10-07-19 Voyaging into an Ocean of Plastic with guest Captain Breezy Grenier

Ocean pollution is as vast as the ocean. We can begin to solve this problem with education. In the last episode we talked about cleaning up our rivers and waterways. We talked about how litter and toxic waste gets carried down storm drains or down rivers and out into the ocean. This episode will begin with a story walk to the Scalloptown Park and Wildlife Habitat, to examine human activity and its effect on marine life, using scallops as an example. We will also explore the nearby shoreline nearby, and hunt for plastic litter. Made primarily from non-renewable fossil fuel, plastic items include bottles and bags, drinking straws, cigarette butts and microplastics.

As these plastics degrade slowly, often over hundreds, if not thousands of years, they create secondary microplastics, that are invisible to the eye. All of these forms of plastic have entered into marine ecosystems, and now exist at surprisingly high levels, increasing the probability of plastic being ingested and accumulated in the bodies and tissues of many organisms, including the fish, squid, shrimp and shellfish we human are eating. The movement of microplastics in the ocean is now under intense investigative research, along with their effects on marine life.

Our special guest, Breezy Grenier, is one of 300 women participating in eXXpedition Round the World, an all-female sailing voyage and research mission studying the ocean plastics phenomenon. With over 38,000 nautical miles and 30 voyage legs starting and ending in the United Kingdom, this hands-on crew will experience first hand the challenges we face from single-use plastics, while contributing to cutting-edge scientific research and solutions-based thinking. Breezy will also discuss two of her educational initiatives – Eco-Elders and Scientists are Superheroes.

Photo Credit Nora Lewis and the University of Rhode Island

Breezy Grenier http://breezyseas.com/
eXXpedition – https://exxpedition.com/
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https://netwalkri.com/blog/f/ecodetective-in-scalloptown-park
https://netwalkri.com/blog/f/ecopirate-on-the-cove
https://netwalkri.com/blog/f/ecodetective-solves-goddards-cryptic-triptych

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