Breaking Away from Plastics Dependence w. EarthDay.org

Thursday November 19th, 8 AM - 9 AM PT (11 AM to 12 PM ET)

Info & RSVP: https://www.earthday.org/webinar-breaking-free-from-plastics-dependence-2/

In the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat there is plastic. Plastic pollution is a widespread, complex environmental and health emergency that requires global changes in policies, corporate sourcing, innovation and consumer behavior. Grassroots action and restoration technologies are also needed to clean up plastic pollution wherever it is found. Like other environmental scourges, plastic pollution impacts the poor among us most.

For this webinar, EARTHDAY.ORG has gathered global experts including activists, scientists, policy makers and corporate innovators. Let’s work together to end plastic pollution before it’s too late.

Our topics:

● Discussing theories of change to prevent plastic from polluting our environment.

● Educating viewers on the disproportionate impact of plastic pollution on the global poor.

● Addressing microplastics’ impact on human, animal and ecosystem health.

● Amplifying efforts to clean up plastics wherever they have entered the environment.

MODERATOR: Ed Begley Jr., Actor and Activist

PANELISTS:

Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-CA)
Representing California’s 47th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was first elected in 2012 and reelected in 2014, 2016, and 2018. Congressman Lowenthal has been a leader in passing environmental legislation and is now spearheading a transformative bill: the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act 2020.

Alex Schulze, CEO and Co-Founder of 4ocean
Alex Schulze is the CEO and Co-Founder of 4ocean, a purpose-driven business with a mission to end the ocean plastic crisis while working to educate individuals and help change their single-use plastic consumption habits on land. 4ocean conducts ocean cleanups daily with full time captains and crews working globally at operations in Florida, Bali, Haiti and Guatemala. The cleanups are funded entirely through product purchases with one pound of trash removed for every product purchased. As a result, the team has pulled more than 10 million pounds of trash since the company was founded in January 2017.

Charlie Rolsky, Director of Science at Plastic Oceans International
Charlie Rolsky is the Director of Science for Plastic Oceans International. He serves as the host of Breaking It Down, a new YouTube series from Plastic Oceans in which he simplifies science in fun and engaging way. He also conducts research at the Arizona State University (ASU) Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering where he works on marine and aquatic plastic pollution, a major concern within many ecosystems and environments around the world. Their identification, fate and impact are only now beginning to be understood, and Charlie has developed several analytical tools to help improve this further.

Melati Wijsen, Founder of Bye Bye Plastic Bags
Melati Wijsen is a 19-year-old full time changemaker from Indonesia. She founded Bye Bye Plastic Bags when she was 12 years old with her younger sister and has been leading the movement driven by youth since 2013. She also started the people movement One Island One Voice and the social enterprise, Mountain Mamas. Melati has spoken on world stages such as TED and the UN and has also been selected as FORBES top ten most inspiring women in the country. She graduated from high school one year early at the Green School and has since been honored by TIME as part of the most influential teens in the world along with CNN Heroes Young Wonders and FORBES 30 under 30. Today, Melati is excited about her new youth empowerment project; YOUTHTOPIA, empowering youth through meaningful and short peer to peer programs and providing them the tools they need to be young changemakers.

Billy Lombe, Founder and CEO of the Centre for Zero Waste & Development in Africa
As Founder and CEO of the Centre for Zero Waste & Development in Africa, he has helped to train more than 400 teachers and community leaders in solid waste management, climate change and WASHE related issues. Additionally, he has engaged about 120 thousand pupils to be active environmental leaders in their communities. Billy is currently advocating for a total ban on single-use plastics in Zambia and the rest of Africa.
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