For a plastic-free future

Dr Nathan Robinson’s video from 2015 that showed a turtle in distress, sparked great debate about the consumption of plastic globally

For those active on social media, this story might ring a few bells. In 2015, a video made the rounds on YouTube, of a man removing a plastic straw lodged in the nose of a sea turtle, eventually freeing the animal. This went on to gather over a 100 million views since its release, kicking off a massive debate in the field of environmentalism about the presence of plastic in our daily lives. The man captured in the video was marine biologist Dr Nathan Robinson. Today, he will bring such stories, personal experiences and expertise in the fields of marine biology and conservation to the virtual platform, at a talk titled Plastic Pollution and Marine Life, moderated by Indian youth environmentalist Abhiir Bhalla. The talk is part of a campaign called My Future My Voice, organised by earthday.org, that invites personalities to connect with the youth and young climate activists, to initiate conversations about the environment, it's importance and conservation.

Abhiir Bhalla

"What is unique about this talk is that we're encouraging young people to attend. Anyone who has at least tangential interest in these areas is welcome. Robinson will also explain to attendees how he got into his field and what marine biology entails," explains Bhalla. The session will explore the impact of large-scale plastic consumption on marine life, and discuss possible solutions to the issue, with a 15-minute Q&A segment scheduled for after the talk that invites attendees to ask questions, and interact with both the host and the moderator. "One of the most relevant sections of the talk, I feel, will be the discussion about the impact of the plastic waste that is generated through our daily lives," adds Bhalla.

On: Today, 4.30 pm
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