Sam Pottinger spent years turning the latest advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning into models and dashboards that supported decision-making at Silicon Valley technology companies. At UC Berkeley, he's building those kinds of tools to turn quality environmental science into accessible, actionable information.

The research is clear, plastic pollution has become a global crisis, with 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic waste produced by 2015 (Geyer et al. 2017).  Often research alone is hard to put into a usable form for action, but we identified a clear path to make a difference. The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center for Data Science & Environment at Berkeley (Schmidt DSE) teamed up with University of Santa Barbara researchers to build a bridge from a research model to an interactive data visualization tool that can be used by policymakers to form laws on global plastic.

Inviting those engaging in any capacity with the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on Plastic Pollution to join a webinar sharing first key insights from a research program evaluating the impact that specific policies contained in the INC zero draft could have on curbing plastic pollution.

Free and open to graduate students and postdocs in any environmental discipline, the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center for Data Science & Environment (DSE) and partners are thrilled to host Dr. Carlie Wiener, Director of Communications, Schmidt Ocean Institute and a panel of science communication experts for two free science storytelling for impact workshops on October 17 or 18th.

DSE began as a broad vision to utilize data for making a positive impact on environmental challenges. Our funders and founding team were united by an optimism for our planet's health and the pressing need to use everything at our disposal to counter our climate uncertain future. They saw a clear path to leverage current research and expertise and use data to uncover insights for action. Underlying our efforts are open practices - open data, open science, and open source to create work that can be transparent, scalable, easily accessible, and designed with community support.