Why We Need Earth Healers to Solve Our Plastic Problem
UN alarmed by plastic waste crisis, calls for action. UNAM's Earth Sciences School trains "Earth Healers" to tackle sustainability challenges and protect our planet from plastic pollution.
We live on a planet drowning in its own cast-offs. A staggering seven billion tons of plastic waste – enough to fill a conga line of garbage trucks stretching from here to Pluto – have been produced, and less than 10% of it sees the light of a recycling bin. This sobering reality was the centerpiece of a recent address by UNAM rector Leonardo Lomelí Vanegas, who inaugurated the National School of Earth Sciences' (ENCiT) aptly themed "For a Planet Without Plastics" festival.
Rector Lomelí Vanegas painted a picture of a future choked by plastic. With an annual production of 400 million tons, and a potential tripling by 2050 according to the UN Environment Program, our throwaway culture threatens to turn the Earth into a giant landfill. The consequences are dire: over a million birds and 100,000 marine mammals fall victim to plastic pollution every year.
