plastic vibrations, orange overalls, superfood reverberations

You probably didn’t know your synthetic polar fleece is shedding over 200,000 micro-fibres every time you wash it? You can listen to this week’s Monday Drive on the program page to find out why the fast fashion industry is not only the second most wasteful industry after oil – its ecological footprint is starting to present a real threat to the entire food chain with polymers disrupting the life cycle of aquatic wildlife from worms and birds to fish. This week we had a chat to Dr Mark Anthony Browne, ARC Senior Research Associate, The University of New South Wales, about the extent and ramifications of plastic contamination, and the solutions he’s working on. We also reviewed excerpts from Sebastien Junger’s Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging which explores the legacy of our hominid ancestors’ excellent communal sharing and problem solving abilities – which he believes could hold the key to our psychological survival  in the era of dog eat dog capitalism and rising social inequality. Then we took a walk in the park with Jeff Angel from the Total Environment Centre, who assured us he will be keeping his eye on Planning Minister Rob Stokes after this week’s announcement of $3 million of state funding for a network of connected parks and walkways throughout Sydney. Is this enough to counteract the sale of 16 parks and community spaces out West, or just a massive wave of hypocritical greenwash designed to distract us from the very serious land grab ripping the heart out of Sydney communities – including ours in the East? We also discussed the flavours and ethics of the “superfood” phenomenon – marketing ploy or deep connection to vital nutritional wisdom in a world of junk food and rampant diabetes? Jessica Loyer from University of Adelaide shared her PHD research into superfoods, as well as the yukkiest and the yummiest she has tried. Finally we reviewed Out Of Orange, by Cleary Wolters, the true story of Alex from the hit TV series Orange Is The New Black. How did she meet Piper Kerman, how did she get busted for drug smuggling and wind up in jail, and where is she   now? A great read.