“Junk Raft” Author Marcus Eriksen to Speak at University of La Verne on Environmental Justice

Marcus Eriksen, who sailed from Long Beach to Hawaii on a homemade raft made of junk, will visit the University of La Verne on Friday, April 13, to discuss his near-death expedition and to advocate for environmental justice. His talk is part of the Robert and Mary Neher Global Sustainability Lecture series.

A scientist, activist, adventurer, and author, Eriksen co-founded the 5 Gyres Institute to study the world’s oceans. That included the study of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world, which drifts in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii.

During his research, Eriksen, along with hundreds of volunteers, discovered a problem much deeper than floating garbage. He found a “plastic smog” of microscopic debris that permeates oceans globally, defying simple clean-up efforts.

He and his colleagues concluded that microplastics and their chemistry have seeped into the food chain, threatening marine life and humans.

Against long odds and common sense, Eriksen and his co-navigator, Joel Paschal, constructed a “junk raft” made of plastic trash in 2008 and set themselves adrift from California to Hawaii to call attention to the issue.

With no motor or support vessel during their three-month, 2,600-mile journey, they confronted perilous cyclones, food shortages, and a fast-decaying raft.

Eriksen chronicled the journey in a book, Junk Raft: An Ocean Voyage and A Rising Tide of Activism to Fight Plastic Pollution.

His talk will take place at 11:45 a.m. in Morgan Auditorium, 1950 Third Street in La Verne. It is free and open to the public.

Refreshments and a book signing will follow. The talk is sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the College of Business and Public Management.