A YouTuber with a heart of gold, a former NASA engineer and ocean conservationist made something incredible happen. Thanks to Mr Beast and the #TeamSeas campaign, millions of kilograms of trash have been removed from oceans, beaches and rivers worldwide!
Global (18 July 2024) — Earlier this week, Ocean Conservancy announced that a whopping 34,080,191 pounds (over 15,458,514 kilograms or roughly 15458 tonnes) of trash has been removed from oceans, beaches and rivers worldwide—a massive difference for ecosystems everywhere that wouldn’t have been possible without YouTuber and philanthropist Mr Beast and former NASA engineer Mark Rober’s #TeamSeas campaign.
The #TeamSeas campaign has now officially wrapped on the highest note, marking the end of almost 3 years in action.
The campaign which raised half a billion rand in just 65 days made years of clean-up work possible. In total, #TeamSeas amassed over 1.3 billion views tagged videos; making donations possible every single day since its launch.
For Mr Beast, (Jimmy Donaldson), it was nothing short of a surreal experience.
“#TeamSeas was one of the craziest things I’ve ever attempted and it’s awesome that the YouTube community came together to make it happen,” Mr Beast reflected. “If everyone keeps up the momentum, we can make a huge difference.”
Mark Rober adds:
“I’ve always been driven by finding solutions to tough problems, and plastic pollution is a massive one, especially for our oceans.
“Clean-ups are a crucial part of the solution, and I’m super proud of how Ocean Conservancy, The Ocean Cleanup, and all the #TeamSeas supporters stepped up and took action.”
Ocean Conservancy shares that they conducted nearly 2,000 beach, underwater and ghost gear cleanups, mobilising over 172,000 volunteers across 73 countries — mammoth tasks to combat a mammoth plastic problem!
Scientists estimate that 11 million metric tons of plastic pollution (much of this being single-use plastics) enter the ocean every year from land-based sources alone. This is roughly the equivalent of a rubbish truck being filled with plastic every minute.
While this information is distressing, actions like that of the #TeamSeas team play a beyond-essential role for the greater good of the environment. Not to mention, they’re a fantastic example of how much power those driving digital content creation have to impact the real world for all the right reasons.
“[The campaign] shows the ever-growing power of digital creators to create change,” says co-founder and campaign director Matt Fitzgerald. “The campaign has engaged millions of young people around the world to shift culture and take action.”
Sources: Supplied—Ocean Conservancy
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