Junk Raft

An Ocean Voyage and a Rising Tide of Activism to Fight Plastic Pollution

By: Marcus Eriksen

Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin

An exciting account of a scientist’s expedition across the Pacific on a home-made “junk raft” in order to learn more about plastic marine pollution

A scientist, activist, and inveterate adventurer, Eriksen and his co-navigator, Joel Paschal, construct a “junk raft” made of plastic trash and set themselves adrift from Los Angeles to Hawaii, with no motor or support vessel, confronting perilous cyclones, food shortages, and a fast decaying raft. As Eriksen recounts his struggles to keep afloat, he immerses listeners in the deep history of the plastic pollution crisis and the movement that has arisen to combat it. The proliferation of cheap plastic products during the twentieth century has left the world awash in trash. Meanwhile, the plastics industry, with its lobbying muscle, fights tooth and nail against any changes that would affect its lucrative status quo, instead defending poorly designed products and deflecting responsibility for the harm they cause.

But, as Eriksen shows, the tide is turning in the battle to save the world’s oceans. He recounts the successful efforts that he and many other activists are waging to fight corporate influence and demand that plastics producers be held accountable. Junk Raft provides concrete, actionable solutions and an empowering message: It’s within our power to change the throw-away culture for the sake of our planet.

©2017 Marcus Eriksen (P)2017 Beacon Press

Critic reviews

"Eriksen succeeds in dramatizing a significant problem and enlisting popular support, noting some immediate steps that can be taken to create recyclable products.... The thrills and chills of rafting packaged with a compelling call to action." ( Kirkus Reviews)

"This book combines many of my favorite things - adventure far from shore, the spirit of exploration, and the fight to save our oceans - all in a gripping narrative that's also a parable for our time. In the battle for the future of our living world, Marcus Eriksen is a true warrior." (James Cameron, filmmaker and deep-ocean explorer)

" Junk Raft takes us on an exciting and quixotic voyage of exploration, adventure, and activism, and along the way, Marcus Eriksen somehow manages to turn his cutting-edge research into an engaging love story. Don't be fooled by the title - Eriksen's Junk Raft carries a treasure chest full of adventurous stories, wise insights, and valuable lessons on how to protect our oceans." (Stuart H. Coleman, author of Eddie Would Go and Hawaii manager of the Surfrider Foundation)

Everyone should read or listen to this book

Well-written and engaging; easy to understand for those unfamiliar with the plastics pollution problem, and what could be done about it.

book every conscious person must read..

An amazing book explaining plastic pollution. Marcus builds a raft called junk raft using 15000 plastic bottles and a Cessna aircraft as cabin. Then he and Joel travel from California to Hawaii in 88 days!!! They collect several samples showing how microplastics are wreaking havoc in our oceans. The damn microplastics are killing almost a million marine animals a year as they are mistaking them for food!! By 2050 there will be more plastics in the oceans than fish!!

This is a catastrophe of our own making. Completely made by humans just to enjoy the benefits of plastics. We have to fix it.

He explains zero-waste vs. Waste to energy. Let's get to zero waste.

He also explains circular vs. Linear economics.

a must read!

required reading for any budding activist

This book by Marcus Eriksen is one of the most comprehensive and engaging pieces of material on the subject of plastic pollution and the environment that I have digested. I have read the books "cradle to cradle" and "upcycle" by William McDonough. They are great, however this book stands out with a compelling story of survival woven in between an education on the past, present, and future of smart environmental policy and restorative action from NGOs, governments, and business. Anyone who wants to be informed on the problem as well as what is required to move forward and improve the situation needs to read this book.

Excellent

Excellent dive into the plastic issues that plague our land and seas. The story of Junk the raft is thrilling- dodging hurricanes, starvation, and doldrums, while the plastic narrative will infuriate and motivate anyone with a conscious mind for the well being of others and the planet.

Well written and narrated, only gave 4 stars for the performance because the narrator mispronounced some widely used acronyms. E.g., instead of “N-O-A-A,” simply saying “NOAA (Noah)” would have sufficed. Other than that, great performance.