A Dead World, Plastic-Wrapped to Preserve Freshness
In the classic 1967 film The Graduate, a family friend of lead character Benjamin Braddock (played by Dustin Hoffman) offers him career advice: “One word. Plastics!” I was 16 when The Graduate was…
Microplastics
The Invisible Threat of Microplastics: From Chewing Gum to Bottled Water
Several new national and international research surveys have warned that hazardous microplastics are present in our breath, drinking water, and crops. Various research journals worldwide continuously publish alarming findings from…
While plastic dominates human consumption, the global economy will remain hooked on fossil fuels
In early December 2024, hopes for a landmark global treaty to curb plastic pollution were dashed as negotiations in South Korea stalled. Leading the campaign against the deal were major oil-producing…
Major Plastic Polluters Win as UN Treaty Talks Conclude Without Agreement
Environmental groups on Sunday decried the conclusion of a United Nations summit designed to secure an international treaty to combat plastic pollution after powerful oil- and gas-producing nations refused to…
Plastic Pollution Is a Crime Against People and the Planet
Plastic particles and chemicals pollute all of our bodies. But people living on the fencelines of the fossil fuel, plastic, and waste industries face even more life-threatening pollution. Louisiana’s “River…
Treaty Negotiations Should See Plastics for What They Are: An Ocean Justice Crisis
As the fourth negotiating session on the United Nations plastics treaty comes to a close, pressing questions loom: Will world leaders finalize a robust agreement by the end of this year that…
Plastic Pollution Caused $249 Billion In U.S. Health Care Costs In 2018, Finds Study
Chemicals leaching from plastics are leaving Americans notably sicker and poorer, according to a new study found. By contributing to the development of chronic disease and death, a group of hormone-disruptive…
Pristine to Polluted: Vembanad Lake’s Microplastic Threat to the Food Chain
Vembanad Lake in India, the longest in the country and the largest in Kerala, is alarmingly polluted with microplastics, according to a study from the Alfred Wegener Institute. All sediment…
The Impact of Plastic on Human Health
We know that plastic is choking the planet. But it could be killing us, too. In 2019, the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks published a statement that…
The US Shouldn’t Stand in the Way of an Ambitious Global Plastics Treaty
The United States has so far backed country-specific over global plastic-reduction targets, but relying on national targets alone undermines the sincerity and cohesiveness of a global effort to reduce plastics…
600 Million Metric Tons of Plastic May Fill Oceans by 2036 If We Don’t Act Now
Fossil fuel stakeholders have been seeking new revenue in the petrochemical industry in general, and plastics in particular. As the private transportation sector shifts focus to batteries, biofuels, and green…
The Plastics Paradox Facing Humanity
Properly addressing the plastics problem involves not only interrogating corporate tactics but also understanding that some plastics provide societal benefits. Over the past few years, the paradox of plastic as…
The Global Seafood Supply Is Being Contaminated by Microplastics, but Major News Outlets Are Silent
by Andy Lee Roth and Mickey Huff Our addiction to plastic is having negative effects all along the food chain. Editor’s note: Every year Project Censored publishes the “State of the Free Press,”…
How Nanoplastics Enter the Human Body
If you regularly drink water from plastic bottles, you’re likely ingesting even more plastic than the average consumer. We are no better protected from plasticized air outdoors than we are…
Burgeoning plastic footprint: Who is responsible?
Today, the world is witnessing the Covid-19 pandemic, accompanied by other pandemics like the information pandemic (infodemic) and the Covid-19 waste pandemic. The burgeoning consumption and improper disposal practices of…
After earth, is human body a dumping ground to microplastics?
Researchers finding microplastic in the placenta of pregnant women buzzes precursor alarms to life on earth. Plastic has prevailed in every sphere of the planet earth, from deepest trenches in…
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