Thicker Than Water

The Quest for Solutions to the Plastic Crisis

Join writer, artist, author, and researcher Erica Cirino as she presents key findings from her globe-hopping book to shed light on the full extent of plastic pollution, its causes, and its solutions.

It's no secret that plastic pollution is piling up, and time to negotiate real solutions is running out as plastics’ impacts on the Earth and our health grow worse. But what can we do about this urgent crisis? Erica will share both important facts and immediate actions we can take to help our communities and protect ourselves and our families from the health hazards of plastics. In addition to sharing her original reporting and research, Erica will also show us compelling images from the frontlines of the plastic crisis, including from the middle of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Erica Cirino is a writer, artist, author, and researcher who explores the intersection of the human and more-than-human worlds. She is best known for her widely published photojournalistic works that cut through plastic/fossil fuel industry misinformation to deliver the truths about plastic—the most ubiquitous and insidious manmade material on Earth. This includes her award-winning book, Thicker Than Water: The Quest for Solutions to the Plastic Crisis (Island Press, 2021).

Cirino took on the role of communications manager of the nonprofit Plastic Pollution Coalition in 2022. Her photographic and written works have appeared in Scientific American, The Guardian, VICE, Hakai Magazine, YES! Magazine, The Atlantic, and other publications. She is a recipient of fellowships from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, a gold Nautilus Book Award, and several awards for visual art.

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