Course Description
Summary
The world’s population has tripled since the 1950s, but production of plastics has increased over 70-fold in that time. The impact of plastic as litter is undeniable, both in the oceans and on land. But recent findings about the impacts of plastic on human health demonstrate that this is not just a litter problem, it is a health one. As we follow the path of microplastics we learn more every day about what plastic does to living organisms. The chemical additives in plastic do not stay put. They leach out into what they touch — including food, water, air, and human bodies. A large number of these additives are known carcinogens, neurotoxicants, and hormone disruptors, and are associated with a range of disorders from obesity and diabetes to autism and ADHD. Plastics and the chemicals they are made of are so common as to be unavoidable, that their impacts are felt by all of us. What does this mean, and what is to be done? Join Megan J. Wolff, PhD, MPH, the health policy director of Beyond Plastics, for an in-depth class on what is known – and what is being researched – on the impact of plastics on human health.
