Junk Raft: An Ocean Voyage and a Rising Tide of Activism to Fight Plastic Pollution

ISBN: 0807061727

Author: Eriksen, Marcus

Condition: New

An exciting account of a scientists expedition across the Pacific on a home-made junk raft in order to learn more about plastic marine pollutionA scientist, activist, and inveterate adventurer, Eriksen and his co-navigator, Joel Paschal, construct a junk raft made of plastic trash and set themselves adrift from Los Angeles to Hawaii, with no motor or support vessel, confronting perilous cyclones, food shortages, and a fast decaying raft.As Eriksen recounts his struggles to keep afloat, he immerses readers in the deep history of the plastic pollution crisis and the movement that has arisen to combat it. The proliferation of cheap plastic products during the twentieth century has left the world awash in trash. Meanwhile, the plastics industry, with its lobbying muscle, fights tooth and nail against any changes that would affect its lucrative status quo, instead defending poorly designed products and deflecting responsibility for the harm they cause.But, as Eriksen shows, the tide is turning in the battle to save the worlds oceans. He recounts the successful efforts that he and many other activists are waging to fight corporate influence and demand that plastics producers be held accountable. Junk Raft provides concrete, actionable solutions and an empowering message: its within our power to change the throw-away culture for the sake of our planet.