning that two nonstick and stain-resistant compounds in drinking water pose health risks at levels so low they cannot currently be detected. Most uses of “forever chemicals” known as PFOA and PFOS have been voluntarily phased out by U.S. manufacturers. But there are some ongoing uses. The EPA on Wednesday issued nonbinding health advisories setting health risk thresholds for PFOA and PFOS to near zero. Environmental and public health groups hail the EPA’s action. The chemicals are in products including cardboard packaging and carpets. The chemicals remain in the environment because they don't degrade. Serious health conditions associated with the chemicals include cancer.
Mr. Trash Wheel, a mechanism that collects trash from tributaries that feed into Baltimore's Inner Harbor sits in the water, Friday, May 13, 2022, in Baltimore. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean. Officials say Mr. Trash Wheel has inspired fans to begin recycling or join trash cleanups.
An employee of Osprey Initiative lays boom as the company installs a trap called a Litter Gitter to help collect trash floating in a canal before it can travel into larger bodies of water in Metairie, La., Thursday, May 19, 2022. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean.
Employees of Osprey Initiative lays boom as they install a Litter Gitter, to help collect trash at the source before it travels into larger bodies of water, in Metairie, La., Thursday, May 19, 2022. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean.
Jack Bates, of Osprey Initiative, collects trash that was captured by the company’s Litter Gitter, which catches trash in waterways in nine states before it can travel into larger bodies of water, in New Orleans, Friday, May 27, 2022. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean.
Jack Bates, of Osprey Initiative, collects trash that was captured by the company’s Litter Gitter, which catches trash in waterways in nine states before it can travel into larger bodies of water, in New Orleans, Friday, May 27, 2022. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean.
FILE - A device that uses a curtain of tiny air bubbles to catch floating plastic and move it to a collector, bottom right, in the capital's canals works on Nov. 6, 2019, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Great Bubble Barrier captures plastic floating on and in the water while letting wildlife and boats pass by.
FILE - A device that uses a curtain of tiny air bubbles to catch floating plastic in the capital's canals works on Nov. 6, 2019, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Great Bubble Barrier captures plastic floating on and in the water while letting wildlife and boats pass by.
In this July 2018 photo provided by AlphaMERS Ltd, a floating fence collects trash in the Cooum River in Chennai, India. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean.
Employees of Osprey Initiative install a Litter Gitter to help collect trash before it can travel into larger bodies of water, in Metairie, La., Thursday, May 19, 2022. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean.
Jack Bates, of Osprey Initiative, collects trash that was captured by the company’s Litter Gitter, which catches trash in waterways in nine states before it can travel into larger bodies of water, in New Orleans, Friday, May 27, 2022. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean.
Collected trash sits in bags as Jack Bates, of Osprey Initiative, launches a canoe to clean out one of the company’s Litter Gitters -- traps to collect trash in waterways before it can travel into larger bodies of water, in New Orleans, Friday, May 27, 2022.
Mr. Trash Wheel, center left, a mechanism that collects trash from tributaries that feed into Baltimore's Inner Harbor, sits in the water as a man rolls by on a scooter, Friday, May 13, 2022, in Baltimore. Many novel devices are being used or tested worldwide to trap plastic trash in rivers and smaller streams before it can get into the ocean. Officials say Mr. Trash Wheel has inspired fans to begin recycling or join trash cleanups.
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