Ethical Matters: Solving The Plastic Problem

Plastics are wonder-materials that have enabled the creation of the modern, industrialised world. However, their robustness means they degrade only slowly and poorly in the environment, and now pollute the oceans, the air, drinking water and food. As alarming as this may sound, plastic pollution is really just one element in the overall problem of a changing climate (“the world’s woes”), and must be addressed as part of an integrated consideration of how we use all resources, and the need to change our expectations, goals and lifestyles.

Professor Chris Rhodes is an advisor on low-carbon energy to the European Commission and director of Fresh-lands Environmental Actions, based in Reading. Professor Rhodes is a writer and researcher who became involved with environmental issues while working in Russia during the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Chris has given numerous radio and televised interviews concerning environmental issues both in Europe and in the United States – including on BBC Radio 4’s Material World. Latest invitations as a speaker include a series of international lectures regarding the impending depletion of world oil and the need to develop oil-independent sustainable societies, and to preserve the world’s soils.