As educators of science in a world of viral headlines and information overload, it is sometimes hard to separate the process of science from scientists and people in the orbit of science. My students especially, who are overwhelmingly working adults with real life experiences and concerns, will often bring bring valuable discussions to class. More than once, during our post-field trip discussions, many of our Navy or former Navy students will show impressive knowledge of handling of plastic debris on ships. Those into surfing are often involved with Surfrider‘s and other community organizations’ cleanup efforts. And parents particularly are often very aware of plastic pollution: they think of the future of their children in a world awash with plastic. They worry not only of the ugliness of plastic debris on the shore or in the water, but also of the minuscule plastic particles that seem to be even in our food supplies.
So when this article came out about the push for recycling plastic as a way to assuage the public’s concern about plastic pollution, knowing it was an effort meant to fail, my heart sank. Not only about my own personal faith that while recycling was not THE solution, but it was still part of the solution. I just thought about how to adjust our future conversations with students when we explain the numbers in the triangles and discuss plastic pollution and possible solutions. At the end of the day, we are part of the problem as scientists- it is much easier to tear open a bag of plastic sterile tubes ready to be used instead of washing and autoclaving glass tubes.
In the recent years there has been a growing awareness of the importance of science communication and outreach. I have gone myself from a reluctant presenter of my research to a facilitate science communication workshops. In those trainings, we stress the importance of personal and emotional connection with the audience. And lately, I realize this also includes recognizing our own mistakes and vulnerabilities in areas of our expertise. As we gear up to resuming our field trip experiences (in a more distanced and virtual setup, stay tuned), we also have to be ready to discuss the issue of plastic pollution in the ocean at a deeper level. As Rachel’s posting showed, things have gotten worse since the Covid-19 pandemic started.
On the other hand, challenges also bring new opportunities. Our forced hiatus from the bench and the pier have brought many new ideas about adapting to the new pandemic normal, and at the same time adapting to confront this new normal with possible new directions in our research.
