Boylan Slat and I have a similar dream. He wishes he could rid the oceans of all the garbage, specifically plastic, that mankind has dumped in this critical resource. My dream is that we can and will return the entire planet to a pristine condition. While I wonder if my dream is even possible and have done little to help this cause, Boylan is actually starting to act on his dream. And we desperately need action.
Here is a young man who identified a problem and had an idea of how to solve it. His combination of desire, ingenuity and maybe a touch of naivete has resulted in a compelling strategy to an epic problem. Further, many of the typical obstacles and objections raised for similar ideas like cost and energy consumption, have been addressed and worked through in a simple, rational way. The final result, at least from this layman's view, is something worth pursuing.
In our world today, we are barraged by an endless stream of news, social likes and regurgitation of information about the increasing speed of Climate Change's impact on our lives. Irrespective of all the very real doom and gloom, it feels like we are doing a lot of talking and not enough doing. I need only look at myself to some degree and see that I too am guilty of this inaction. The fact that Boyan is acting, maybe the best part of his grand and very important project. And yes, with respect to this specific idea, it would appear the doing is limited to testing elements of the plan and not a full-scale test. None-the-less, some action.
One would hope that based on the number of viewers that have seen this TED Talk and the potential influence and investment that could be made from participants of this audience, that an 'Angel' will invest and help Boyan realize his dream. I think this is easily a situation where it is better to try and fail than not try at all. I wish this dreamer succeeds and we will all be richer for the resulting better world.
Follow Boyan's progress here, The Ocean Cleanup and donate!