Learn about plastic gyres in Earth's oceans on Sept. 19

 

Anna Cummins represents 5 Gyres, a nonprofit organization that seek to empower action against the global health crisis of plastic pollution through science, art, education, and adventure. As a result of years of research in the North Pacific and other ocean locations, Cummins and her husband Marcus Eriksen have identified a "smog" of plastic covering 21% of the planet's surface. 5 Gyres uses science, education and adventure to engage communities in upstream solutions to plastic pollution--such as changing product design, advocating for source reduction, and pushing to eliminate the "worst offenders."  

 

---

Action item: How many plastic items do you use in a day or a week? Sierra Club is conducting a survey to collect data on plastic waste with the idea of curbing its use. Please answer the questions -- it only takes a minute!

---

The organization's name, by the way, refers to "the accumulation zones of plastic that form in the five subtropical gyres are a result of the diminished winds and currents occurring at latitudes synonymous with continental deserts. Basically, plastic is trapped within these currents, taking at least 10 years to cycle back out—if it doesn’t first get eaten by marine life or sink to the bottom," the organization's website says.

 

The Angeles Chapter's San Fernando Valley Group hosts an evening with Cummins of 5 Gyres at 7 p.m. Sept. 19 at the Reseda Neighborhood Council Community Room, 18118 Sherman Way, Reseda 91335 (in the Bank of America building, near Lindley Avenue). Parking is available in the Bank of America parking lot.