38 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY November 14-20, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com FACE TO FACE Plastic. It’s everywhere—in our daily lives and natural environments. Tackling this requires systemic change, which Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Chief Conservation and Science Officer, Margaret Spring, is pursuing at the UN Plastic Treaty talks on Nov. 25. Before joining the Aquarium in 2013, Spring worked on climate policy in Congress, serving as principal deputy to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s first female administrator during the Obama administration and practiced environmental law with a focus on hazardous waste management. She also directed the California Coastal and Marine Program at The Nature Conservancy, and contributed to the Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program. “One of the things that attracted me to the Aquarium is that it was a way of reaching people more directly,” she says. In 2021, she chaired a committee that produced a landmark report revealing the U.S. as a leading contributor to plastic pollution. Weekly: Where did your passion for environmental issues begin? Spring: I grew up in New York City. We used to play by the Hudson River. Raw sewage was going into the river— toxic waste. When we threw our trash it would be incinerated. This was all before any of the environmental laws were in place. I couldn’t believe how much trash and how much sewage was going into the river. So I started asking questions about it. I took a course in high school on oceanography, and it opened my eyes to what was around us. And I spent a lot of time at the ocean as a kid; that was just very much the place I got peace. You chaired a committee that found that we were the world leader in plastic waste. Since then, I’m curious what the conversation around this has been like? As a lawyer, what I discovered and could not believe, is that plastic is not treated as anything but a usable product. If it’s in water that’s released to the environment, it’s not a regulated substance. When I first started working on this report, everyone said most of the waste in the ocean is from seven rivers, all in Asia. Well, that’s not the whole story [which is]: We are part of the problem. We far outstrip any other country in the amount of per-capita waste we generate. We are wasteful. And Canada is probably not that far behind us. And since about the time we did the report, China closed its doors to recycle products. So where are our exports going? The U.S., just after we filed the report, joined international negotiations. They took a recommendation to create a U.S.-wide strategy and came out with that in July. States like California have been far more prepared and a model for a lot of the things that need to happen, and it’s been great to be here and see that. The consumption and production of plastic appears to have really ramped up in the last 10 years. Seeing the growth curves is shocking. More and more stuff is made of plastic that didn’t used to be made of plastic. We also are more consumer based as a society. We like to buy stuff, and that’s continuing. There’s another piece of this, which is 99 percent of plastics are made from oil and fossil sources. These companies need to find other uses for these fossil sources. So I’m seeing new things that don’t have to be made from plastic being made from plastic. I think people feel very frustrated that they don’t have the choice. There is a certain amount of industry push for these products. You’re going to the UN global plastic treaties talks. What do those conversations look like? The more we can do in this treaty to say there should be reductions, the more that ripple will start to feel its way through. What I think you’re going to see is a business coalition for a global plastics treaty, saying, yes, we need to do something. They’re already making plans and we need people understanding this is not the only solution. There’s more work to be done, but at least we’ll set directionality in saying we’re going to reduce this, we’re going to improve this, we’re going to pay for this. This is serious stuff. What do you do for fun? Wine and cooking. During Covid, in order to visit my mom in North Carolina, we bought a travel trailer. It’s just so cool. I really love seeing the rest of the country in a very slow way. Plastic, Not Fantastic The Aquarium’s chief science officer, Margaret Spring, is a leader in a critical environmental cause. By Katie Rodriguez The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Chief Conservation and Science Officer Margaret Spring, says it is shocking that plastic production has increased in our lifetime. She will be participating in UN talks on the matter. 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These crucial funds support our programs as the only older-catexclusive rescue in Monterey County and help cover costs associated with veterinary care, foster supplies, outreach, and more. If you would like to sponsor our next ad, give us a call at (831) 200-9232 or email info@gocatrescue.org PO Box 683 Monterey, CA 93942 831.200.9232 www.gocatrescue.org
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