3 of 3 results for "pollution"
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Plastic Pollution in the Oceans Is a Growing Crisis

In Plastic Pollution in the Oceans Is a Growing Crisis, host Simon Reeve encounters the devastating effects of the plastic trash that is overwhelming islands like the Maldives and Hawaii. This video is excerpted from BBC's Incredible Journeys With Simon Reeve, a series that highlights one journalist’s travels across the globe and the diverse cultures and peoples he meets along the way.

News Clip
Checking Water Pollution? There's an App for That

When it comes to gathering water data, the “employee of the month” may look a little on the “green and cubical” side. Alongside Yorkshire rivers, there are multiple green boxes working hard to gather data on river quality that should, in a couple years, be available for river users and potential swimmers to access through an app that tracks pollution. 

Though there are currently apps that show pollution data, that information is old and outdated. This upcoming app is special, because it will use live data from an on-site sensor to provide real-time pollution levels in the water. It’s not meant to tell people “safe” or “not safe” or “swim” or “don’t swim,” but it can give people what they need to make an informed decision... mostly. 

The green boxes have a big shortcoming: they’re unable to detect some really nasty bacteria like E.coli, which can only be measured in a lab. But don’t worry, old-school scientists are on the case, manually taking samples to send away for analysis. These findings will be used to build a data set that will be combined with green box data, and AI learning will infer when E.coli (and other bugs) are present in the river. 

So, today, we celebrate a beautiful marriage —  one of traditional testing, new technology, and AI. It may not be the pairing you’re rooting for on Love Island, but it shows great promise for water safety! 

Video
Saving Our Beaches from Plastic Pollution

In Saving Our Beaches from Plastic Pollution, naturalist Steve Backshall meets some young Bali residents who are cleaning up the beach to minimize the environmental impact of plastic. This video is excerpted from BBC's Deadly 60, an award-winning nature and adventure show for kids in which narrator Steve Backshall has one mission: to travel the globe in search of 60 of the world's deadliest animals.