Tag: plastic

Plastics: Health Risks & Solutions

Image credit: Monterey Bay Aquarium

Microplastics: Health Concerns, Solutions (start time: 6:02)  The Environmental Protection Agency recently issued a new rule related to monitoring 30 unregulated chemicals in drinking water that could pose human health risks. While the list includes pesticides and so-called “forever” substances, it omits microplastics, as well as pharmaceuticals. That’s despite pressure from Democratic politicians, as well as advocacy groups over the last two years urging the EPA to include microplastics in the new rule due to human health concerns. This apparent about-face by the EPA, as well as the fact that this week is Plastics Pollution Awareness Week in Colorado, prompted us at How On Earth to summon experts to shed some light on what is known about the human health risks of exposure to microplastics, as well as what’s being done here in Colorado and nationwide to reduce plastic production and waste. Host Susan Moran interviews Dr. Trisha Vaidyanathan, science director at Beyond Plastics; Ryan Call, policy analyst at EcoCycle; and Emily Freeman, circular economy policy advisor at the City of Boulder. For info about how to join the Boulder Plastic Count (July 20-26), click here.

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Show Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive Producer & Headline Contributor: Beth Bennett

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Plastic Pollution in Ocean

Photo credit: Conserve Energy Future
Photo credit: Conserve Energy Future

In today’s show we offer two related features:
Plastic Pollution in the Arctic, Green Chemistry  (start time: 7:48) Try to wrap your brain around this statistic: by mid-century the mass of plastic in the oceans will weigh more than the total mass of fish if we continue with ‘business as usual,’ according to the World Economic Forum. Plastic debris, ranging from plastic water bottles to fish nets to invisible fragments, is choking seabirds and mammals all the way up to the Arctic, and quite possibly harming human health. How On Earth host Susan Moran recently attended the Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromso, Norway, where she interviewed one of the speakers, Jenna Jambeck, an environmental engineer at the University of Georgia. Dr. Jambeck directs the Center for Circular Materials Management, where researchers are designing materials and processes that both reduce waste and, like nature itself, reuse waste.

Photo credit: Chris Jordan
Photo credit: Chris Jordan

Grassroots Efforts Curb Plastic Pollution (start time: 20:24) In case you’re wondering what’s land-locked Colorado and your daily life got to do with plastic pollution in the ocean, our guest, Vicki Nichols Goldstein, founder and executive director of the Inland Ocean Coalition, discusses regional and national campaigns to curb plastic waste. The Suck the Straws Out campaign is one of many. You can get involved, starting with attending the Colorado Ocean Coalition‘s Blue Drinks happy hour on Feb. 15 in Boulder.

Hosts: Chip Grandits, Susan Moran
Producer: Susan Moran
Engineers: Maeve Conran, Chip Grandits, Evan Perkins
Executive Producer: Susan Moran

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:33 — 25.2MB)

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