Sustainability Now! on KSQD.org

Microplastics: invisible, insidious, and...fixable with Dr. Myra Finkelstein and Dr. Steven Mentor

April 26, 2026·52 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

We’ve heard a lot about the problem of microplastics pollution. Just how bad is it?  What are its causes?  What are microplastics doing to us and the world?  Is anything being done to stem the accelerating production and consumption of plastics that end up in our water, our air, in animals, and in human bodies? Join host Ronnie Lipschutz for a conversation about microplastics with Dr. Myra Finkelstein, Adjunct Professor in the Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology Department at UC Santa Cruz and Dr. Steven Mentor a Santa Cruz climate activist and long-time environmentalist. Finklestein has been examining the health effects of plastic ingestion on seabirds to better understand the consequences for marine wildlife and human health. Mentor discusses law and campaigns in California to regulate microplastics and what can be done to turn the tide of plastic packaging and consumption. You can learn more about the topic from Food and Water Watch, the Netflix film "The Plastic Detox" and the Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council.

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