logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2022
10m 22s

The problem with plastics -- and how to ...

TED
About this episode

Plastics are everywhere -- they're in our favorite electronic devices, they package our food and insulate our homes. Today, the total mass of plastic is twice the total mass of all living organisms on the planet, and it's starting to change the processes that allow the Earth's climate system to work. Plastic pollution researcher Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez breaks down the consequences of producing all of this plastic at every stage, from fossil fuel extraction to the disposal of single-use plastics in landfills and oceans. The first step to breaking free of our plastic problem is admitting we have one.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Yesterday
How to fix Africa's learning crisis | Rapelang Rabana
By 2030, nearly half the world's young people will be African. Yet for decades, the continent's learning crisis was treated with systems unfit for reality on the ground. Social entrepreneur Rapelang Rabana shows how homegrown leadership and technology designed for African classro ... Show More
34m 54s
Aug 23
Sunday Pick: How to mentally reset when you’re stressed out (w/ Dr Jenny Taitz) | How to Be a Better Human
It’s hard to not feel stress at the state of the world today, so how can you cope with stressors without letting them completely overwhelm you? Clinical psychologist Jenny Taitz spends most of her days helping clients navigate through their stress. She shares why she uses Dialect ... Show More
40m 53s
Aug 22
How to make learning impossibly fun | Mark Rober
What if science class felt less like studying out of a textbook and more like an unforgettable field trip? From viral glitter-bomb traps to backyard engineering marvels, former-NASA-engineer-turned-YouTuber Mark Rober has spent years proving that curiosity is contagious — and tha ... Show More
43m 24s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2023
Discarded (Official Trailer)
Plastic is everywhere. It’s in our homes, grocery stores, oceans, soil and even our bodies. While the invention of plastic has advanced our world, it has seriously damaged our environment and our health. In this investigative four-part series, hosted by Emmy award-winning journal ... Show More
3m 12s
Jan 2023
Discarded (Official Trailer)
Plastic is everywhere. It’s in our homes, grocery stores, oceans, soil and even our bodies. While the invention of plastic has advanced our world, it has seriously damaged our environment and our health. In this investigative four-part series, hosted by Emmy award-winning journal ... Show More
3m 21s
Aug 2025
Life in plastic — not fantastic?
Much of our modern world is made of plastic, but as more signs point to its dangers to human health, what can we even do about it? Guest: Annie Lowrey, Atlantic writer and author of I fought plastic. Plastic won. For show transcripts, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠vox.com/unxtranscripts⁠⁠⁠⁠ ... Show More
29m 35s
Sep 2020
What is plastic?
<p><strong>#062</strong></p> <p>Think about it for a second, plastic is everywhere. What plastic things are around you right now? What plastic things do you use everyday? This week, Melissa and Jam dive right into the proverbial (and sort of literal) ball pit. What even is plasti ... Show More
31m 52s
Nov 2018
Why We Fell In Love with Plastic
Plastic waste and pollution have become a global problem but is there any sign of a global solution? And how did we allow this to happen in the first place? Materials scientist and broadcaster, Professor Mark Miodownik, explores how we fell in love with plastic, why we've ended u ... Show More
26m 28s
Apr 2023
The Trash Trail: Why is there so much plastic in the ocean?
We use plastic for all kinds of things, from shampoo bottles to glitter. It’s useful but also a danger, because a lot of plastic is ending up in our oceans, where it’s sucked into swirly twirly whirlpools of garbage. The biggest of these is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. ... Show More
36m 41s