Microplastics: invisible, insidious, and...fixable with Dr. Myra Finkelstein and Dr. Steven Mentor

About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of microplastics pollution and potential solutions with experts in the field.

We’ve heard a lot about the problem of microplastics pollution. Just how bad is it? What are its causes? What are microplastics doing to us and the world? Is anything being done to stem the accelerating production and consumption of plastics that end up in our water, our air, in animals, and in human bodies? Join host Ronnie Lipschutz for a conversation about microplastics with Dr. Myra Finkelstein, Adjunct Professor in the Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology Department at UC Santa Cruz and Dr. Steven Mentor a Santa Cruz climate activist and long-time environmentalist. Finklestein has been examining the health effects of plastic ingestion on seabirds to better understand the consequences for marine wildlife and human health. Mentor discusses law and campaigns in California to regulate microplastics and what can be done to turn the tide of plastic packaging and consumption. You can learn more about the topic from Food and Water Watch, the Netflix film "The Plastic Detox" and the Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council.

People in this episode

Host: Ronnie Lipschutz

Guests: Dr. Myra Finkelstein, Dr. Steven Mentor

Topics covered

• microplastics
• pollution
• environmental health
• marine wildlife
• plastic regulation

Keywords

• microplastics
• pollution
• environment
• health effects
• California regulations

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: UC Santa Cruz, Food and Water Watch, Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council

Books & works: The Plastic Detox

More episodes of Sustainability Now! on KSQD.org

• Everyone talks about climate, but no one does anything about it with Dr. Daniel Swain, UCANR and NCAR · June 7, 2026 · 54 min
• Extractive Frontiers: Critical Minerals and Green Capitalism, with Professor Thea Riofrancos, Providence College · May 24, 2026 · 54 min
• Is that Teflon in your food and water? Good for eggs, maybe, but probably not for you! with Dr. Faith Kibuye, Penn State University · May 10, 2026 · 53 min
• "We think they'll kill someone" indigenous resistance in Oaxaca, Mexico, with Anjan Sundaram, The Stringer Foundation · April 12, 2026 · 45 min
• Transformative Climate Communities in California With Nancy Faulstitch and Eloy Ortiz, Regeneración Pajaro Valley · March 29, 2026 · 52 min
• The Past and Future of Sustainable Communities with Peter Calthorpe, Architect & Urban Designer · March 15, 2026 · 54 min