Taylor is happiest when she is in the ocean surfing, snorkeling, swimming, or fishing. She is also on her school's volleyball team and yearbook staff. Taylor hopes to pursue a career in marine biology. "By becoming a marine biologist," she says, "I may be able to find ways to protect the environment and also have a fabulous time."
Taylor's father, a physicist, is her mentor. "He makes science fun," she says.
Taylor became concerned with the amount of plastics washing up on California's beaches. She met a researcher from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation who is studying the effects of plastics in oceans. He suggested that Taylor monitor preproduction plastics (PPPs)—small, 3-millimeter circular plastics used to produce molded plastic—before and after rainfall. These plastics are especially harmful to albatross and sea turtles that mistake the small round objects, especially the red ones, for krill. The toxins in the plastics can be deadly and can upset this ecosystem.
Taylor collected PPP samples 19 times over 10 months from the east and west sides of the Santa Ana River Jetty. She sifted the PPPs from other debris and sand and counted them while also logging weather conditions. Taylor's results show that after a rainfall, there are significantly more PPPs than in the dry season when there is not a great flow from the Santa Ana River into the ocean. She concluded that the PPPs are coming from the industrial runoff that flows into the Santa Ana River and, eventually, into the Pacific Ocean. She hopes to encourage industry officials to recycle the plastics and eliminate the problem.
