global briefs

Great Minds

Artificial Intelligence Joins Fight Against Marine Litter

MARLIT, an open-access web app based on a deep-learning artificial intelligence algorithm, will promote the detection and measurement of floating plastics in the sea with a reliability of over 80 percent, according to a study published in the journal Environmental Pollution conducted by experts at the Biodiversity Research Institute of the University of Barcelona.

Floating macro-litter is a threat to the conservation of marine ecosystems worldwide. The largest density of floating litter is in the great ocean gyres (systems of circular currents that spin and catch litter), but polluting waste is also abundant in coastal waters and semi-closed seas such as the Mediterranean. The analysis, using artificial intelligence techniques and more than 3,800 aerial images of the Mediterranean coast along Catalonia, will permit researchers to detect the presence, density and distribution of plastic pollutants in seas and oceans worldwide. Historically, direct observation by boats and planes formed the basis for assessing the impact of floating marine macro-litter, but the massive area of the oceans and the amount of data required have made it hard in the past for researchers to progress with new monitoring studies.

Ark Park

World’s Largest Wildlife Highway Crossing Opens in San Antonio

The new Robert L.B. Tobin Land Bridge connects people with nature in the heart of San Antonio across a six-lane highway at Phil Hardberger Park. Private donations and a five-year bond program approved by voters helped fund the $23 million bridge, the largest wildlife crossing of its kind in the U.S.

Wildlife and vehicle collisions are a big problem across the country, increasing by 50 percent in 15 years, with an estimated 1 to 2 million large animals killed by motorists every year, according to National Geographic sources. In the U.S., 21 threatened and endangered species face extinction partly because of traffic accidents. Wildlife crossings are seen as an effective solution to the problem, with fatality reductions of up to 95 percent, depending on the location. The San Antonio bridge is notable for its size—150 feet wide and 150 feet long—and that it accommodates people, too. Animals in the 330-acre park that benefit from the bridge include ringtails, squirrels, coyotes, lizards, raccoons and deer. They are using it as intended, and it also serves as a habitat for native plants.

Fitting End

Composting Human Remains is a Reality

Frustrated with the limited options for environmentally friendly burial services and the rampant use of embalming in most funeral homes, which turns these sites into major groundwater polluters, environmental activist Katrina Spade founded Recompose (Recompose.life), the country’s first human composting funeral home, in Seattle. Formaldehyde, one of the most common embalming chemicals, is a carcinogen.

Inspired by Spade’s idea, Governor Jay Inslee passed a bill legalizing composting as a form of human burial in 2019. Before then, the only legal and eco-friendly burial options were natural burial sites, of which there are only one or two hundred in the country. Both cremations and traditional burials cause environmental damage. Recompose offers an innovative funeral service that turns human remains into healthy soil. It gives Washington state and surrounding residents a chance to make a positive environmental change through their death, as well as their life. The process is said to save a metric ton of CO2 in the burial process, and the facility is accepting clients throughout the Northwest.