Newswise — The University of Georgia is thinking green this April. Need an expert for an Earth Day story, or an expert on green trends? Here are five faculty with newsworthy research. Need someone else? Call 706-542-6927 or email [email protected].

Plastics in the ocean

Jenna Jambeck, assistant professor, College of Engineering

Expertise: environmental engineering, solid and hazardous waste, marine debris

Contact: 706-383-7014, 706-542-6454, [email protected]

Research, Marine debris tracker website and app

Between 4.8 and 12.7 million metric tons of plastic entered the ocean in 2010 from people living within 50 kilometers of the coastline. That year, a total of 275 million metric tons of plastic waste was generated in those 192 coastal countries.

Jambeck forecasts that the cumulative impact to the oceans will equal 155 million metric tons by 2025. The planet is not predicted to reach global "peak waste" before 2100, according to World Bank calculations.

Green building and landscapes

Alfie Vick, Georgia Power Professor in Environmental Ethics, College of Environment and Design

Expertise: green infrastructure, sustainable design, landscape performance metrics, native plant communities, and Cherokee ethnobotany.

Contact: 706-542-6550, [email protected]

Law and the environment

Laurie Fowler, public service associate in UGA's Odum School of Ecology

Expertise: Federal, state, and local environmental protection laws and policies; watershed protection strategies, growth management, land use planning; conservation easements; environmental justice; citizen participation.

Contact: 706-583-0463, [email protected]

Pollinators

Kris Braman, head of the department of entomology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Expertise: pollinator protection, beneficial bugs, invasive insect species and landscape pest management.

Contact: 770-228-7236, [email protected]

Ecotourism

Bynum Boley, assistant professor, natural resources, recreation and tourism, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources

Expertise: Sustainable tourism development; nature-based tourism; geotourism, destination competitiveness, ecotourism, resident attitudes toward tourism; empowerment; human dimensions of natural resources

Contact: 706-583-8930, [email protected]