May 25, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 7A
PLASTIC POLLUTION
A WORLD
SECURITY
PROBLEM
503-738-9003
LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED
Hope and change for
our environment
By Katherine Lacaze
For the Seaside Signal
It’s not new information all the world’s
continents are connected by water; as a re-
sult, however, all civilizations across the
globe also share responsibility in curbing
the “mammoth problem” of plastic pollu-
tion threatening the environment.
“This issue is way bigger than us in the
United States,” Charlie Plybon, Oregon
policy manager with the Surfrider Foun-
dation, said during a Listening to the Land
lecture at Seaside Library on May 16.
Plybon’s presentation, “Plastic Pollu-
tion: Acting locally to curb a new world
order in ocean pollution,” was the final
lecture of the 2018 Listening to the Land
series, presented by the Necanicum Wa-
tershed Council in partnership with the
library.
While the current trends related to
plastic pollution are worrisome, Plybon’s
lecture was not about doom and gloom,
but rather “a hope-and-change kind of pre-
sentation,” said Chrissy Smith, coordina-
tor of the Friends of Cape Falcon Marine
Reserve, a North Coast-based volunteer
organization.
around the mid-21st century. In 1955, Life
Magazine ran an article called “Throw-
away Living” that celebrated the conve-
nience of single-use products and dispos-
able items. The consumerism mindset
that began proliferating at the time can be
summed up in a quote attributed to Victor
Lebow, an economist and retail analyst:
“Our enormously productive economy de-
mands that we make consumption our way
of life, that we convert the buying and use
of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiri-
tual satisfaction and our ego satisfaction in
consumption.”
“We need things consumed, burned up,
worn out, replaced and discarded at an ev-
er-increasing rate,” Lebow wrote.
The scope of the problem
Plybon, who has a degree in marine
biology and is a member of the Oregon
Ocean Policy Advisory Council, shared
important statistics, giving listeners a
glimpse of the magnitude of the plastic
pollution problem.
According to a 2016 report called
“The New Plastics Economy,” by the El-
len MacArthur Foundation and the World
Economic Forum, if plastic pollution con-
tinues being generated and entering the
environment at its current rate, it may out-
weigh the total mass of fish in the world’s
ocean by 2050. Such a presence of plastic
has the power to change entire ecosystems
and species, Plybon said.
Additionally, multiple studies suggest
there are more than 2.25 trillion particles
of plastic currently floating in the ocean,
and fish off the West Coast ingest more
than 12,000 tons of plastic per year. Hu-
mans also ingest plastic microfibers,
which were found in 83 percent of tap wa-
ter samples collected from at least a dozen
countries on five continents, according to
a study commissioned by data journalism
outlet Orb. For the United States, 94 per-
cent of water samples were contaminated
by plastic.
A brief history
How did this happen? Plybon shared
insight into a cultural shift that transpired
KATHERINE LACAZE
Charlie Plybon, Surfrider Foundation’s
Oregon Policy Manager, gives a presen-
tation on plastic pollution May 16 at
the Seaside Library.
‘Everything goes one
way and into the trash.
That’s just not the way
we can live. Eventually
we will run out.’
Charlie Plybon
Such a system is not sustainable, how-
ever. Humans cannot exist on a finite plant
with linear system, Plybon said.
“Everything goes one way and into the
trash,” he said. “That’s just not the way we
can live. Eventually we will run out.”
Solutions such as recycling, inciner-
ating, or converting microfibers into syn-
thetic fleece are not sufficient, or even
effective, in keeping plastic out of the en-
vironment. Also, China, the world’s largest
importer and recycler of plastic, has imple-
mented increasing restrictions on foreign
waste in the past couple years; most plastic
items — save thin-necked plastic soda and
water bottlers — are no longer recyclable
in the current system.
“Your ‘recycling’ isn’t being recycled,”
Plybon said.
Solutions in the system
Most importantly, people need to con-
sider the entire life cycle of the items they
consume, and ask themselves.
“Be aware of what you’re buying, and
be aware of where it’s going to go,” Ply-
bon said. “If it’s single-use and it’s plas-
tic, it doesn’t make sense for it be around
forever after you used it once.”
In addition to consuming less in gen-
eral, individuals can switch to alternatives
and embrace a bring-your-own culture,
using reusable mugs, water bottles, to-go
containers, straws, storage bags, jars, and
more. Buying in bulk is not only afford-
able but also allows people to avoid the
wasteful packaging that often accompa-
nies single-serve food products.
The next step is finding communi-
ty solutions, such as setting zero-plastic
waste goals at schools or workplaces;
conducting educational events to raise
awareness; holding outdoor cleanups;
implementing local plastic-reduction
policies; creating bans on plastic bags or
polystyrene; or putting together a munic-
ipal plastics solution committee. Advo-
cates can engage large-scale suppliers to
ensure nonplastic alternatives are acces-
sible and affordable for restaurants and
other businesses.
The Surfrider Foundation recently
launched its Ocean Friendly Restaurants
certification program in Oregon, giving
restaurants a way to demonstrate their
commitment to sustainability. To partic-
ipate in the program, restaurants must
follow four criteria: No using expanded
polystyrene (also known as Styrofoam);
following proper recycling practices; us-
ing reusable tableware for onsite dining
and only providing disposable utensils
for takeout food upon request; and no
offering plastic bags for takeout orders.
Additionally, restaurants must choose a
minimum of three other criteria from a set
of six.
Finally, individuals need to take their
concerns about plastic pollution directly
to the companies producing the items —
the first point of the linear system. The
world’s largest corporations make more
money than most countries, and that de-
pends on consumerism and constant buy-
ing. Engaging irresponsible companies
through letter-writing campaigns, phone
calls, or strikes, and supporting compa-
nies with responsible practices can lead to
tangible results, Plybon said.
“We are the ones that can be empow-
ered,” he added. “If we want to change
the system we’re in now, we have to be
advocating at a higher level.”
The Listening to the Land speaker se-
ries offered January through May, with
presentations held the third Wednesday of
every month at the library. The program,
which is free and open to the public, is
finished for 2018 and will resume in Jan-
uary 2019.
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Radio station gets new ownership
Jacobs grew up in East-
ern Oregon and vacationed
throughout the coast. He
started in radio at age 12 and
By R.J. Marx
studied broadcasting at the
Seaside Signal
College of La Grande, now
Eastern Oregon University.
Gearhart-based radio sta- Joining a local radio station,
tion 93.3 KEUB-FM will de- he learned the ropes of radio
but this month as “The Rock,” broadcasting and climbed the
catering to men who like tra- management ranks.
ditional rock, grunge, hair
Jacobs Radio was launched
bands and alternative music.
in 2001 and Jacobs purchased
“No one is super-serving his first radio station in 2005.
the males between 18 and 49
“The Rock” will be the
years old,” said
company’s
Jeff
Jacobs,
eighth station
the new own-
in Washington
er. “In general,
state and Ore-
gon, with affil-
no one’s really
iates covering
taking care of
areas between
that age group,
the Tri-Cities,
which is nearly
Hermiston,
half of the pop-
ulation of the
Moses Lake,
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A n o t h -
R.J. MARX
er
company
for this.”
A c c o r d i n g Radio station owner
owned by Ja-
to the industry Jeff Jacobs at the Shilo
cobs,
doing
publication Ra- Oceanfront Inn in Sea-
business
as
dio and Busi- side. Jacobs announced Tri-Cities Bill-
ness Report, Ra- his purchase of 93.3 FM. board, markets
dio Beam LLC
mobile
bill-
sold KEUB to Jacobs Radio boards throughout the North-
Programming for $80,000 in west.
A mutual friend helped
late March. Reassignment of
the license is scheduled to broker the radio station deal
with owner Ernie Hopseker,
take place before September.
Jacobs and his staff hosted who is retiring, Jacobs said.
an introductory cocktail party
Studios and facilities will
Friday at the Shilo Oceanfront be in Gearhart Plaza on U.S.
Highway 101, with towers on
Inn.
Aims for men 18
to 49 years old
Tillamook Head and in Asto-
ria.
Radio hosts will include
Twitch in the morning, Mar-
coni at night, and “rock
chick extraordinaire” Robbie
Knight.
A Memorial Day kickoff
is planned, with a range from
Cannon Beach to Astoria.
“It’s modern rock with
a lot of bands people will
know,” Jacobs said. “It’s not
going to be a classic rock —
but you might hear Zeppelin.
You’ve got kids now who
even though they weren’t
anywhere near around Zep-
pelin or anything, they like it
because it’s new to them.”
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