Grains of Salty Truth

The CLEAN Future Act is a climate change bill that addresses the scourge of plastic production and waste ending up in the environment. The plastic related GHG emissions and plastic waste reduction goals written into the legislation signify a shift in tactics used to address the interrelated environmental challenges.

At the outset, Covid-19 appeared to be an unexpected boon to many environmental movements. Carbon emissions in 2020 were at some of the lowest levels in decades. A lack of demand in manufacturing led to a reduction in pollution. Some Southeast Asian countries would shutter their wet markets while making wildlife tracking illegal. But one area of environmental outcomes has grown worse during the pandemic – plastic pollution.

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste has partnered with IBM on a technological initiative to track and eliminate plastic waste. As a new and more environmentally minded administration takes office, it is encouraging that technology companies in the private sector are also marshaling their capabilities to address this persistent and pernicious problem. As with most endeavors, the follow through matters.

American consumers believe plastic consumption is without consequence because of waste management and recycling systems present in our advanced economy. However, a new analysis of worldwide plastic pollution casts these beliefs into serious doubt.

A coalition of conservation organizations released its Presidential Plastics Action Plan, urging Biden to craft and issue a series of executive orders intent on significantly curbing plastic production in the United States, given its capacity to pollute as well as its reliance on the petrochemical industry for production.

A consortium of environmental and community organizations is poised to release a plan intended to urge President-elect Joe Biden to craft a series of executive orders aimed at curtailing the plastic pollution crisis around the world.

“In the case of the United States, it is critically important that we examine our own backyard and take responsibility for our global plastic footprint,” said Jenna Jambeck, a professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia.

Plastics recycling is largely a fantasy perpetuated by the fossil fuels industry to provide a salve to the environmental consciences of consumers in the United States and abroad.

Just as the beach season is wrapping up in the northern stretches of U.S. shores, we are learning of a new beach hazard. Beachgoers were already concerned about too much sun exposure, the increasing population of great white sharks in the north Atlantic, and now a concern of our own making appears – Bisphenol A (BPA).

Beach cleanup efforts are losing ground to the wave of plastics coming from the ocean. What's the solution? The answer is simple but requires collective effort.

Plastics manufacturers have been lying to the American public for decades about the viability of plastics recycling to provide cover for the environmental scourge that rampant plastic use presents.

It’s really that simple.