168: Waste
From: World Ocean Radio
Series: World Ocean Radio: The Sea Connects All Things
Length: 05:39
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Today, one of the most startling manifestations of waste is the vast accumulation of petroleum-plastic thought to be no longer useful enough to even be recycled. Our landfills and beaches are littered with plastic, a material designed to last forever yet used each day for products and packaging that have no value at the end of their short life cycle. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will discuss the seemingly endless life of this swirling, slowly dissolving petrol-detritus and will explain how the particulate matter enters the food chain and affects us all.
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Peter Neill, Director of the W2O and host of World Ocean Radio, provides coverage of a broad spectrum of ocean issues from science and education to advocacy and exemplary projects. World Ocean Radio, a project of the World Ocean Observatory, is a weekly series of five-minute audio essays available for syndicated use at no cost by community radio stations worldwide.
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Piece Description
Today, one of the most startling manifestations of waste is the vast accumulation of petroleum-plastic thought to be no longer useful enough to even be recycled. Our landfills and beaches are littered with plastic, a material designed to last forever yet used each day for products and packaging that have no value at the end of their short life cycle. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will discuss the seemingly endless life of this swirling, slowly dissolving petrol-detritus and will explain how the particulate matter enters the food chain and affects us all.
_________________________________________________________________________
Peter Neill, Director of the W2O and host of World Ocean Radio, provides coverage of a broad spectrum of ocean issues from science and education to advocacy and exemplary projects. World Ocean Radio, a project of the World Ocean Observatory, is a weekly series of five-minute audio essays available for syndicated use at no cost by community radio stations worldwide.
Broadcast History
WERU 89.9 FM, Blue Hill, ME; California Academy of Sciences/Steinhart Aquarium; KSER-FM, Everett, WA; Erie Maritime Museum, Mystic Seaport, Maine Boats Homes & Harbors; 3CR Melbourne: Out of the Blue.
Transcript
I’m Peter Neill, Director of the World Ocean Observatory.
When I think of waste, I think of things left over or rendered superfluous as an excess or useless by-product of some process – mining, for example, or manufacturing, or any number of other systems we use to meet our needs and fulfill our aspirations. Imagine the tailings from mines that scar the hillsides of the American west; envision the eroded wasteland of clear cut forests in Canada and South America; think of the barge-loads of New York City sewer sludge that until not too long ago were dumped into the ocean off the New Jersey coast, not to mention all the other effluent deposited by run-off, storm drains, and illegal dumping. These images conjure up thoughts of desolation and ruin, of uselessness, decay, and destruction.
Today, one of the most startling manifestations of waste is vast accumulation of petroleum-plastic i...
Read the full transcript
Additional Credits
Peter Neill, Host; Trisha Badger, Associate Producer
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