• woodrow wilson center
  • ecsp

New Security Beat

Subscribe:
  • rss
  • mail-to
  • Who We Are
  • Topics
    • Population
    • Environment
    • Security
    • Health
    • Development
  • Columns
    • China Environment Forum
    • Choke Point
    • Dot-Mom
    • Friday Podcasts
    • Navigating the Poles
    • Reading Radar
  • Multimedia
    • Water Stories (Podcast Series)
    • Backdraft (Podcast Series)
    • Tracking the Energy Titans (Interactive)
  • Films
    • Water, Conflict, and Peacebuilding (Animated Short)
    • Paving the Way (Ethiopia)
    • Broken Landscape (India)
    • Scaling the Mountain (Nepal)
    • Healthy People, Healthy Environment (Tanzania)
  • Publications
  • Events
  • Contact Us

NewSecurityBeat

The blog of the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program
Showing posts by Catie Tobin.
  • How Plastic Pollution is Being Woven into Fast Fashion Culture

    ›
    China Environment Forum  //  July 30, 2020  //  By Catie Tobin
    shutterstock_1678989160

    The words “plastic pollution” evoke images of discarded plastic bottles and bags, derelict fishing gear, and crushed cigarette butts set on a beautiful beach or floating underwater. In this imagery, the ebb and flow of plastic pollution is visible to the naked eye. But the plastic we can see is only part of the problem. What we do not see so easily are the microscopic, hair-like plastic fibers that are coursing through the water and air, accumulating on beaches, in intertidal zones, and even in Arctic sea ice. These are synthetic microfibers: thin pieces of plastic, a sub-category of microplastics, that resemble a strand of hair.

    MORE
  • The World Is Your Oyster and Your Plastic Pollution Is Getting Into It

    ›
    China Environment Forum  //  July 16, 2020  //  By Catie Tobin
    shutterstock_1082022188

    Picture this: It’s a warm, spring day in May 2021. You are at a local seafood restaurant overlooking the Chesapeake Bay and your order of raw oysters arrives delicately placed on a layer of ice. Your waiter reviews the type of oysters you ordered. He says, “Running clockwise, you have Pemaquid, Blue Point, and PEI.” Before the waiter steps away, he asks, “Would you like extra microplastics added to your oysters?” Dumbfounded, you reply, “Extra?”

    This Twilight Zone-like scenario is not totally fictional. Oysters are a keystone species in the environment, meaning they are the backbone of ecosystems. They are heroes in a small shell. In addition to where they sit on the food chain, oysters can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, cleaning the surrounding water of chemicals and pollutants. However, this means they inevitably suck up more than they bargained for. Scientists have discovered that oysters contain microplastics, plastic pieces that measure less than 5 mm in size in one dimension (similar to the size of a sesame seed). Oysters suck in microplastics and, sometimes, they never pass them out.

    MORE
 
View full site

Join the Conversation

  • RSS
  • subscribe
  • facebook
  • G+
  • twitter
  • iTunes
  • podomatic
  • youtube
Tweets by NewSecurityBeat

Trending Stories

  • unfccclogo1
  • Pop at COP: Population and Family Planning at the UN Climate Negotiations

Featured Media

Backdraft Podcast

play Backdraft
Podcasts

More »

What You're Saying

  • Karachi,,Pakistan,-,Aug,22:,Residents,Are,Facing,Difficulties,Due Why was Pakistan Left out of Biden’s Climate Summit?
    The Anxious Middle: because only the worlds largest polluters were invited to tackle the problem, China, India, the EU...
  • Joyce Makasi holding her baby Charity-1 Ensuring Essential Health Care for Mothers and Newborns During the Pandemic
    Alisha Graves: Well-written and compelling story, Koki. I do wonder why cesarean delivery was recommended for her....
  • India’s Food, Water, Energy Conundrum: Conclusions From a Two-Year Reporting Project [Part 1 of 2] India’s Food, Water, Energy Conundrum: Conclusions From a Two-Year Reporting Project [Part 1 of 2]
    Sachin Shakya: Really informative and detaileda article country,” laments Gupta. In effect, says Ajay Mathur of...

What We’re Reading

More »
  • woodrow
  • ecsp
  • RSS Feed
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • Publications
  • Events
  • Wilson Center
  • Contact Us
  • Print Friendly Page

© Copyright 2007-2021. Environmental Change and Security Program.

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. All rights reserved.

Developed by Vico Rock Media

Environmental Change and Security Program

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center

  • One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
  • 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
  • Washington, DC 20004-3027

T 202-691-4000