The Marine Plastic Problem: A brief dive into understanding and resolving society’s plastic waste issue | All Swell?

November 17, 2021

Breaking down the plastic problem through social action.

Eva sits down with two guests this week to discuss ocean plastic, its impacts, and how to tackle this environmental hurdle. Adam Frederick is the Assistant Director for Education at Maryland Sea Grant; he discusses his work in hands-on science curricula that raises awareness of microplastic pollution in classrooms from Baltimore County to European coasts. Demi Fox is the Northeast Regional Coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program, which tackles plastic issues on a large range of scales, from microplastics to ghost fishing gear debris.

Tune in to hear about why plastic pollution is an increasingly salient topic and what you can do in your everyday life to lessen your contribution to it.

Show Transcription
This transcription was generated by a computer. Please excuse any errors.
Genevieve “GG” Guerry, Kyra Hagge, Rory Kuczek, Kathryn Lienhard, and Nat Blackford

American Shoreline Podcast Network teamed up with graduate and professional students from student chapters of The Coastal Society to highlight voices in coastal science and management. Together they’ve created All Swell?, an innovative podcast that dives into current ocean and coastal issues, their potential solutions, and the people leading the way toward a more resilient future. The podcast creators and hosts this year are from East Carolina University and Duke University. Genevieve “GG” Guerry and Kyra Hagge are Ph.D. candidates at East Carolina. GG is interested in public health and aims to work on the public perception of forever chemicals such as PFAS in the Cape Fear watershed and climate migration. Kyra is integrating behavioral economics and social psychology with hydrogeology to tackle questions about pro-environmental behavior and adoption of green technology along the coast of North Carolina. Kathryn Lienhard, Nat Blackford, and Rory Kuczek are Master of Environmental Management students at Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment. Kathryn is interested in coastal resilience, ecosystem restoration, and community engagement. She is currently working at Duke’s Marine Lab in Beaufort, NC. Nat is interested in how we manage our coastal ecosystems - from coastal forests to marshes to seagrass meadows. These coastal environments are some of the most densely populated areas on the planet, have huge ecological and cultural significance, and sequester and store large amounts of carbon. Aurora Kuczek, is a master of Environmental Management student at Duke University studying Ecosystem Science and Conservation. She is interested in coastal restoration, particularly as it relates to wildlife conservation, and how local communities can get involved in restoration processes to make real change for their environments they are closely intertwined with and rely upon to survive.