Safina Center Launchpad Fellow Erica Cirino speaks on an expert panel on plastic pollution following Seaside Sustainability’s online screening of the film “The Story of Plastic” at 7pm EST. Seaside Sustainability invites you to join in viewing The Story of Plastic, a powerful new documentary exposing the sources and consequences of global plastic pollution. Attendees will receive complimentary access to the film to view ahead of the expert panel discussion. This event is free and open to the public.
Attendees will receive a link to stream the film from Seaside approximately 72 hours before the event start time. The link will be delivered to you at the email address you use to RSVP here. We will then host a panel discussion and Q&A via Zoom on June 13th at 7 pm EST. You will receive a separate link for the Zoom event alongside the streaming link.
Our panelists are:
Erica Cirino is a writer, artist, and wildlife rehabilitator, exploring the intersection between the natural environment and human impacts. Her work has been published in Scientific American, Vice, Ars Technica, and other popular scientific publications.
Sharon Kishida has over 25 years in the solid waste and recycling field, most of them with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. She is currently the Municipal Assistance Coordinator for Northeast District 2, serving 39 communities.
Lauren Packard works with the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity to keep oil and gas in the ground and promote sustainable energy. She earned her law degree from Columbia Law School and her bachelor’s from Harvard University.
Dr. Judith S. Weis is a Professor Emerita of Biological Sciences at Rutgers University, Newark. Her research focuses on estuarine ecology and ecotoxicology, and she has published over 200 refereed scientific papers. She is interested in stresses in estuaries and their effects on organisms, populations, and communities.
About the film
Produced by the Story of Stuff Project, The Story of Plastic takes a sweeping look at the man-made crisis of plastic pollution and the worldwide effect it has on the health of our planet and the people who inhabit it. Spanning three continents, the film illustrates the ongoing catastrophe: fields full of garbage, veritable mountains of trash, rivers and seas clogged with waste, and skies choked with the poisonous emissions from plastic production and processing. The Story of Plastic features interviews with experts and activists on the frontlines of the fight, revealing the disastrous consequences of the flood of plastic smothering ecosystems and poisoning communities around the world, and the global movement that is rising up in response. With engaging original animation, archival industry footage beginning in the 1930s, and first-person accounts of the unfolding emergency, the film distills a complex problem that is increasingly affecting the planet’s and its residents’ well-being.