Plastic Planet: New Research and Solutions for the Ocean Trash Problem

"Plastic Planet" will dive deeply into the issue of marine debris and plastic pollution, and will highlight the work of our partners at the 5 Gyres Institute and the Sea Doc Society.
 
5 Gyres Executive Director Anna Cummins and 5 Gyres Research Director Marcus Ericsen, via satellite communication from the South Pacific, will discuss preliminary results from the recent 5 Gyres Viking Gyre Expedition across the North Atlantic Gyre. The extent of the global issue of plastic pollution will be explained, along with recent 5 Gyres Campaigns that encourage solutions.
 
Anna Cummins has over 10 years of experience in environmental non-profit work, education, writing, and campaign development; and has participated in research expeditions in all five ocean gyres. She has worked in marine conservation, coastal watershed management, sustainability education, and high school ecology instruction. Anna received her undergraduate in History from Stanford University, and her Masters in International Environmental Policy from the Monterey Institute for International Studies. Anna and her husband, Marcus Eriksen, co-founded 5 Gyres in 2009 to research and communicate plastic pollution in the world's ocean.
 
The program also highlights local solutions to derelict fishing gear – one piece of the larger issue.  SeaDoc Society's California Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project, which has removed more than 60 tons of gear from the Pacific ocean, operates out of the Wildlife Health Center offices at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. This project encourages ocean users to report the presence of lost gear, and hires experienced commercial SCUBA divers to remove gear from near-shore waters in a safe and environmentally sensitive manner.  SeaDoc's Jennifer Renzullo, along with California crab fishermen, are featured in an upcoming short film by Truth be Told Creative and Aquarium of the Bay.