Yidian: It’s great to be here, Spiffy! The pervasive issue of aquatic plastic pollution, with millions of tons of plastic waste entering our oceans annually, has garnered worldwide concern. These plastics degrade into microplastic fragments, posing a significant threat to marine life and humans. Microplastics, measuring less than five millimeters in diameter, disperse widely across vast geographical areas, making their collection an arduous task.
Jul 20, 2023
Posted by: Shikha Tandon
Corey Peak,
SDG 1,
SDG 10,
SDG 13,
SDG 2,
SDG 3,
SDG 4,
SDG 5,
SDG 6,
USA,
WA
Corey: Thanks for having me, Spiffy! I work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where we’re committed to fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. We call ourselves ‘impatient optimists’ – encouraged by the progress humanity has made and eager to accelerate it by making sure everyone shares in those gains. I’m part of a team and global effort to eradicate poliovirus. Eradicating a virus is hard – so hard that it’s only been done once before for a human disease. Eradicating smallpox is among the most impactful and inspiring things humanity has come together to accomplish. Our goal is to do the same with polio.
Omar: Thanks for having me, Spiffy! Remora was built in the midst of the water crisis suffered by Puerto Rico due to severe droughts and the destruction of the aqueduct system by Hurricane Maria, but water issues are not only a thing of natural disasters. Worldwide water scarcity affects more than 40 percent of the global population, over two billion people worldwide lack access to clean water for their basic needs, and over 80% of the water available for human consumption is polluted. Remora arises with the aim of tackling the global water crisis. On top of this, a lot of communities lacking access to clean water present many other socio-economic problems affecting them, where education, training, and empowerment opportunities are key.
