October 23rd - The Global Plastics Problem:

From Rivers to Oceans to Solutions

A Virtual Presentation with Dr. Kara Lavender Law, Research Professor of Oceanography at SEA (Sea Education Association, Woods Hole)

Plastics have grown to become a diverse, versatile and convenient group of materials upon which we have become reliant. An unintended consequence of this growth has been the widespread contamination of marine, aquatic, terrestrial and built environments by plastic waste, and especially microplastics. Increasing evidence of potential harm to wildlife, and to human health, from exposure to plastics is spurring action from local to international levels to stem the tide of plastics to the environment.  

Thanks to the ingenuity of researchers more than a century ago, the use of plastics has grown exponentially.  While they have significantly contributed to the advancement in many fields including medicine, transportation and construction, there has also been unintended consequences for our environment and public health.

Dr. Law, having almost 20 years of experience in the field, will discuss the global plastics problem from an environmental perspective, including the multi-faceted set of pathways to address plastic pollution.  Her initial work focused on the physical processes that carry, transport and transform plastics in the marine environment, and more recent work focused “upstream” on the generation, pathways and treatment of plastic waste, ultimately aiming to prevent plastic leakage to the environment.  

About Dr Law: Dr. Law has co-chaired working groups on plastic marine debris at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR), and served on the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Committee that published the 2022 report, Reckoning with the U.S. Role in Global Ocean Plastics Waste. Dr. Law received her Ph.D. in physical oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography/University of California, San Diego, and a B.S. in mathematics from Duke University. 

Join us at 6:30 PM on Wednesday October 23rd for this Virtual Workshop

Link to this event is HERE