Pollution

About World Ocean Radio

About World Ocean Radio:

About World Ocean Radio:

Plastic is everywhere: seen and unseen, in wetlands, in swirling gyres of debris, on beaches, and in the water column. In this episode of World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill will discuss just how pervasive plastics have become by describing microbeads, particulates found in exfoliant creams and whitening toothpastes which are flushed, by the billions, down through the waste water network and into rivers, lakes, and ocean.

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Of all the types of waste in the marine ecosystem, plastic is perhaps the best known: it shows up on beaches, in the stomachs of shore birds, fish and mammals, in the vast, swirling gyre in the Pacific. While recycling technology and acceptance has advanced for glass, metal and paper, only a fraction of plastic is recycled. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will argue that we must recover the plastic already in the waste stream, creating incentives, cost benefits and investment opportunities for its capture and reuse.

In light of a recent all-night vigil on the Senate floor (see #Up4Climate), World Ocean Radio host Peter Neill was inspired to write this week’s episode, sounding off about the egregious failure of governance with regard to climate change: one of the most pressing issues for the future of human survival.

Pollution is an excess of any given thing: waste, pesticide, acid, carbon—-any one thing in extreme which tips the scales, compromises stability, security, and survival. Moral pollution is a principle or ideology with a similar effect, and includes greed, hypocrisy, disruption and corruption.

About World Ocean Radio

Peter Neill, host of World Ocean Radio, provides coverage of a broad spectrum of ocean issues from science and education to advocacy and exemplary projects. World Ocean Radio, a project of the World Ocean Observatory, is a weekly series of brief audio essays available for syndicated use at no cost by community radio stations worldwide. Contact us for more information.