Megacities, Microplastics, and Machines: How AI, Drones, and Data Are Powering Asia’s Fight Against Ocean Plastic.
Monty Simus, Senior Advisor, Blue Finance at The Ocean Cleanup | July 15 2026
From megacities and rivers to the open Pacific, much of the world’s ocean plastic problem starts — and can be stopped — in Asia. This talk takes you inside The Ocean Cleanup’s work across East and Southeast Asia, showing how AI, drones, and real-time data are being used to track plastic, stop it in rivers, and clean it up before it reaches the ocean. Along the way, we’ll look at why microplastics matter, how everyday urban life connects to ocean health, and why technology — paired with local action — is becoming one of the most powerful tools in the fight against ocean plastic.
Bio: Montgomery (“Monty”) Simus is Senior Advisor, Blue Finance at The Ocean Cleanup, the Dutch nonprofit organization developing and scaling technologies to remove plastic pollution from the world’s oceans and rivers. His work focuses on the intersection of environmental infrastructure, ocean policy, and innovative finance — including how plastic remediation, river systems, and coastal resilience can become investable components of 21st-century infrastructure strategy.
Monty is also a member of the Treatied Spaces Research Group at the University of Birmingham, where his interdisciplinary PhD research examines conflicts surrounding resource extraction, Indigenous jurisdiction, and environmental governance through the case of Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska.
In 2023, he served as an inaugural Impact Leader-in-Residence at Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative, focused on global water accessibility, resilient infrastructure, and sustainable finance. He currently serves as an Associate with the Harvard-China Project on Energy, Economy, and Environment at Harvard University’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and as an Associate Fellow of Branford College at Yale University.
Previously, Monty spent more than two decades working across impact investing, frontier markets, catalytic philanthropy, and sustainable development initiatives spanning Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. He holds degrees from Yale University and Harvard University. WATCH HERE
NATURE CONSERVANCY’S GREAT LAKES PROGRAM JOHN ANDERSEN OF GREENLEAF ADVISORS
John Andersen is Founder and President of Greenleaf Advisors and its affiliate nonprofit, Greenleaf Communities, where he brings together expert science, research, policy, business and government actors to inform and implement solutions to protecting earth’s resources addressing climate, water, land, and energy. He helped develop the world’s leading real estate firm, JLL, and lead The Nature Conservancy’s Great Lakes Program in North America. John presented on North America’s Laurentian Great Lakes ecosystem, the largest freshwater system on Earth, and also water challenges in the western United States, including the Colorado River Basin. Listern to More: https://yalebluegreen.org/nature-conservancys-great-lakes-program-in-north-america-john-andersen/
WEATHER BUOY BUILDERS NOAA
More Climate Information: https://www.climate.us
Barbara Tyran of Hydropower focused on environmental initiatives, discussing the potential of water pump storage as an alternative to battery storage, the challenges of obtaining approvals and conducting studies for such projects, and the benefits of pump storage. The meeting also touched on the growing demand for electricity, the need for increased power delivery capacity, and the potential of pump storage and hydropower. Other topics discussed included the role of energy in the digital economy, the impact of dam construction on the environment, and the founding principles of electric utilities. The meeting also briefly discussed the role of regional transmission operators, the potential of using stranded assets for energy-intensive applications, the need for more electricity infrastructure, and the challenges associated with supplying data centers.
| Environmental Initiatives and Pump Storage Discussion | |
| The meeting focused on environmental initiatives, with discussions on water pump storage and its potential as an alternative to massive battery storage. Philip raised a question about the significance of scale, while Chip highlighted Yale’s urban climate leadership certificate program and C. Grant program. The challenges of obtaining approvals and conducting studies for such projects were also discussed. Barbara, the featured speaker, explained the concept of pump storage and its potential benefits, such as economic development and employment opportunities, despite the cost and allocation issues associated with these projects. She also discussed the advantages of hydro-powered retrofits and the challenges faced by the hydro industry. The conversation ended with Barbara emphasizing the need to balance hydropower development with environmental protection. |
| Electricity Demand and Power Sharing | |
| Barbara discussed the growing demand for electricity due to the proliferation of electronic devices and the electrification of transportation. She underscored the need for increased power delivery capacity to meet this demand, and highlighted the importance of interregional power sharing during extreme weather events. She also mentioned the potential of pump storage and hydropower, but noted the challenges associated with their implementation, including the need for government funding. The discussion also touched on the role of energy in the digital economy and the importance of efficient resource use. Towards the end, the issue of dam construction and its impacts on the environment, particularly salmon fisheries, was raised. | |
| Hydro Infrastructure Tax Credit Discussion | |
| Barbara discussed the Inflation reduction Act, which provides a 30% tax credit for new hydro infrastructure. She emphasized that this tax credit should also apply to retrofitting existing dams, as proposed by the National Hydropower Association, which she is affiliated with. Paul encouraged Barbara to share her personal journey in the energy sector, but the conversation was cut off. Margot mentioned an upcoming Earth Day celebration and their ongoing work in Chicago. The conversation ended with Chip asking for further questions. | |
| Electric Utilities: Founding Principles and Future Hopes | |
| Barbara explained the founding principles of electric utilities, emphasizing the obligation to serve as a key component. She also discussed the role of regional transmission operators and the challenges faced in balancing the needs of different stakeholders. Paul asked Barbara about her hopes for the field, to which she responded that the obligation to serve gives her hope. Bob inquired about the effectiveness of other countries in constructing dams, leading Barbara to discuss the importance of grid infrastructure for renewable energy. She also highlighted the value of early stakeholder engagement and communication in the licensing and permitting process. The conversation ended with Susan wanting to add more to the discussion. | |
| Energy Resource Utilization and Infrastructure Maintenance | |
| The meeting primarily focused on the efficient utilization of energy resources and infrastructure. Barbara and Susan discussed the potential of using stranded assets like Bitcoin and computer graphics for energy-intensive applications. Anne Peters mentioned the issue of Connecticut’s small dams that have been neglected and need maintenance. Barbara emphasized the need for more electricity infrastructure and the role of private sector investment in this. The discussion also touched upon the potential of solar plus storage and marine energy. Barbara and Anne Crawley discussed the challenges associated with supplying data centers and the need for long-duration batteries. The conversation ended with a brief discussion on the obligation to serve and rate adjustments in utilities. | |
| Environmental Discussions and Earth Day Plans | |
| Jake shared his interest in environmental topics and the tension between ecology and hydroelectric power in his hometown. Chip recommended two books for Earth Day and discussed the potential impact of the Biden administration’s energy projects. The conversation then moved on to pump storage and water ownership issues. Judith announced the planning of the annual Earth Day celebration in Gwendolyn Brooks Park, with a poetry event focused on the environment and a rain date set for May 11th. Rebecca shared plans for an electric car showcase and the distribution of food waste recycling buckets to encourage more participation in their town’s food waste drop-off. Rachel discussed her recent interview with Rivian and outlined plans for Earth month, including an artist panel and a service day in partnership with community organizations, with the aim of keeping the momentum going year-round. |
One Ocean
A Mother, a Daughter, Marine Protect Areas and Sargassum
In January of 1992, 28,000 yellow rubber duckies spilled into the North Pacific from a cargo ship near the international date line. They are still landing on distant shores — Alaska, Hawaii, Japan, the Pacific Northwest, Scotland, South Africa, Newfoundland, even the site of the Titanic. The friendly floatees crossed the Northwest Passage into the Atlantic. They revealed the gyres. They showed us what the ocean already knew: there is only one.
My daughter Irene was born a year after the rubber duckies, in January of 1993.
The bay is choppy. Irene paddles ahead of me in her kayak, her paddle raised, salt already in her hair. I watch her the way mothers watch daughters when they think no one is looking — with a love so large it blurs into the sky. A fear just beneath it: currents, the unknown. Her husband asked me and my husband to join them on Presidents’ Day weekend to snorkel with her after she paddled out on her own last year to where the reef stops the surf. Something older squelched the fear: the memory of her a toddler here, as ever present, as crying to snorkel with me before she could swim, a way she will never be again. I am hoping to find what I remember.
We are twenty minutes from shore on the Mayan Riviera, our kayaks loaded with snorkel gear bungeed to the stern. Ahead of us, slightly dark from the surface, lies the reason we have come: the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the second-largest reef system on Earth. We loop a lead line around our ankles so the kayaks will trail behind us. Nudge on fins, goggles and a snorkel. We roll into the Caribbean turquoise — that improbable, electric color that looks digitally enhanced. Once under its quiet. I see I’m in a shallow reflection of the sky above and white coral sand below. Coral grows in shallow bays. READ MORE HERE: https://margotmc310.substack.com/p/one-ocean?r=53ugc
Margot McMahon
UNESCO-Ocean Decade Ocean-Literacy Certified
St. John Island Coral Restoration
Aubrey, in her NYU black visor-cap met Irene, in her foldable off white wide-brimmed hat, and me, in my knitted-blue hat with large black buttons at the St. Thomas airport. We were delighted to be together for Aubrey’s last Spring break of Graduate school. We hadn’t seen each other since Christmas and were pinching ourselves that this was even possible.
‘I’ve got a finals paper to write and a project,” said visor-cap. “This is not just a snorkeling trip.”
“Can I take a zoom call on the ferry?” knitted-blue said.
“I’ve got a list of four snorkeling places we can’t miss,” said wide-brimmed hat. She called Yogi, the cab driver, for a lift to the ferry. He was booked. We were scammed into a van that brought us to the wrong ferry, over charged us while indicating it was our fault. Our fatigue of flying for five hours and diminished of cash was quickly left in our wake with our eagerness to get to St. John. We traversed between the Spanish, U.S. And British Virgin Islands over turquoise water for forty minutes to St. Johns. Somewhere over on the right was Epstein Island. Hauntings emanated from that Virgin Island that is not a territory of the United States but under its jurisdiction. Cooling spray soaked our clothes and triggered our laughter that presided over our four days on St. John. At the dock, Aubrey watched our luggage as Irene and I strode uphill to the car rental. I tapped the breaks downhill on our way back in a white Jeep to pick up Aubrey, backpacks, and our snorkeling gear. READ MORE HERE: https://margotmc310.substack.com/p/searching-for-live-coral?r=53ugc