Leaders Convene for TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch Forum Nov. 6

Dr. Sylvia Earle, Van Jones, Jackson Browne, Captain Charles Moore, Fabien Cousteau, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama of Ghana, David de Rothschild Among Participants

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Saturday, November 6, the TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch will bring the insidious devastation of plastic pollution to the forefront of the media debate. Prominent thought leaders, innovators, and artists will share what they know, explore solutions, and together develop a plan for action. The event will be broadcast live on the http://www.tedxgreatpacificgarbagepatch.com website and on Facebook starting at 8:30 a.m. PST/11:30 a.m. EST and continuing until 6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. EST.

Satellite events are happening worldwide to develop local solutions to the global plastic pollution crisis - watch parties and local discussions are happening across the U.S. and in Japan, the Netherlands, Dubai, Australia, Costa Rica, Ghana and in many other locations. See http://www.tedxgreatpacificgarbagepatch.com/watch-parties/ for a full list.

Dr. Sylvia Earle, Captain Charles Moore, Van Jones, Ferris Thompson, Beth Terry, Chris Jordan, Fabien Cousteau, David de Rothschild, Chris Malloy, Jackson Browne, Ed Begley Jr., and His Excellency John Dramani Mahama are among the presenters speaking at the forum. See biographies of all participants at the event website.

TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch is a forum where issue experts, youth leaders, visual and performing artists, actors, musicians, politicians and many others will share observations on how plastic pollution affects ocean/environmental health and public health; explore solutions for reducing our plastic footprint, and begin to develop ideas about eliminating plastic pollution through individual action as well as public- and private-sector innovation.

Archived content will be available after the event on YouTube and on the TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch site.

Prominent Hollywood photographer Nels Israelson is shooting the event and will make his photographs available to the media via http://www.flickr.com/photos/tedxgp2/.

The Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean is a gyre of trash estimated to be at a minimum the size of the state of Texas and possibly as large at the United States. 90% of this trash patch is comprised of plastic. There are similar areas of plastic pollution throughout the world – in all the world's oceans, in seemingly unlikely places like the Arabian Desert, along some of the most pristine beaches of the world, in our cities, in our rivers, and in our bodies. Plastic pollution affects every one of us.

Due to space limitation, attendance is by invitation only.

About Plastic Pollution Coalition

Plastic Pollution Coalition (www.PlasticPollutionCoalition.org) is a global alliance of individuals, organizations and businesses working together to stop plastic pollution and its toxic impacts on humans, animals and the environment.

With its work, Plastic Pollution seeks to elevate plastic pollution to the forefront of global social, environmental and political discourse.

About TEDx

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x=independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self organized.

*This independent TEDx event is operated under license from TED.

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California, with simulcast in Palm Springs; TEDGlobal is held each year in Oxford, UK. TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to host local, self-organized events around the world; and the TEDFellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Follow TED on Twitter at twitter.com/TEDTalks, or on Facebook at facebook.com/TED.

SOURCE TEDxGreatPacificGarbagePatch