Dianna Cohen: Tough truths about plastic pollution
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- Опубликовано: 19 авг 2024
- www.ted.com Artist Dianna Cohen shares some tough truths about plastic pollution in the ocean and in our lives -- and some thoughts on how to free ourselves from the plastic gyre.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at www.ted.com/tra.... Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks at www.ted.com/ind...
I have to do this for school 😭😭😭 thanks for the help 👍
Same lol
Same
Same
I'm trying to switch to more glass and my favorite grocery store uses biodegradable plastics, pretty awesome.
GREAT OUTLOOK ON THE SITUATION! THANK YOU FOR BEING A POSITIVE VOICE IN THIS FORUM!
we will never get anywhere by appealing to consumers. Relatively few will take action. We need legislation, and this will only come through activism.
Or good leaders. Which comes from good hiring, and good education. In fact, I think that's even more important than activism.
that video is amazing!! thank you for talking about it and sharing it with teens. what a creative and clever way to focus on the importance of democratic action!
Hi, Diana it's me Cynthia from Sproul hall. Keep talkin
I am one person that will moan about this issue but will also do my bit in removing it from local beaches .This week I have made 3 trips to the local beach in Cornwall and picked up as much as possible in bags ,I would say I have removed perhaps 5% of the total .I do at least one trip each week . People watch with indifferance as If i have two heads and dont seem to care . If each of the 200 or so that were on the beach picked up a few bottles then collectively we can make a small differance .Talking achieves nothing without action .
I hope you are also totally refusing plastic when going shopping because if not, your action is futile.
Last night I gave a speech to teenagers about plastic pollution. The challenge was figuring out how to motivate change in them. So we ended the talk with the Plastic State of Mind video, a parody of Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind, by Ben Zolno of New Message Media. It's a fun, encouraging video to get a serious message out.
I personally think the best thing happening to combat the tide of plastic overuse is the local foods movement. Farmer's markets don't use plastic to package, and are the freshest foods a person can acquire. Small scale farms are also less polluting than giant commercial operations. Fresh foods are also much better nutritionally. I say kill the three problems at once. Buy locally grown fresh food.
One idea that SHOULD be pushed to reduce pollution - hook up dynamos to all the exercise machines being used in gyms in the west. That is a LOT of energy going to waste.
No reason a stationary bike can't be modified to charge batteries.
English assesment, mm yes.. 10 year old video - very useful and modern video my teacher has chose here
english teachers always gotta use the vintage content
I have to do this for my English class I fucking hate this
haha yer pish
Same
@Greenlightandgo as a suggestion, you could bring your own reusable packing bags at the supermarkets. they don't take up a lot of space and they can take up more weight per bag than plastic bags so fill er up! in regards to the containers in the fridge, you can't do much about the sauce or milk bottles other than to recycle them, but you can use less tupperwares by having less leftovers, byo food containers for take outs if possible. if in doubt, look again at the 4Rs - ReduceReuseRecycleRefuse
@greob No, it is a drop in the bucket compared to serious pollution concerns.
It's not just the fault of the consumer - it's oil lobbyists. Go into the juice aisle of your local grocery store and imagine it the way it would have been 50 years ago, or even 20 years ago. Far more glass bottles and steel cans. It wasn't always this way, even when we had the option of single use plastics - we didn't use them, because they weren't subsidized and made into our only option.
I am remembering a less wasteful single use plastic from my childhood - bags of milk. They stopped.
Which takes more energy to make, a plastic container or a glass one?
The the coastline of the Sea of Japan, between Korea and Japan, has by far the worst pollution I have seen. There is a ridge of garbage the entire coastline at the high tide mark, usually several feet thick.
@groeneduim one can sell anything, if the marketing is right. (either customers are made to know what to buy or they already know it themselves)
The alternatives to plastic are readily available. It's not like we are waiting on new technology. The two main issues I've experienced that prevent the switch is lack of interest from the public and the refusal of companies to pay the increased cost of environmentally friendly containers. It's a shame that people are more interested in money than their own health and subsequently, the health of the planet.
Watch Seaspiracy on Netflix. This woman is part of the whole problem!
Companies use plastic because it is the CHEAPEST way of producing their goods to remain competitivein the market. I personally would love to replace most of the drinks sold in plastic with glass, at least if it breaks it can be melted and re-used. I personally stopped buying plastic bottle water and opted to use a reusable water filter jug instead. OUR market system reinforces our use of cheap disposable goods, this is the root cause of the problem.
I completely agree. This is a problem that arose from the relative abundance of crude oil, not consumer demand. Thankfully, the tables have turned. We no longer have an abundance of crude oil; pretty soon we will have to pay dearly for all petrochemicals and we will have to use other polymers by necessity. I sure hope polylactic acid will replace saran wrap and cellulose acetate will replace many of the hard plastics we have nowadays. It will remove much of the guilt I feel when using plastic.
Why do slide show images on TED always look horribly pixelated on the internet?
its too good to make people aware of wt kinda threat they r creating for themselves...
Thank you so much for this wake-up call, Dianna!
You can also watch my videos here on RUclips (available in English) and find out which health risks are meanwhile being linked to plastics and other synthetic materials.
Sending my sincerest regards to you for your engagement in these important matters! Hugs, Isabella
Would have liked for her to give more suggestions than just collecting Pyrex or using Metal water containers. What about all the plastics in the Supermarket and in the fridge that she was talking about? I can have a different outlook on it now but, what can I do about it?
yes of course. every bit helps. but the scale is so big and the stakes are so high that i don't believe societies should have a "laissez faire" attitude and rely on individual choices. we have many precedents for this kind of collective action --> for example: banning CFCs. If we had instead focused on individual actions there would still be more and more CFCs released year after year and we might have no Ozone layer left... Large scale problems require international regulatory solutions.
@drealm You probably acctually could; they already make plastic-like materials using corn starch.
Actually, it's not designers. It's the "free" market, which allows oil companies to commission chemists to find a use for gasoline, kerosene and motor oil by-products, from which plastic products are derived. It's oil companies who continue the greed of Standard Oil and Rockefeller. She is right that consumers have a part in it, because consumers buy it and maintain its demand. Of course, media and advertising also has a part. But now we all must do something, with or without laws.
Removing plastic from the economy is likely to hurt the poor less than the rest of us since they will no longer have to live with the massive garbage dumps that we have created in their backyards.
Moving away from a plastic economy will also help with moving away from oil dependency. No solution is perfect, but refusing to change will just poison us completely.
Oops, careful about the 4th R, the word refuse has two meanings:
1) verb, to decline to accept
2) noun, garbage, rubbish
You don't want people confusing the second meaning, that's what you're trying to avoid!
Diesen interessanten Vortrag über Plastik & Kunststoffe von Dianna Cohen kann man auf Ted.com auch mit deutschen Untertiteln ansehen. Sehr empfehlenswert!
I am sure she mean well, but a mass of plastic bottles in the middle of the ocean is a minor environmental threat compared to toxic materials being spewed into our air and water by industry every day.
@ORCA4312
Coal fired plants release much more mercury than what you'll find in CFLs. Also, if you've ever broken a thermometer than you've released the equivalent of dozens of CFLs. Coal fired plants also release a substantial amount of uranium.
CFLs are a MUCH wiser choice than regular incandescent bulbs for most uses. It doesn't mean they are ideal. If we wait for perfect solutions then we will be completely screwed like driving an SUV until there is a cheap electric car.
@katakanadian Modern thermometers don't contain mercury, and people don't don't discard several thermometers a year.
A I said - coal emissions can be filtered. At the very least, there should be a collection system in place for those CF bulbs.
Tell me now that CF bulbs are cleaner than wind or solar power. Coal isn't the ONLY source of electricity.
Businesses are consumers, too.
@ORCA4312 Just look at the push for the use of compact florescent light bulbs - which contain mercury vapour.
What we do to our environment we do to ourselves... and we are not doing good to ourselves...
@NikiDaDude I would like to see some hard numbers on whether CF bulbs actually release more or less mercury into the environment than what is produced generating the electricity they save. Not to mention - the emissions from coal plants COULD be cleaned, or the electricity could be produced by a cleaner technology - like solar or wind.
Just because I doubt the wisdom of CF bulbs does not mean I support coal burning.
Just because she's not a environmental scientist mean she doesn't know anything? She's saying pretty basic things but that's what the solution is, and it amazes me how people are putting her down and condemning her for it. The big message is try to reduce your use of plastic. Like when you go to the grocery store, bring a reusable bag. If everyone used 50% less plastic, then it'd be like half the world not using plastic. One person can make a difference.
@katakanadian lol @ putting plastic into rocks. I think it was enough to say that there is no where to bury plastic and to leave it at that.
@LemonLimeLaughter Recycling is highly inefficient and in fact, rather detrimental to the environment as recycling consumes energy as well. One for of recycling which is beneficial is bauxite recycling - aluminum can recycling. It is both environmentally and economically efficient. It is the only form of recycling I participate in. Otherwise, I simply reduce and reuse as much as possible.
I know big bits of plastic on beaches can be picked up, although it requires man power and there is still the problem of where else to dispose of it, but what about micro plastics can they be cleaned from sand or pebbles? Or is it impractical?
These people have no idea what they are doing. The plastic is coming from literal rivers of trash in the third world.
Anyone who advocates cleaning this stuff from the ocean hasn't don't any actual research in the problem, because the uv from the sun breaks it all down in 6 months.
The problem is these rivers, and these cultures in the third world simply don't care. A few are starting to fence the rivers finally... Yet this woman is blaming people here who DO dispose of their trash and don't have rivers of the stuff.
@csrtitus
So do you think that continued thoughtless mass consumption plastic is useful? Her message is simple and clear and useful for the right audience. She should be speaking school kids and parents groups (and probably does). One thing I've learned over the last decade is don't underestimate the level of ignorance among Joe and Jane Public. Most people still don't realize what a big problem we have.
Ted You went to our school Hoopeston Area Middle School! I loved you frot he vist L)
What bothers me is the the waste of valuable fossil fuels that the plastic is MADE of, and the waste of energy in refining those plastics.
Compared to these concerns, Pollution is barely even on my radar.
You are correct but it also is our individual choice as consumers what we buy. If you are aware of the problem you are less likely choose to contribute to the problem.
Since when was "raising awareness" a solution to anything?
When I was in the Navy (I got out in 92') we dumped all trash and garbage EXCEPT the plastic bags. I was so glad to see that the Navy was so concerned about the environment! The gov will fine others for the same actions! (A lot of people don't get my sarcasm, so let me say that I think it is a fucking tragedy what man is doing to this planet).
Don't consume, don't be ignorant. Now that you are aware, you are contributing to the problem. Buy a glass container to put your drinks in, buy local fresh produce from farmer's markets etc. Everyone's individual choices will make or break our future.
Consumers should do their part and minimize the use of packaging and recycling. This affect all of us in the long run and our children and childrens children will eat foods with plastic and associated toxins in it.
Good talk. It could have lasted longer. This is a very very big issue.
@BenThomasFoster that's where the problem is.I need to research this but I'd love to know how to melt some of that plastic and turn it into kindergarten coloured plastic chairs for example.I gotta find a way to contact those people cos my part of the world is filled with enough of that trash.
@amrendra80 yes but if plastic will dominate markets compared with bioplastic that will brake down in environment more faster, if the environment friendly costs more than normal... and that can be fixed with taxes
Plastic is degrading just as good as paper. It only depends on the sizes.
@eyallev
Unfortunately it's not that simple. Oil does not come from enormous caverns that we can just refill with plastic. It come out of porous rock. Go ahead and try to squeeze a piece of Lego into something easy like a pumice stone. The environmental (and financial) cost of digging enormous caverns or liquifying solid plastics for injection in to rocks makes this idea unworkable. You also remove e possibility of future recycling of this plastic.
One of the problems of plastics is oil subsidies. Plastics are a great innovation but because of skewed economics it's too much of a good thing. One solution would be to view every piece of plastic as a potential source of energy. With the right technology, we could be mining landfills.
I'm ready to start the global campaign..
It is relatively naive to resolve the plastic pollution through calling on the pubilc or a 5-minutes speech. Personally, legal and powerful laws are needed for this issue.
So you don't trust the public?
What about blaming government?
Dianna Cohen has done a lot to educate me about plastic. Her passion is inspiring. I am working on being as plastic-free as possible now. I think I first saw her in a short snippet like this one. One person can make a difference, and with a seemingly small gesture.
@murdockqotsa Carlin meant that at an ecosystem level, eventually everything will be fine. For humans within the ecosystem now, we are only endangering creatures who are living now, including ourselves. The planet will recover from plastic but probably not while we are alive.
Timmy the turtle would love a good chew on the plastic
Thank you for making this!
@katakanadian This "Joe" has a decent grasp of the problems this world faces. I have been using plastic my whole life and I am doing just fine. This planet can handle whatever we throw at it and to think that we are so special that we could harm an entire planet is just ignorant.
@ShaolinViolin Thank you for your comments and I hope that some of the people on here are rational enough to understand them. This type of material appears to appeal more to idealists than rationalists though.
If each of us who cares tells someone who doesn't know just one fact about the pollution, such as "over 100,000 animals die every year because of plastic bags", we can help solve the problem.
It would be cool if we had truly reusable (possibly standardized), long lived containers for transporting quick turnover products.
Cuz really, I think its time we moved past, "Oooh, its a shiny new bottle"
Hear hear! I hate drinking beer from plastic cups
@Soulfree2008
The mayor problem would be nobody is getting rich doing that.
And getting rich is the mayor reason for people doing things in the western hemisphere.
@Soulfree2008
"The earth will shrug us off like a bad case of fleas..."
1. Im sorry but me and many many others dont want that.
2. ever heard about planet venus? There you see what could happen if we reach climate tipping points and the feedbacks kick in. Game over. For ever.
@sp4zzpp2 I can't post a link unfortunately, but there is this store in LA which only sells glass bottles and doesn't sell any coca cola products. The man who runs it is very insightful and passionate. He's a good model for food companies.
Look up the video title below.
Obsessives: Soda Pop - CHOW.com
2:59
@VitriolicAC I agree. I realize where I am. I haven't given up quite yet. I know it's bratland on RUclips. I hope for change even with Earth's doomy gloomy futuristic outlook. I find comments interesting and often worth reading but lately, they're a waste of time; which was my point. It's nice to see you though, intelligence is still here with your reply. so thanks.
@ShaolinViolin
"this is one of those "here's the problem: we should fix it!" videos."
Exactly, and her intention is, as she said, to raise awareness about this issue. To inform people is the first- and the clearly most important step to solve any problem.
Not?
The basic problem (at all!) especially with the big environmental problems/opportunities are that everywhere seemingly clever ppl conveniently popping up (you for examp) doing nothing except of spraying desperation and surrender. ;-)
@ORCA4312 Yes, that is so, but the extra coal the powerplants need to burn in order to produce the electricity to power the inefficient lightbulbs releases mercury too, and more than a CFC contains.
3:55
From Mike Biddle`s 2011 TED talk 'we can recycle plastic' now a plastic bottle can be a plastic bottle again.
Don't create waste and you don't have to use plastic bags. Its our own individual choices that make a difference.
@csrtitus At least THIS one I could understand what the speaker was saying. The last few TED videos I have watched - the speaker was almost unintelligible due to heavy accent.
People who throw plastic into oceans wouldn't care to what they buy. So replacing every selling bottle by something biodegradable is the only way to be sure in the end.
Glass might be a solution. But since it weights a lot, it again raises the carbon-pollution during it's transport. So in addition, transport ways of products need to be shortened.
So, for a start, refuse products made out of non-biodegradable plastic and products from far-far-away. Buy what's produced in your community, first.
@steinarrexfaroensis it gets warm way to quick lol
@0AniAm0 no lol. i refuse :). for starters what do you think we should use for garbage bags instead of plastic bags? (i wanna pick your brain, if you dont mind, about what to replace things.)
1:45
doesnt change the fact that we're fucked if we cant manage the ammount of crap we're putting into the envyronment.. i'm just saying this needs to be considered, we need smart people pulling together though, time and resources towards this as soon as possible.
@dooovde technically yes, but plastic is a derivative product, and it has to be remelted to make something new, every time it is remelted more of the mass is made gaseous. and might be poisonous. and turning it back into 'petrol' to run cars off of, is extremely ineffecient
@lilthug19908
google "plastic gyre" there is a good Wikipedia article on it.
@Sturrmm Unfortunately such deaths of albatross are true. Possible that particular image was planted, but the point is still valid. Albatross chicks even die in the nest from being fed plastic by their parents, who pick up the plastic thinking they are floating fish. The birds didn't evolve to know difference.
Ditto for sea turtles, who take in plastic bags thinking are jelly fish.
Plastic ring-holders for cans get caught around bird necks strangling them. Cut them up before trash/recycle.
@ORCA4312 Florescent light bulbs are already on their way out. OLED lighting will replace them in the near future.
What about using some plastic eating bacteria? Help evolution along to clean up the gyres.
Unfortunate so few even attempt to recycle. Probably does need an economic incentive vs altruism. Where I live you have to pay extra to recycle, so true that most don't. Other items require gathering up and taking somewhere yourself, as no curbside option. Not a surprise most folks just toss in the trash. Too many even just drop where they stand, even on hiking trails.
@nirwin9 Once again, it is utterly useless to sit around and complain about how horrible something is without proposing something to fix it. What do I propose? I propose we continue to use plastic and reap the massive benefits plastic has provided for humanity. With these great benefits and the larger economy plastic creates, we can eventually move to another resource should that be required. By whining like Dianna does, she will slow down economic progress and potentially halt this.
@fragelius Taxing plastic will not be an efficient way to get rid of the trash, it is not possible for govt. machinery to look for plastic everywhere. Instead if we had put a significant monetary deposit on every plastic, it would definitely be picked up by someone. We have piloted this scheme in our Campus in Bangalore, it works like a charm. for more look at cleancredit(dot)in
Wow, she's an artist, so she MUST be right...
@TheHolySpirit WTF? Plastic did not come out of the Earth, OIL comes out of the Earth and is then modified on a molecular level to make plastic.
2:21
@poetswolf1985 saying that doesn't get us anywhere.
@ozzy59he it's not that.. plastic is much cheaper to produce and companies that use only glass containers etc will be at a huge disadvantage to the competition that doesnt give a fuck. The world is moved by corporations and profit, not population and ideals. It is, however, possible to create a reaslity in wich recycling is in itself very profitable. Brazil has been doing a kick-ass job in alternative fuel and aluminum cans, for example.
@ozzy59he because it's cheaper for companies to use plastic, because they don't have to pay for getting rid of it again.
If companies had to pay from ressource to recycled ressource, every step, they wouldn't use plastic that much. It'd just cost to much.
It is interesting that when archeologists rummage through trash heaps that are thousands of years old what they find there is considered "priceless."
@KaptainKuantum (They DO biodegrade by the way)
She's wrong about one thing; informing consumers isn't enough, you also need to motivate them. Since motivating people on such a large scale about such a seemingly unimportant matter is next to impossible, it would be necessary for governments to take action.
@Sondre7 As most of their talks are.