Sustainability Now! | Kathryn Anderson | Plastic Pollution | Ocean Legacy Foundation | 11-7-22

Take a deep dive into the issue of ocean plastics on this week’s show as your host, Justin Mog, dips into the topic with Kathryn Anderson, Education Coordinator at the Ocean Legacy Foundation (http://oceanlegacy.ca), from Vancouver Island, BC. The Ocean Legacy Foundation is a Canadian non-profit organization that develops and implements worldwide plastic pollution emergency response programs, with the goal to end plastic pollution. They have just released an updated EPIC Academy, a free online platform providing global education on plastic pollution, cleanup efforts, and solutions for creating plastic pollution-free lands and waters. Check out their new curriculum on ocean plastics at https://edu.oceanlegacy.ca

The source of plastic is finite and has potential for highly toxic production practices so it's critical to address the issue since the estimate is that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish! Estimates from National Geographic tell us that roughly 8-13 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean annually (or about 5 grocery bags of plastic trash for every foot of coastline!). 91% of all plastic produced every year ends up in landfill, improperly incinerated or littered.

You cannot see much of the problem because 99% of the plastic is actually found below the water's surface - found on every shore on earth (much in microplastic form that is far less obvious to the naked eye) all the way to Mariana Trench, the deepest known ocean trench - nearly 11,000m deep!

The EPIC Academy curriculum aims to provide individuals, businesses and organizations interested in learning more about ocean plastic pollution with an easily accessible and free resource to start their learning journey, with the goal of building a global community working together to advance plastic pollution cleanup efforts, evidence-based policy expansion and infrastructure development to better manage plastic resources. Suitable for ages 14 and up, it includes 10 online lessons pertaining to ocean and land-based plastic pollution, the environmental impact of plastic pollution, and how different communities across the globe can take action managing plastic waste and solving the ocean plastic pollution crisis. The curriculum can be accessed in English, French and Spanish.

As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW!

Sustainability Now! is hosted by Dr. Justin Mog and airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at http://forwardradio.org

The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at http://appalatin.com