The Plastic Predicament

Randy’s 30+ National Geographic projects have taken him to almost every continent. National Geographic Society published a book of his work in 2011 in their Masters of Photography series. Olson was the Magazine Photographer of the Year in the Pictures of the Year International (POYi) competition, and was also awarded POYi’s Newspaper Photographer of the Year—one of only two photographers to win in both media in the largest photojournalism contest operating continuously since World War II.

https://www.randyolson.photography/index

THE TALK

Plastic once hailed for its convenience, is now suffocating our planet — and every human is ingesting as much as a credit card of microplastics every week. Ongoing studies will show what is clinging to that plastic and how it will affect our bodies.

More than 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic have been produced, with a meager 5% recycled, leaving 6.3 billion metric tons in our land and water graveyards. 

The United States is the largest producer of plastic waste, generating 0.75 pounds per person per day. Most Americans are shielded from witnessing its consequences, because only 2% of it is unmanaged. However, in Asian and African countries, where mismanaged plastic waste reaches 80%, people are often forced to live on a plastic layer. 

Eighty percent of the plastic that pollutes our oceans comes from five river systems in the Philippines (3), Indonesia, and India. Product packaging is the major culprit fueled by first-world-cracker-plants, which “crack” frack gas atoms into single-use-plastic. 

Millions of people in third-world countries are engaged in the informal plastic waste industry. As urbanization accelerates, many end up in impoverished slums, finding work in sorting, cleaning, and processing plastic. China, a major importer of plastic waste, prefers materials from these sites, but its plans to reduce plastic intake creates issues for the planet and these marginalized communities.

In 1967, the film "The Graduate" featured a prophetic line about plastics. At that time, plastic production was in its early stages, and now, it is mind-boggling that all of plastic happened in Dustin Hoffman's lifetime. 

When I began researching this issue, the magnitude of the problem was not widely known. At that time, the prediction that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050 was just hitting our radar. My firsthand experiences in various countries, brought a personal and sobering understanding as I photographed the lead story for the "Planet or Plastic?" issue of National Geographic magazine. 

THE BACK STORY

In 2011, Randy Olson founded The Photo Society (TPS) to support his fellow National Geographic photographers as the print industry faces economic challenges. TPS now reaches as many as The Washington Post on social media. With his own social reach of nearly a million, Olson's work primarily focuses on resource extraction and its impact on indigenous communities and pristine ecosystems. Olson's photography has been featured in LIFE, GEO, Smithsonian, and other magazines, but his main projects have been for National Geographic magazine.

Olson has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Alfred Eisenstadt Award for Magazine Photography, an Alicia Patterson Foundation Fellowship for a seven-year project documenting a family in Pittsburgh with AIDS, and a first-place Robert F. Kennedy Award for a story on issues with Section 8 housing--also in Pittsburgh. While teaching at the University of Missouri, he received a grant from the National Archives to preserve the Pictures of the Year (POYi) collection.

The National Geographic Society published a book of his work as part of their Masters of Photography series. Olson has been named both Magazine Photographer of the Year and Newspaper Photographer of the Year by the Pictures of the Year International (POYi) competition. More recently, he was honored as the 2017 Siena International Photo Awards (SIPA) Photographer of the Year and received the 2021 Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (HIPA) International Photography Award.

Enjoy delicious tapas, drinks and live music while socializing with friends, neighbors and new acquaintences before each talk. The conversation continues afterwards with Allegheny's hand-made ice cream with toppings, cookies, coffee and tea.

This ticket entitles you to a Tapas Talks 2025 Speakers Series Season Subscription which includes admission to three engaging evenings at the Allegheny Country Club featuring a selection of delicious tapas, live music, cash bar, dessert, coffee and tea, complimentary valet parking and a lecture by these fascinating speakers:

Thursday, February 13, 2025

The Plastic Predicament:  How the plague of plastics is destroying our planet and our health

Randy Olson, acclaimed National Geographic Photographer and Environmental Activist

Thursday, May 1, 2025

Foul Deeds and Fair Balls: An insider’s view of a captured war criminal  and the saving grace of baseball

Will Bardenwerper, Former Financier. Infantry Officer, Pentagon Official, And now  Author

Thursday, October 23, 2025

Entrepreneur Confidential: What it takes to scale a small business from scratch  

Beth Genter, Founder & President, Schenley Capital,

Melissa Horvath, Owner, Designer, & CEO Sweet Water Décor,

C. Holly Wilbanks, Founder & Principal, The Wilbanks Consulting Group

Time:  Tapas & Cash Bar - 6:00 PM 

• Speakers/Panel - 7:15-8:00 PM 

• Q&A – 8:00 – 8:15 PM

• Coffee & Dessert - 8:15-8:45 PM 

For more information visit tapastalks.com

Your season subscription price includes admission to all three talks, food and valet parking.