Kicking the plastic habit with a little help from plants

I was recently on the expedition class Viking Octantis for a cruise along the Chilean coast. The ship staff included a team of scientists and naturalists who were actively investigating environmental changes in the oceans while engaging and educating the ships passengers. One lecture dealt with the issue of plastics in the oceans, which now pollute even Antarctic waters and coastlines. That sobering lecture was the inspiration for this essay. We live in a plastic world. Plastics are durable,...