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Is this worth fighting for? Be the change...

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Carcases of nearly 90 elephants have been found near a famous wildlife sanctuary in Botswana, conservationists say.

Elephants Without Borders, which is conducting an aerial survey, said the scale of poaching deaths is the largest seen in Africa.

The spike coincides with Botswana's anti-poaching unit being disarmed.

Botswana has the world's largest elephant population, but poachers have been breaching its border.
Some readers may find the image below distressing
The scientist carrying out the extensive wildlife survey said many of the 87 dead elephants were killed for their tusks just weeks ago - and that five white rhinos have been poached in three months.

"I'm shocked, I'm completely astounded. The scale of elephant poaching is by far the largest I've seen or read about anywhere in Africa to date," said Dr Mike Chase from Elephants Without Borders.

More on this and others stories from the continent

'Elephant refugee' problem in Africa

The country that brought its elephants back from the brink

"When I compare this to figures and data from the Great Elephant Census, which I conducted in 2015, we are recording double the number of fresh poached elephants than anywhere else in Africa."

That census estimated a third of Africa's elephants had been killed in the last decade and 60% of Tanzania's elephants had been lost in five years.

Botswana has had a reputation for an unforgiving approach to poachers and had largely escaped the elephant losses seen elsewhere.

Despite a lack of fences on the international border, data from tracking collars showed elephants retreating from Angola, Namibia and Zambia and deciding to stay within the boundaries of Botswana where it was thought to be safe.

Incidents of poaching in the country were rare because of armed and well-managed anti-poaching units.

With 130,000 elephants, Botswana has been described as their last sanctuary in Africa as poaching for ivory continues to wipe out herds across the rest of the continent.

The first sign that was changing came two years ago when the BBC flew with Mr Chase close to the Namibian border and he discovered a string of elephant carcasses with their tusks removed for the first time.
Watch: Findings from the last Elephant census
But these latest killings have been found deep in Botswana - close to the protected Okavango Delta wildlife sanctuary, which attracts tourists from around the world.

"People did warn us of an impending poaching problem and we thought we were prepared for it," said Mr Chase, who pointed to the disarmament of the country's anti-poaching unit as a cause.

"The poachers are now turning their guns to Botswana. We have the world's largest elephant population and it's open season for poachers.

"Clearly we need to be doing more to stop the scale of what we are recording on our survey."

The government disarmed its anti-poaching units in May - a month after President Mokgweetsi Masisi was sworn into office.

The units have focussed much of their effort on the border regions, which have historically been more vulnerable.

A senior official in the president's office, Carter Morupisi, told journalists in Botswana at the time that the "government has decided to withdraw military weapons and equipment from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks", but he did not explain why.

Botswana's 2018 Wildlife Aerial Survey is only half-way through and conservationists fear the final figure of poached elephants will be a lot higher.

The survey area is split into sections, or transepts, and the plane flies back and forth like a lawnmower cutting the grass - turning at each end to ensure nothing is missed.

"Fresh carcasses" are those lost within the last three months, but many of those recorded had been killed within the last few weeks.

Conservationists fear the scale of this new poaching problem is being ignored as it is bad for the country's reputation.

"This requires urgent and immediate action by the Botswana government," said Mr Chase.

"Botswana has always been at the forefront of conservation and it will require political will.

"Our new president must uphold Botswana's legacy and tackle this problem quickly. Tourism is vitally important for our economy, jobs, as well as our international reputation, which is at stake here as being a safe stronghold for elephants."

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Carcases of nearly 90 elephants have been found near a famous wildlife sanctuary in Botswana, conservationists say. Elephants Without Borders, which is conducting an aerial survey, said the scale of poaching deaths is the largest seen in Africa. The spike coincides with Botswana's anti-poaching unit being disarmed.

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At age 16 (2011), Slat came across more plastic than fish while diving in Greece. He decided to devote a high school project to deeper investigation into ocean plastic pollution and why it was considered impossible to clean up. He later came up with the idea to build a passive system, using the circulating ocean currents to his advantage, which he presented at a TEDx talk in Delft in 2012.[9][10]

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How the oceans can clean themselves: Boyan Slat at TEDxDelft

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One Young Man with Determination and Conviction: The Power of One

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One Young Man with Determination and Conviction: The Power of One

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The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization developing advanced technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. We aim to remove 90% of the floating plastic with the help of ocean cleanup systems and river interception technologies.

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The Ocean Cleanup Machine

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Since 2015, we've been following the story of Boyan Slat, a young inventor who set out to fight against the world's plastic pollution problem. At only 20 years old, he developed an invention aimed at tackling the world's largest patch of garbage, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

This vortex of trash, located between California and Hawaii, covers 600,000 square miles of ocean and is responsible for countless animal deaths. After years of testing and research, Slat's foundation The Ocean Cleanupis finally ready to launch the system and begin the Pacific cleanup. The invention consists of a nearly 2,000-foot-long tube that floats on the water. This has a 10-foot tapered skirt attached to it that stops debris from escaping.

Currents in the water carry the system along naturally, and as the tube curves, it accumulates garbage in the center for easy removal. This means that every few months, a vessel can go to retrieve the trash and bring it to land for sorting and recycling. This simple idea has proved effective in testing and now that the system passed its last tests for seaworthiness, it's ready to take on its big mission.

On September 8, the system will be launch from The Ocean Cleanup assembly yard and move through the San Francisco Bay toward the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Once launched, it should take about 3.5 hours to enter the Pacific Ocean, at which point its final destination will be about 1,000 nautical miles away.

The day is a pivotal moment for Slat and his team, which went through almost 300 scale models, comprehensive mapping of the Garbage Patch, and several technology iterations to bring the system to fruition. With the launch nearly here, they can then focus on the next goal, which is cleaning up half of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in five years.

Want to watch the momentous occasion? The Ocean Cleanup is live streaming the system launch on its website starting at 12pm PDT / 3 pm EDT / 9 pm CEST on September 8, 2018.

Located between California and Hawaii, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a vortex of trash that kills a substantial amount of wildlife.

Learn more about how The Ocean Cleanup's system will tackle the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

After years of testing, the full system is being assembled for launch on September 8, 2018.

People can tune in and watch as the cleaning system moves into the Pacific Ocean.

And to think, just three years ago this was only the dream of a 20 year old interested in cleaning up the planet.

The Ocean Cleanup: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
h/t: [ reddit]

All images via The Ocean Cleanup except where noted.

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World's Largest Ocean Cleanup System Is Finally Ready to Launch

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Since 2015, we've been following the story of Boyan Slat, a young inventor who set out to fight against the world's plastic pollution problem. At only 20 years old, he developed an invention aimed at tackling the world's largest patch of garbage, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

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Are we all on a journey? Are we writing our own destiny?

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A super basic overview

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The Hero’s Journey | Is my graduation project for the University HKU | Image and Media Technology

Since the beginning of time people are fascinated by stories of hero’s. But did you know there is a fundamental structure that's lies beneath all these tales of fantasy. Joseph Campbell, a famous mythologist, was the first to discover similarities within all ancient myths. He called it the Monomyth. According to him there are 17 stages in which every hero has to walk through one way or the other. 

Christopher Vogler a Hollywood development executive was inspired by the writings of Campbell. He wrote his own adaptation guide for hollywood screenwriters.

In the hero’s journey his 12 stages are visualized by using iconic blockbuster movies that follow the same structure of storytelling.

For more information check out my website: 
clipevents.com

Directed & Animated | Iskander Krayenbosch

Music | Boris Stipdonk
Sound Design | Boris Stipdonk & Arthur Bruinse

Voiceover | Bob Miller

Additional Illustrations | Mirjam Verhoog

Special Thanks | Lenno Verhoog | Martin van Rijn | Gertrude Krayenbosch

Graduation project for ® HKU 2015