The Air We Breathe, the Water We Share

In 2018, I received funding for two high school students to do a summer research internship. Microplastics were becoming a hot topic, but at the time there were no studies in the Southeast. I thought it would be interesting to examine microplastics in Asian clams from local rivers. I didn't expect to find much — but the concentrations were as high or higher than those reported in Asian clams from the Yangtze River in China, a notoriously polluted river.

A year later, after I joined HBS, I learned Dr. Jerry Miller at WCU was also beginning to study microplastics in Western North Carolina streams. We decided to collaborate, bringing on PIs including Dr. Robert Youker (WCU) and Dr. Austin Gray (Virginia Tech). The work has expanded into headwater streams and caddisflies; IE students extended it into terrestrial systems — earthworms, shrews, and bats. This past semester students re-sampled Asian clams from my 2018 sites to see whether concentrations have changed. But perhaps the most exciting area has been atmospheric deposition.

Most ecologists recognize that we now live in the Anthropocene — though some argue it should be called the Plasticene — a time when humans have become a force of nature. We've changed the pH of the ocean, altered atmospheric chemistry, and reduced wildlife so dramatically that if you weighed all mammals on Earth, 36% would be humans, 60% would be the livestock we use, and only 4% would be wild animals.

Plastics are another indicator of our impact. The same qualities that make them useful — durable, long-lasting, inexpensive — also make them persistent pollutants. We use plastics and microplastics to talk not only about how humans affect the environment, but how we can change our behavior by reducing consumption. We also hope the research informs the public and policymakers so plastic production and use can be curbed.

The typical answer is that the Plateau is rich in biodiversity — flora, salamanders, mosses, and fungi — and that's certainly true. But what makes it especially interesting is that people live here. That lets us measure how development affects stream water quality, the spread of invasive species, habitat fragmentation's impact on songbirds, and more. It's also a place people come to enjoy clean air and pristine streams. What we're finding is that these areas aren't necessarily pristine — microplastic concentrations in our streams are among the highest ever measured.

Pursue hands-on experiences — like summer internships — to build your résumé. The Highlands IE program does this exceptionally well: students spend three of five weekdays on Capstone or independent research, which helps them land internships and jobs they might not otherwise reach.

I'd also be honest that this work is rewarding but can be sobering. We're ecological accountants in a world that derives wealth from exploiting natural resources. You have to be comfortable being the underdog and hold tightly to the positive trends — like the fact that U.S. surface waters are generally much cleaner than before the Clean Water Act, even though that progress is now threatened.