We are excited to be working with Kate Somerville Skincare – a global Unilever brand – to rethink plastic by shifting their products toward a more sustainable and circular economy focus. Please enjoy this video in which Kate Somerville herself speaks to how her personal mission to address plastic pollution arose.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2018 – Los Angeles, CA – It is with great pleasure that we announce that Colombian entertainer, Carlos Vives, has joined the Plastic Oceans Foundation as a supporting Ambassador. Mr. Vives will now be graciously lending his name, passion and influence to our mission of raising awareness on the issue of plastic pollution.
Packaging is the single biggest application of plastic globally and impacts our lives on a daily basis. Over the past half century, we have moved from reusable solutions to disposable, single-use items. Meanwhile, the recycling system hasn’t kept pace: today less than 10% of all plastic produced is recycled leaving the rest to either end up in landfill or our oceans.
Today’s guest blog comes from Christina Mesiano, a teacher at the Pineland Learning Center in Vineland, New Jersey, USA. Her class recently found inspiration from A Plastic Ocean.
During a discussion about current world events, the 5/6 class at the Pineland Learning Center was in awe as they watched a impactful video about the death of a Cuvier’s beaked whale who had 4kg of plastic bags in stomach . The students were more than eager to know more and their teachers, Ms. Mesiano and Ms. Jones, knew they had to jump on this teachable moment. Read More
WASHINGTON (May 16, 2018)— As the amount of single-use plastic in the world’s oceans continues to grow, National Geographic is announcing a new, global commitment to tackle this pressing problem. Today, National Geographic is launching Planet or Plastic?, a multiyear initiative aimed at raising awareness of this challenge and reducing the amount of single-use plastic that enters in the world’s oceans. Doing so will not only benefit the thousands to potentially millions of marine animals that become entangled in, suffocated by, or ingest plastic each year, but will also contribute to the overall health of the planet’s marine ecosystems and all who rely upon them.
Today’s guest blog comes from Jason Paul, who is a paddling enthusiast and lifelong lover of the sea. Jason is the lead editor of InflatableBoarder.com and lives in beautiful Panama with his wife and two small children.
Despite nationwide legislation to eliminate plastic bags from our daily existence here in the United States, our oceans are still feeling the choking effects of paper-thin plastic. States like California, Hawaii, and Florida have all introduced new legislation either banning or applying fees to the use of plastic bags, and many individuals and organizations are doing everything they can think of to raise awareness on this issue. Unfortunately, plastic pollution is a global epidemic and national legislation and local initiatives are only a drop in the bucket in comparison to the massive global problem of plastic bag usage. It’s estimated that nearly one trillion bags are used each year around the globe — a staggering figure by anyone’s standards.
Dr. David Klement
DAVID KLEMENT is the executive director of St. Petersburg College’s Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions, which is dedicated to advancing academic excellence, community engagement, civics literacy and public understanding through strategic partnerships and solutions-directed programs.
On April 26, the Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions will sponsor a screening of “A Plastic Ocean,” a documentary film that captures in shocking detail the pollution of the world’s oceans by plastic – that ubiquitous material that seems to dominate modern life and never goes away. The event is free, but advance registration is requested at http://solutions.spcollege.edu/. It will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Digitorium on the Seminole Campus of St. Petersburg College, 9200 113th St. N.
Reflecting on that plastic pollution reminded me of the 1967 movie “The Graduate,” which starred a young Dustin Hoffman. To me, the most memorable dialogue in the movie was not in the iconic seduction scene, where Mrs. Robinson and Benjamin (played by Hoffman) engage in some hot-and-heavy banter about . . .you know. . .
Our global executive director, Julie Andersen, joined Andrew Castle on his popular talk show on the UK’s leading commercial radio broadcaster, LBC in London. The topic of conversation was the recently proposed bottle return scheme for the UK, along with general discussion on the overall problem of plastic pollution and how we solve the problem.
On this World Water Day, we turn to the executive director of our newest country branch, Mariana Soto. She heads up Mexico, where she is already working diligently to create A Wave of Change in Mexico City and beyond.
We were honored to recently be in conversation with iconic environmentalist Robert F Kennedy Jr. This engaging experience took place on March 12, 2018, at the Creative Visions Foundation in Malibu, California.