[P2P-F] Fwd: Stemming The Plastic Tide

Michel Bauwens michel at p2pfoundation.net
Fri Jul 13 15:36:27 CEST 2018 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Katerva' Director of Awards Program <Bettina at katerva.net>
Date: Fri, Jul 13, 2018 at 9:44 AM
Subject: Stemming The Plastic Tide
To: michel at p2pfoundation.net


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<https://mailchi.mp/5ece8f4558e9/stemming-the-plastic-tide?e=a5e1e169bb>
Hello everyone,

I hope you are enjoying a beautiful summer - while moving the needle of
sustainability ;-).

The damage plastic (if not recycled or deposed of properly) causes to
animals and environment has been in the limelight a lot recently, not least
due to David Attenborough's TV series *Blue Planet II* after the making of
which he warned, "The world’s oceans are turning into a ‘toxic soup’ of
industrial waste and plastic, putting the future of humanity at risk."

<https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=e15349ad58&e=a5e1e169bb>

If you are not yet aware of the magnitude and urgency of the problem, here
a few pointers that  will bring you up to speed,

   - In a blogpost the Center for Biological Diversity writes
   <https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=d2bd13896b&e=a5e1e169bb>:
   "Plastic never goes away. And it's increasingly finding its way into our
   oceans
   <https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=b0198308b2&e=a5e1e169bb>
and
   onto our beaches. In the Los Angeles area alone, 10 metric tons of plastic
   fragments — like grocery bags, straws and soda bottles — are carried into
   the Pacific Ocean *every day*. Today billions of pounds of plastic can
   be found in swirling convergences making up about *40 percent of the
   world's ocean surfaces*."
   - 3rd June 2018 Reuters reported
   <https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=fe51be61c9&e=a5e1e169bb>,
   "Plastic bags jam stomach of dead pilot whale in Thailand" - and it is not
   an isolated incident (read and see more here
   <https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=ce61da0f5d&e=a5e1e169bb>).
Indeed,
   according to EcoWatch
   <https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=8c549e1840&e=a5e1e169bb>
   "Roughly 8 million tons of plastic
   <https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=6893b05724&e=a5e1e169bb>
is
   dumped into the world's oceans every year, and according to a new study,
   the majority of this waste comes from just five countries: China,
   Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam." It is all very well to
   point fingers, yet dealing with this problem should be the responsibility
   of each and everyone of us - here
   <https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=a7702c7bd8&e=a5e1e169bb>
   some suggestions of what we can do.
   - You may also want to check out this BBC article on the "Seven charts
   that explain the plastic pollution problem
   <https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=87b6ffbcfe&e=a5e1e169bb>"
and
   read more about the cause and effect of plastic pollution here
   <https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=40c17f5889&e=a5e1e169bb>
   .

Of course there are attempts to start tackling this problem - not least by
Katerva's Grand Prize Winner from 2015, The Ocean Cleanup
<https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=529ea65aad&e=a5e1e169bb>
who
are using the fact that the plastic congregates in 5 'garbage patches' as a
starting point for extracting plastic from the oceans.

<https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=81a14e2bf8&e=a5e1e169bb>

McDonald UK
<https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=2f1d941c25&e=a5e1e169bb>
plans to ban plastic straws by next year while others realise that recycled
plastic can become the raw material for fashion items such as sunglasses
<https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=6697d53eb9&e=a5e1e169bb>.
There are loads more examples of practical things
<https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=b53498f3f9&e=a5e1e169bb>
, useful ones
<https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=ea2f22ec64&e=a5e1e169bb>
as
well as some truly artistic and beautiful ones
<https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=fe57c2ec1e&e=a5e1e169bb>
out there. If we (believe) we cannot live without plastic, the least we
should do is to keep in in the *circular economy
<https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=466cb9c6a0&e=a5e1e169bb>*
for as long as ever possible.

As usual, politicians are rather more timid opting, in my view, for 'too
little too late': a planned ban of  plastic straws, cutlery and plates
<https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=c23fe0a8d8&e=a5e1e169bb>
by the EU by 2021 feels rather ridiculous.

Anyway, why this newsletter just now? A friend of mine just sent an email
about a 4-day program taking place in Cambridge, UK September this year
which is all about finding solutions to the plastic pollution crises, and I
just had to share it with you.

How about doing something similar in your region?  Or how about helping us
to find the most radical, sustainable innovations, submitting them via
our Nominee
Candidate Form
<https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=a4de94e740&e=a5e1e169bb>
so we can shine a spotlight on them, and hasten their dissemination?

We cannot solve the world's pressing problems by pretending they don't
exist, we can only solve them by taking a close look at them, and acting
now, in which ever shape or form we are able to.

With kind regards,

*People, Plastics and our Planet – Venturing for Solutions*

*Are you passionate about the issues that surround plastics in our
environment? Would you like to contribute to finding solutions to current
key challenges? Do you already have an idea for innovation that can
reduce/re-use/recycle plastic? Would you like to find ways to change
people’s behaviour around plastic?*

People, Plastics and Our Planet offers the unique opportunity for early
career researchers and entrepreneurs to come together over 4 days to
develop and test ideas around solving the challenges that plastics in our
environment pose

*When*: 18th to 21st September 2018

*Where*: Aurora Cambridge, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 OET,
UK

To find out more: click *here
<https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=d264272f08&e=a5e1e169bb>*
 .

To apply - click here
<https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=e50049a234&e=a5e1e169bb>

To ask some questions - click here
<https://katerva.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=6e2787de471dfbd83405ba124&id=666c4e4cc8&e=a5e1e169bb>
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-- 
Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://commonstransition.org


P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net

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