FODYLL North Country Research Award
Award last spring at Joe Kling’s FODYLL Commencement Lecture, the 2016 FODYLL North Country Research Award was given to the sister-scholars team of Samantha and Kimberly Habb, for their paper The Environmental Impacts of Microplastics: An Investigation of Microplastic Pollution in North Country Waterbodies. The paper was prepared under the direction of Dr. Erika Barthelmess. Samantha and Kimberly describe their purpose this way:
We sought to investigate the issue of microplastic pollution in North Country waterbodies framing our investigation as a conservation issue. Microplastic pollution has been found in North Country waterbodies including the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River, and Lake Champlain. Our research reveals the sources of microplastic pollution, the threat that microplastic pollution poses to biodiversity, the extent of microplastic pollution in the North Country, the various stakeholders who have an interest in the issue of microplastic pollution, the governmental issues that relate to the topic, and potential solutions to this widespread and prevalent pollution problem. Based on our findings we conclude that in order to adequately address and remedy the issue of microplastic pollution in North Country waterbodies, immediate action is needed in the form of consumer education and legislation to target and eliminate the sources of microplastic pollution in a timely manner. In order to be effective, an adequate solution needs to be inexpensive, require minimal changes to lifestyle, be ubiquitous and global in its application, and offer an effective strategy both for preventing continued pollution of waterways and for removing the microplastics that are already present.
The paper is available here. It is very professional research, it is an important topic for those of us who live in the North Country. Congratulations Samantha and Kimberly!