Downstream and Upstream with Plastic

As part of this year's Climate Preparedness Week, Beyond Plastics Advocate, Deborah Burns, will tell the story of the river of plastic that flows through our lives - that has a vastly bigger negative impact than we may realize. She’ll discuss the history, the industry, the issues, the consequences, the future, of plastic.

She will also trace our own rivers, those that start in our area and wind their way to the sea.  The plastics crisis doesn’t involve just one or two rivers: it’s every river.

We’ll discuss petrochemicals, hydrofracking, greenhouse gases, nanoparticles, recycling, wish-cycling, EPRs, and more; we’ll zoom in on the microscopic and out to the global. We’ll be underwater, underground, and inside plants. We’ll talk about corporate interests, river keepers, problem solvers, and our fellow creatures.  Deborah will answer questions and offer suggestions about how to get involved.

Deb is a member of the Beyond Plastics organization and the Hoosic River Watershed Association. She recently retired after a 30-year career as a book editor at Storey Publishing, where her particular focus was on animals, farming, nature, ecology, and the environment.

She is a mother and a grandmother, a writer, historian, musician, and painter and has lived and traveled all over the world. She lives in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where she grew up.