The forum was rich on researches from biologists . As I live in nyc, it was interesting to see that researches on aquatic life was made on the Hudson river. Tide deck at piers 26 was a great initiative in a sense that it is a feature that provide educates visitors on the river. Tide pools were impressive. I will definitely go visit the tide deck.

Also it was exciting to learn about the billion oysters project which intend to restore the native eastern oyster population to NY harbor.

The forum was rich on researches from biologists . As I live in nyc, it was interesting to see that researches on aquatic life was made on the Hudson river. Tide deck at piers 26 was a great initiative in a sense that it is a feature that provide educates visitors on the river. Tide pools were impressive. I will definitely go visit the tide deck.

Also it was exciting to learn about the billion oysters project which intend to restore the native eastern oyster population to NY harbor.

[Josue]

Since the video had to do with plastics, although plastics are bad for the environment due to the time it takes to decompose, I feel like there is somewhat a positive impact when it comes to the manufacturing because it requires less energy to make say plastic bags rather than paper bags and perhaps other materials that we use in a daily basis.

-Josue Criollo

[Gabrielle Belaya (she/her)]

While it is true that manufacturing plastics requires less energy than manufacturing other materials, the long term impact of that plastics have on the environment far outweighs the slight positive of low manufacturing costs. The damage that plastics have caused in comparison to other materials is enormous and I believe that the slight positive of a low energy manufacturing process is consolation price at best.

[Jose L Villalba]

Gabreielle you are right, a lot of plastics, a lot of damage. I’ve thought about the cheapness of plastics and its economic benefits for businesses also, but that probably is only the case because the indirect costs of remediation, loss of sea-life, reduced ocean productivity and increased health costs by individuals aren’t shouldered by them.

At the same time, it is because of general public complicity that we are so addicted to single use plastics. Everyone was happier using plastic than being inconvenienced by having to bring and maintain their own bags or containers. That people are moving away from that is a great sign of change, hopefully.

[Saif Ali Khan]

I agree in that taking the “easy way” or most convenient way isn’t always the best course of action. Past generations due to industrialization thought the same way as Josue Criollo did in that they did whatever necessary to manufacture large quantities of products in a short amount of time, and flash forward to present day—here we are trying to fix what could have been avoided if only we knew the consequence. So let’s not recreate past mistakes and take care if the environment by moving towards environmentally friendly items that is biodegradable so future generations can enjoy oceans full of life, instead of oceans full of garbage.

Look forward to working and learning from you all.

[Anonymous]

Plastics have had a massive impact on humanity. They are an extremely versatile class of materials that have made so many things possible. Single use plastics on the other hand are completely wasteful and destructive. While they save money and energy on the short run, the negative ecological impacts from them will make us pay in the long term. You are right that degradable materials cost much more to make now, but I believe we should focus on ways to bring down the cost of degradable materials in order to make it economical to use.

[Passang Lhamo]

I agree but than I feel like we had enough plastic that more than our need. But I feel like it will be helpful for our environment  if every individual recycle there used plastic bag if possible.

[Shail Suthar]

The Submerged marine festival on microplastic was an eye opener for me. Just the fact that there will be more plastic by weight in the ocean than fishes by 2050 is shocking. We as a society have to drastically cut down the usage of plastic as soon as possible. Cutting down the use of plastic is no longer a choice for us, it is a necessity. It is not only harming the aquatic life but also harming us since we as society rely heavily on the ocean for food and other natural resources.

[Mahmoud Ahmed]

I totally agree with the obligation us a the society has the reduce our use of plastic material, but when you look at how it is really being implemented, you find that if you order an ice coffee, you would still get it in a plastic cup with a papered straw. People still not paying full attention to the issue, and what it seems to me is that some are just trying to show off by using very minor materials in the form of paper. I hope authorized agencies can raise more awareness to the problem, so that people can take more seriously.

[Mahmoud Ahmed]

MICROPLASTICS! I have always known that normal-size plastics that are dumped into water bodies pose a huge threat to the marine life as well as human life. However, I never really thought of microplastics, and how they are as damaging and threatful as other plastics, as a matter of fact, they could be more dangerous since they easily get into the food chain. the microplastics removal technique that was expressed in the video seems a little insufficient, and such a huge threat should be treated more responsibly.

my question is. isn’t there any more modern technique that could help collecting microplastics in a faster and more efficient way.

[Nechama Michelle Schneider]

I think from the presentation it seems like they are trying to come up with ways to better collect microplastics but as of now there are no better ways in use. The trash boom in the river though is a huge help to prevent the plastic waste from decomposing into microplastic. However, once it has become a microplastic it is often to small for most filters to catch.

 

[Elihu Fleury]

Personally, what I found surprising is that the plastic problem is so acute here.

I’ve heard many times about how plastic can contaminate our waters. However, when it’s covered in the media, it usually covers what is happening in the big oceans (the Pacific, the Atlantic). There hasn’t been much coverage on our local waterways.

The plastic segment brought home how serious this problem really is. It showed that a microscale version of that problem is happening within the city limits. It demonstrated that there is no region that is immune. I hope that the local media take inspiration from this, and show more of how global pollution problems are manifesting themselves in our areas.

[Passang Lhamo]

True 100%. I feel like media are only showing the world’s  oceans  are polluted to get more coverage and attention. It sad that media rarely covers our community plastic issues. But I believed we as individual can make difference by posting the reality of NYC plastic pollution through social media or creating blogs. Even though we may not directly help the ocean pollution but our  small actions will lead to bigger change.

[ronnie]

I agree with you in that there is rarely any news media coverage about out local water pollutions and I think that this is A big reason as to why water poluttion has got to the point that it has now, especially with plastic pollution. If more coverage was given to significant issues like this, then plastic bag usage would have been banned much earlier. Also, more coverage would inform people more and guide them to recycle, clean up after themselves, be more environmentally friendly and aware and much more.

My point is that more coverage would help people understand the impact that we have on our local waterways and help encourage solutions.

[Sheila Massiel Cáceres Ferreras]

You should definitely check the work from The Ocean Cleanup! they are a Netherlands based organization working to obtain solutions for the plastic pollution problem. One of their technologies, which I would say it’s like a trash boom but in a larger scale, it can be used in open water, and it has caught micro plastics in previous tests.

[Gary Fung]

I was interested in this question as well and tried to google it, I found this article which a teen from Ireland invented a new method that can remove 85% to 92% of microplastic in water.

https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/irish-teen-invents-method-remove-microplastics-ocean-wins/story?id=64731771

 

[Laiba Sajid]

Mahmoud Ahmed wrote:MICROPLASTICS! I have always known that normal-size plastics that are dumped into water bodies pose a huge threat to the marine life as well as human life. However, I never really thought of microplastics, and how they are as damaging and threatful as other plastics, as a matter of fact, they could be more dangerous since they easily get into the food chain. the microplastics removal technique that was expressed in the video seems a little insufficient, and such a huge threat should be treated more responsibly.

I agree, people do not see the effects that microplastic has not only on the ecosystem but also on themselves. People should be more aware of this issue because we are directly affected by these plastics. Awareness would increase people’s daily choices that have a direct effect towards the environment. Such changes could include getting a microplastic filter for laundry, switching from plastic straws, avoid bottled water, etc

-Laiba Sajid

[Melissa Souffront]

After being part of the webinar, there were many subjects that got stuck within my thoughts and really impact me because I was able to connect other subjects with the main concept of the presentation. Climate change is not just related to climate and humans, it is also impacting really hard the marine life. Considering that through the climate change, which is basically the concept of changes in temperature and sun radiations, it can be linked to temperature raised not just in land but can also affect temperature in water and therefore change the life quality of those marine creatures.

Also, the microplastics. So common in our daily lives, in every single and minimum detail as it is when we do laundry. How we keep destroying our ecosystem with our daily habits and how unconscious, at least I was, of the permanent damage I keep causing. And the fact that they are perceived in micro-scale, so therefore can not be detected and can be found even in the food that we eat. Its impact to marine life, how it damages and alters the marine’s life quality  is a lot more severe than what I thought. Which also affects us (in)directly.

[Steven Kidder]

Like many of the comments, I also hadn’t given much thought to microplastics or the idea that doing laundry would be an issue… I would be interested to see the detrimental effects better documented though–like if you keep fish in an a tank full of microplastics, what happens compared to normal?

[Jonathan Smilovich]

The SUBMERGE marine festival really surprised me, in a good way. The fact that soon there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean is mind boggling. It really makes me worry and think about what our planet will look like in the near future. I also found it interesting that how these micro plastics are technically poisoning us, since it bioaccumulates from different animals eating each other. We need to stop the use of plastics in non essential packaging as a start, since we are basically ingesting plastic from our seafood. Since plastic is non bio degradable, is there any true way to get rid of it from our environment?

[Jayson Chen]

The different events from the talks about our sewage system, marine life in the Hudson to the effects of plastics and methods to combat the plastic pollution were all informative and definitely eye-opening not only to the effects we have on the entirety of the Earth but also the huge impact that we have right here in our local neighborhoods. One thing that struck me was the talks on microplastics in the Hudson and the oceans. It’s crazy to think about how our plastic litter such as plastic bottles can get turned into these microplastics and have such a devastating effect on the marine population. Although not talked about in this event, I have read that microplastics not only affect marine life but at some point get introduced into our food supply and eventually into us, which in turn we start to harm ourselves. Not just in the waters either, microplastics are also prevalent in the air too. We have to find a solution to clean our waters and our air.

[Rebecca Nguyen]

I have always been interested in plastic and all the subcategories that comes with that broad term. It was so interesting to learn about plastic pollution here in NYC. The New York sewer system is a complex system but the model they showed during the presentation made it easy to understand and digest. I didn’t know it took as little as 10th of an inch of rain water in an hour to discharge so much wastewater into our waters and that’s was a scale for New York City not New York State. I think it’s really disturbing to know not only that there’s a estimate to when there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish but also how soon it is. I would like to use their database and the national database that they mention for research on how to educate others on how to properly recycle.

[Sheila Massiel Cáceres Ferreras]

With the webinar I learned a lot about NYC waterways, the wildlife present and the work dynamic of some organizations here, but when it comes to environmental problems, plastic pollution is generally the one I’m most interested about. In NYC there’s a lot of consumption, movement and obviously a high level of population, so I shouldn’t be surprised that there’s actual plastic pollution in these rivers, although we wouldn’t be able to see it with the naked eye. Micro-plastic is a very serious issue, so I’m glad that there are organizations here studying it and are willing to work with it and make it better.

[Jose L Villalba]

It’s curious to see what the affects of the micro-plastics are as it bio-accumulates and is eaten by us as Jayson also mentioned. Micro-plastics have also been found in freshwater rivers far from people in places like the Adirondacks and large national parks like Yellowstone.There is a cool data-set here: https://www.adventurescientists.org/microplastics.htm

[Abigail Doris]

Wow, who you would have thought that plastics, let alone micro-plastic, would have such an impact on the environment. I am aware that NY recycle plastic because it is a huge amount of solid waste and it takes centuries to break down in the landfill or ocean. However, I never thought about how plastic can end up in the ocean through our combined sewage overflow (CSO) systems. NYC has about 700 CSO system and discharge about 500 million gallons of overflow (waste water) per week when there is 1/10 of an inch of rainfall with an hour. Imagine how many plastics can end up in the ocean.

Not only does plastic affect the environment, but it can be very harmful to human. For example, if someone engulf treated water that contains micro- plastic, these small particles can negatively impact their health.

We can play our part by recycling and using less plastics, since it would be both beneficial to our health and the environment.

All in all, this was really eye- opening. I can truly say that I understand the reasons NYC banned the used of plastic bags.

[Elihu Fleury]

I think this topic is very timely given the plastic bag ban coming last month.

As such, this whole video made me wonder about one thing – when recycling programs have existed for years, isn’t this a sign that they have been a colossal failure?

And as a result, shouldn’t reform of these programs become a part of addressing this problem? Because I didn’t hear much of that during the program.

[Abigail Doris]

I think sometimes, it easier said than done. What I mean by this is, yes there are programs that implement recycling in NY, but I think many of the action weren’t implemented due to the lack of government involvement. For example, if the government have not got involved in the single- use of plastic, NYC would still be using plastic bags at most stores. I believe that the reform would lead to heavily taxing on new plastic and lower the cost of recyclable materials. This would encourage the use of recyclable bags. NYC took similar approach by charging the customer $0.05 for a paper bag, which they can avoid by bringing their own reusable bag.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by Abigail Doris.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by Abigail Doris.

[Hillary Andrade]

Even though the plastic bag ban for NY was implemented last month, we were behind compared to other states such as California. Other countries have long implemented this ban too, such as Colombia. I feel like we could be doing better as a state to reduce plastic waste.

I don’t think that it’s a sign of failure, but more a sign of lack of education. Not many people are aware of the harm that plastics may cause, although it might seem obvious to us. They are also less likely to know about recycling programs and their benefits to the environment.

[Antony De La Cruz]

I agree with Hillary, education is the single most important aspect when it comes to the change in behavior that we are seeking. As she mentioned, it starts with the awareness that the general population lacks; not to mention the accelerated, short term, convenience seeking lifestyle that we have gotten used to. Regardless of these challenges, I would not consider these programs a “colossal failure”: There are designated days to pick up different recycling and trash items where I live (Manhattan). I see how both single and multiple families properties within my area are following procedure. More people are bringing their own bags to grocery shop, and using reusable water bottles. In some areas the city has dumpsters that classifies waste. We must accept, they’re far from perfect, and need to be evaluated and improved, as you suggest. But we’re getting there. 🙂

[Passang Lhamo]

When I heard submerge festival, I thought they will  only show a marine animal and description of them but I was wrong. To my surprise this event was  very informative  and insightful in various ways. For example how the New York city sewage works, water recycles and plastic issues. Out of all events I loved plastic pollution topic. I appreciate how they went details about plastic. In the past when I heard plastic I always  imagine a trash like plastic bag that can  be seen  but  I was quite surprised that plastic can be micro. The next thing that amazed me was when I learnt that most  micro plastic are foam from food packing. I did not expect that. But nonetheless I appreciate how the NYC volunteers cleaning the plastics from  various river in NYC. In future I will try my best to recycle and reduce plastic.

[Laiba Sajid]

Prior to watching the live video, I thought that the river was not as maintained. Although the event was targeted towards kids, It was very eye-opening for me. I learned that there are so many aquatic wildlife living within the waters and to quote from the live stream “the river was a living thing itself”

-Laiba Sajid

[ronnie]

In my opinion, the submerge festival was pretty interesting and helpful in understanding more about the impacts that humans have on marine life. The one thing that caught my eye the most was the discussion of plastic pollution. In largely populated cities(like new york) where there is a lot of human activity, plastic pollution is a major issue. The craziest part is that the plastic pollution that we see is just a small amount of the plastic that’s actually there. There is a huge amount of microplastic waste that we cant see so I’m glad that organizations are looking at ways to help this issue.

 

-Ronnie R