Dr. Sherri Mason, one of the foremost experts in the field of freshwater plastic pollution, will speak at 12:30 p.m. today at SUNY Jamestown Community College in the Sheldon Center and again at 6:30 p.m. at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Jamestown. Both presentations are free and open to the public.

She will explain how plastic, though useful in society, is detrimental to the environment.

Mason is the director of sustainability at Penn State Erie, the Behrend College. She completed her doctorate in chemistry at the University of Montana as a NASA Earth System Science scholar. During her time as a professor at SUNY Fredonia, Mason’s research group was among the first to study the impact of plastic pollution within freshwater ecosystems.

“In her presentation, Sam will explain the paradox plastic creates in the world of material science,” said Janis Bowman, professor and biology coordinator of Environmental Science at JCC. “Plastic is lightweight and versatile, so it has replaced many natural materials in the creation of everything from food storage to toys. This versatility has created a surplus of plastic in the environment, and now scientists are finding the material flowing through freshwater systems in addition to our oceans where it was first discovered.”

Mason’s work formed the basis for the Microbeads-Free Water Act, which was signed into law in 2015 by former President Barack Obama and laid the groundwork for similar legislation to be passed internationally. In recent years, Mason has been awarded the EPA Environmental Champion, Excellence in Environmental Research by the Earth Month Network, Heinz Award in Public Policy, and Great Lakes Leadership Award from the Great Lakes Protection Fund. She has been featured in hundreds of articles in publications such as the BBC, The Guardian, New York Times, and National Public Radio’s All Things Considered.

The presentations are sponsored by the JCC Sustainability Committee, JCC College Program Committee, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, Chautauqua-Conewango Consortium, and the JCC Earth Awareness Club.