Fourth Post

                I recently found out that I have a mutual friend with Jeff Orlowski, the director of the documentary "Chasing Ice." I asked her to contact him and connect us  After a few weeks, he finally got back to her and said he did not have enough time in his schedule to have a twenty minute interview. But if I had any quick questions, he would be willing to answer a few of them. I also tried to reach out to one of the heads of Conservation International through my connections. But she, too, had been hard to reach. One week she was in Ecuador, the next in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest, and then in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. So currently, I do not have someone to interview. At this point, I'm a little lost and do not know who to contact. I want to contact someone high up in a well known non-profit, specifically someone in the communications area, to ask them what strategies they used for outreach, to convince people to care.

                The information from Jim about LinkedIn was helpful, but more in how to use LinkedIn then how to approach people. The LinkedIn groups information was probably the most helpful, because I probably would never have been able to find them without Jim. It was really nice to have a breakdown of all the parts of LinkedIn, but I wished we went more into talking to strangers and how to ask for an interview.

                I think the most problematic waste is plastic waste. They don't degrade, are not compostable, and when exposed to heat, they release harmful chemicals, such as PCB and DDT. This is especially problematic to ocean pollution. Some scientists estimated that by 2050, the weight of plastic in the ocean will outweigh the combined weight of all the fish in the ocean. Boyan Slat and the Ocean Cleanup Project, a non-profit, had a great strategy to rid the ocean of millions of tons of plastic. At the young age of 19, he developed a feasible plan to trap and funnel the plastic towards a floating damn, where they can remove and recycle the plastic. Although this is a reactive response and not a preventative one, I think it is a great way to start. If I was trying to convince a group of students to reduce waste, I would show documentaries and video clips of what waste does to the environment, animal health, and human health. I probably would also include some graphic images such as a dissected seagull with its stomach full of plastic. This strategy would probably work with most middle to upper class students, but might have a less of an impact on lower class students, as they may have other priorities that us privileged kids take for granted.