The San Diego World Affairs Council presents the
Distinguished Speaker Series

Carl Nettleton

Founder, Nettleton Strategies
Founder, OpenOceans Global
Public policy, business and the environment expert regarding water, climate, sustainability, the ocean, and binational U.S. Mexico affairs.

Presenting:

"Ocean Plastic Pollution and Politics - An International Perspective"

HALL OF NATIONS, BALBOA PARK
2191 PAN AMERICAN ROAD W, SAN DIEGO, CA 92101
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2022
6:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.FREE FOR MEMBERS | $10 FOR NONMEMBERS

The international ocean plastic crisis is accelerating, with 11 million metric tons of plastic reaching the ocean each year, with the flows expected to nearly triple by 2040. While much focus has been on the U.S. production of plastic, in fact, less than one percent of plastic reaches the ocean from the shores of the U.S. and as much as 70% reaches the sea from five countries in Asia. Plastic production continues to increase and less than 9% of plastic waste is recycled. An ambitious effort to complete an international plastic treaty by the end of 2024 is underway, but already the U.S. and several allies are looking for self-enforcing commitments while a group of G7 nations and environmental groups want hard rules to emerge, threatening a timely and effective treaty from emerging. Understanding the realities, the politics, and the solutions to marine plastic pollution are critical to addressing the crisis.

Carl Nettleton is an award-winning writer, speaker, thought partner, facilitator, and subject-matter expert regarding water, climate, sustainability, the ocean, and binational U.S. Mexico border affairs. Nettleton Strategies, the consultancy he founded in 2007, is a trusted source of analysis and advice on issues at the forefront of public policy, business, and the environment. He helps people to think strategically about their options for change. Every other week Carl publishes The Nett Report, a newsletter that provides readers with thoughtful perspectives useful to navigating life in a changing world. Links to past issues can be found here (recent) and here (past two years).

He is also the founder of OpenOceans Global, an international nonprofit addressing the ocean plastic crisis by documenting and mapping where plastic collects on world shorelines, to identify the points of contamination, and to match the best solutions with the people who can implement them. His first work on the impacts of ocean plastic began in 1984.

Honoring A Legacy - Professor M.C. Madhavan

As a special part of this annual meeting, we will be honoring Professor M.C. Madhavan for his lifetime of contribution and dedication to the San Diego World Affairs Council. 

Professor M.C. Madhavan has had an exceptionally distinguished academic career for over half a century. He is a Professor of Economics and Asian Studies Emeritus at San Diego State University.

He has had the distinct honor of receiving a record five Fulbright Awards and has held visiting professor appointments in the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras; the National Institute of Bank Management, Poona; the Madras School of Economics, Chennai; the University Putra Malaysia; and for the Harvard University’s Fulbright Teaching Program in Ho Chi Minh City and the University of Law and Economics, Phnom Penh. He was a visiting scholar at the International Monetary Fund and at the University of Taipei, Taiwan and at GuanZhou Normal University, China.

He has written extensively in the area of development economics and has delivered over 150 lectures on variety of topics in many countries under the auspices of the USIS and other organizations. He is an invited contributor of over 60 articles to daily newspapers such as The Hindu of India and San Diego Union-Tribune.

He was President of the Tamil Nadu Foundation and is a founding member and advisor to the Mingei International Museum. He has held positions in many civic organizations, including the Forum of the Arts (San Diego), and the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Asia – Pacific Islanders.

He is the recipient of many awards over the years, including Gandhi, King, Ikeda Award and Peace Medal by Morehouse College and Martin Luther King International Chapel and KPBS Television — Union Bank Local Hero Award.

Professor M.C. Madhavan joined SDWAC as a member in March 1970 and now he is a consular member. He served SDWAC as Co-chair of the Program Committee with Professor Sandy Lakeoff, Vice-President, President (and Chairman) of SDWAC from 1988 to 1993, and the Board of Directors from 1994 to 2012.

During this period, he organized the First, Second, and Third International Citizen awards celebrations,  honoring Dr. Richard Atkinson, Chancellor, UCSD; Dr. Thomas Day, President, SDSU; and Dr. Author Hughes (President, USD), Dr. Irwin Jacobs (CEO, Qualcomm); J. Neal Blue and Linden S. Blue (CEO and President, General Atomics); Dr. Richard A. Learner (President, Scripps Research Institute); Mayor Susan Golding (Mayor of San Diego); and Mayor Hector Osuna (Mayor of Tijuana).

The SDWAC Silver Jubilee celebration was held on June 17, 1993. Professor Madhavan chaired the three-day ASEAN Conference in 1988 and a week-long Japan Festival in 1992.

Professor Madhavan’s 90th birthday will be on December 17, 2022.

The Hall of Nations is located in Balboa Park at 2191 Pan American Rd W, San Diego, CA 92101. See the red circle on the map below.