Plastic pollution needs more than voluntary, optional or market-led solutions
Read our opinion essay at Environmental Health News
Book Review (Undark): Coming to Grips With the Plastic Crisis
In “Thicker Than Water,” journalist Erica Cirino probes the history of plastic pollution, along with possible solutions. Read my review >
Plastisphere Podcast
Follow me on a journey into the world of synthetic polymers, their impacts on nature and ourselves, and the global quest to tackle plastic pollution. Listen here:
Podcast on Soil Ecology
Our podcast Life in the Soil brings you the insights and voices of some of the world’s best soil scientists. Learn about soil biodiversity, why it matters, and how we can protect it. The series is a collaboration with the Rillig Lab, funded through the BiodivERsA project Digging Deeper.
Are bioplastics a greener alternative to conventional plastics?
Confusion among terms like bioplastics, bio-based and biodegradable plastics makes it hard to discern — and make — the environmentally responsible choice. Article on Ensia, republished by Undark Magazine, The Revelator, The Wire, and others.
In Schleswig for Undark
Schleswig is a small town in the North of Germany. This spring, a major plastic leak there sparked a debate in Germany: Can a circular economy include shredding food waste and packaging together? For Undark, I went to Schleswig to find out what had happened:
For the sake of science, it’s time to break ranks
Researchers call for a change in evaluation to recognise the importance of reproducibility. Bibliometric indicators that reward scientists for publishing frequently in high-ranked journals — but not for making their methods accessible — are a major cause of the reproducibility crisis, researchers agreed at the latest EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF). Read my article in Nature …
Ensia Best of Year
My long-read „What will it take to get plastics out of the oceans?“ featured in the „Ensia Best of Year“ print edition (online on Issuu)
Equality or Excellence?
Germany’s Excellence Initiative was highly debated. With its successor approved, scientists are asking whether equality and scientific freedom can be preserved in a world of competition. Read my article in Nature Outlook
Knight Science Journalism Fellowship
Together with nine Fellows from Argentina, Canada and the U.S., I spent nine months as a 2015-16 Knight Science Journalism Fellow in Cambridge on the U.S. East Coast. Above our graduation day, with (left to right): KSJ Founding Director Victor McElheny, Ashley Smart, Courtney Humphries, Christopher Ketcham, Zack Colman, Sasha Chapman, Federico Kukso, Rod McCullom, …
Sasha Chapman underwater
This winter, MIT physicist Allan Adams and underwater photographer Keith Ellenbogen teamed up to turn a coral reef into their classroom. It was an experience Sasha Chapman, one of their students, will never forget.
Underwater Emergency Exits
Daniel Stepputtis of the Thünen Institute of Baltic Sea Fisheries explains how to reduce bycatch with smarter fishing nets.
What will it take to get plastics out of the ocean?
From drones to filters to gigantic cleaning arrays, innovators are working to reduce the threat thousands of tons of trash pose to marine ecosystems. But how realistic are their plans, and how much of a difference will they be able to make? Read my article on Ensia An Earth Journalism Network Future Oceans Story, re-published …