Canada (Commonwealth Union) – Plastic is one of the most commonly used components across the world. Microplastics are the smaller units of macro plastics which are a significant environmental menace which can enter the food chain via ingestion by fish in oceans and rivers and by animals on land.
To shed light on this issue York University is set to launch the tiniest lecture hall in the world to bring about change for the extreme microplastic problem, and anyone across the globe is welcome. An innovative move using a literally small object to focus on an extremely large problem.
The micro-lecture hall is set to be exhibited as a new art installation. The identical replica of the lecture hall, containing a transparent plexi-glass model and produced predominantly from recycled plastics extracted from Lake Ontario, will showcase tiny chairs, a tiny screen as well as tiny people.
The scanning of a QR code, will permit all individuals to gain admission virtually and view a 6-minute micro-lecture on microplastics and hazardous pollutants found everywhere that are known for their environmental risks across the world.
Dr. Shooka Karimpour, assistant professor of the Department of Civil Engineering of York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering said: “Students today are technically savvy in using technology, and I applaud York for using state of the art technology to try to send this intricate message across.” Dr. Karimpour, who gives the micro-lecture, is from an inter-disciplinary team at York whose research hopes to tackle microplastic issues in Lake Ontario to support environmental policies that would be positive for the whole country.
She further stated that plastics are an innovation that has plenty of positive uses as they are strong, lightweight, and malleable, which are used in ways to ensure our safety such as bicycle helmets and air bags, but they come at a big cost since plastic consumed by animals in aquatic environments makes its way to human diets.
