Lisa and I both agree that awareness about the environment can be taught. We began the interview by discussing Lisa’s “pivotal” moment that inspired her to become an “environmentalist”.

I think I decided to be an environmentalist in second grade when the first Earth Day happened in 1970. My class was taken out on this field trip to walk around my elementary school. I couldn’t believe that we were going outside and walking into the woods and talking about it in a manner that was just as important as everything else we were talking about. From that moment on, I looked at the outdoors as something exciting, something really important. Because these adults had taken me outdoors and told me I was connected to the outdoors and shown me that importance. I carried that torch on from second grade.

Over the years, I became interested in many things. My parents were very active in civil rights from when they arrived at Duke for graduate school in the segregated south. The South was still segregated in many ways when I was a girl in Nashville, even though I was in the first desegregated class in the public schools. I grew up with a very strong sense of social justice. When I attended law school, I thought, “What am I going to do?” Because I cared deeply about social justice and the environment, I constantly wondered how I could integrate these passions into my study of law. It wasn’t until I discovered environmental justice that my interests became perfectly paired. Because environmental crimes usually happen in poor neighborhoods, negative environmental impacts often occur first to those most vulnerable. I instantly knew what my mission was.

Gemma: I’ve been struggling with what I’ve deemed the ‘environmentalist’s pedestal’. When you come out as an activist, and suddenly you have to do everything perfectly. I’ve found myself having to constantly defend myself by saying, “I’m not perfect. I’m learning. There’s a learning curve..” Have you had similar experiences? What do you think of this phenomena?

Totally lame. Yes, we're all looking for heros. Beyond the age of six, I think most of us realize that no one is perfect - not even our parents. The idea of perfection getting in the way of the good is a real danger. If you tell people unless they go all the way and never touch plastic for the rest of their life, then they cannot consider themselves an environmentalist, then that’s a harmful idea. Everybody has something to learn. The idea is to provide attainable solutions - not guilt.

Is there a specific approach you would recommend?

At the Amsterdam Plastic Conference, there was a really great woman whose talk was after mine. Her opening statement was, “I am a plastic addict”. It was powerful because it’s the truth. Using plastic has become unavoidable. She called attention to the fact that we need to put the blame on where it belongs - the corporations. Sadly, we, the consumers, don’t have as much choice as we should. Beyond an individual level, it’s really worth the effort to get corporations to change their behaviors. Why are we allowing these companies to package everything in plastic and limit our choices?

What was your biggest takeaway from the plastic pollution conference?

Scientific research is just now confirming the human health impacts from petrochemicals. It’s indisputable. There was a lot of media traction where people were getting upset seeing straws in turtles noses and birds with their bellies full of plastic. Now, scientific research agrees that we’re full of plastic, too. It’s not just the Albatross. I think it's going to be a lot harder for corporations to distance themselves when people realize the impacts it has on their health and their children.

Do you think this knowledge will be a turning point for lifestyle changes in people who think they are not affected by plastic?