Name: Alon

Social Justice Group: 2018-2019, Environment: Plastic Pollution

Date of Fieldwork: February 24, 2019

Name of Organization:

Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles:

Type of Fieldwork: Other

What I did:

I watched a documentary about plastic pollution.

What I learned:

I learned that the plastic in the ocean that is not broken down is just sitting at the bottom of the ocean. Another thing about the ocean is that people on the island Tuvalu fill the ocean with plastic and then build houses on top of this plastic. This consequently hurts the ocean. Another thing that I learned was that almost all plastics have estrogen activity, meaning that they harm one’s hormonal activity. Furthermore, this is not just plastic reusable and disposable bottles, this is also silicone and latex bottles, along with colorant for bottles as well.

What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:

I learned that when poorer countries such as Tuvalu have to import goods from other countries, they are destroying the quality of life for their citizens. In the case of Tuvalu, they have already essentially destroyed their economy. The downwards spiral goes like this, they import goods, then the environmental situation gets worse, then they can’t grow food, and then they have to import more goods. Combined with a rising population, this adds to the concern about plastic.