‘Plastics Detective’ Imogen Napper traces pollution to the source – National Geographic

Microplastic poses a growing concern in the oceans and other aquatic habitat (photo: 5Gyres courtesy of Oregon State University, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
Microplastic poses a growing concern in the oceans and other aquatic habitat (photo: 5Gyres courtesy of Oregon State University, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons).

Excerpt:
She’s been called a plastics detective. As a marine scientist and researcher and National Geographic Explorer, Imogen Napper thinks a lot about plastic. For all the bad rap it gets, she acknowledges its widespread utility: “I’m chatting to you now through our laptops, which contain plastic. My clothes are made out of plastic. I’ve got plastic elements in my phone. The carpets are plastic.”  

Napper has spent years sweeping the world for traces of plastic where it doesn’t belong, and finding creative solutions to the problem of plastic pollution. Napper attributes her work style to words of encouragement from her mother:

“You can’t connect the dots going forward, but you can always connect them going back.”

 

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