Van Jones's Ted Talk: A Case Study

will be the near future of our world, are the key to this problem. Using tactics like this will

Liborion notes that some plastics like PVC become flexible when creators add chemical additive monomers like BPA, making it versatile (Liborion 9). However, monomers are often hazardous to living things. The monomers like BPA are endocrine disruptors, correlating with brain development and fertility problems (12). The monomers give the plastic versatility but also give it agency to cause health problems. The plastic’s intrinsic properties also harm the environment as it affects marine life. The plastic’s hydrophobic properties also give it agency. Since hydrophobic substances attract each other, the plastic attracts dangerous, hydrophobic pesticides like DDt and HCH as it “moves across parking lots, down sewage systems, through harbors, and into open water” (14). Consequently, the marine and wildlife near/in the ocean consumes the substances, increasing chemicals in the ecosystem. This unintentional situation of biomagnification demonstrates its dangerous, inherent agency to harm the environment. The technology of plastic exhibits agency independent of its creator by affecting the natural environment with toxins from its hydrophobic property and additive monomer. However, the technology and consumer also display this complex

Environmentally plastic toys pose a serious threat to people, animals, and our land. Every other month a recall is placed on something plastic whether a toy, kitchen appliance, or car part. Time after time, recalls about plastic in fish and other food sources or

In a society that wants everything convenient and ready to use, plastic found the perfect market for its thousands of uses. Food, toys, medical equipment, and even clothing come either from plastic or at least wrapped or pre-portioned in plastic. While plastic makes the modern world so much cheaper and easier, it also comes with an environmental cost. With the endless amount of products made from or housed in plastic comes an endless amount of discarded wrappers, bags, straws, bottles, toys and even car parts. Some people wonder where all the plastic bottles and trash go that people carelessly drop on the daily, or think about about how recycling works, and if it even does work. For years the human race has been treating the environment like a landfill itself, and its about time there was some awareness raised. Plastic pollution is a major problem in today's society. Our first Earth day was celebrated 47 years ago while the nation was very poisoned. Places like Los Angeles were covered in thick smog. There were even rivers on fire in Cleveland due to massive pollution (Lytle). Ever since WWII the production of industrial chemicals has risen very rapidly. The USA generates and imports over 42 billion pounds of chemicals per day! These aren't just chemicals from a scientist's lab, they are hidden in everyday items from baby bottles to big screen tv’s (Lytle). The Toxic Substances act (TCSA) of 34 years has been a failure. The government is chosen to decide which chemicals are safe and which are hazardous, and the only way they test if it's safe is inspecting the data given to them by the factories. These industries can lie and hide major details when providing reports to the government (Lytle). Some chemicals like BPA can have strange effects at even the lowest dosage. BPA has been used since the 1940’s to harden polycarbonate plastics and make epoxy resin which is then used in the lining of food and beverage containers. Polycarbonates can be identified by the recycling number 7 on the bottom of their containers, this is known as the resin identification code. BPA does its job in plastic very well, over 6 billion pounds of it are produced

Plastics have hazardous influences on human health. It takes huge amounts of chemicals and fossil energizes to produce plastics. The type of plastics that we frequently use, contains a chemical called Bisphenol-A “known as BPA” and other types of chemicals (Ellsbury, 2012). BPA can interferes with human body and modifies hormones, which has been proven to be dangerous to human health. In addition, various types of serious health problems have been strongly related to BPA (Lights, 2012). For instance, certain types of cancer, impaired immune function, early onset of puberty, obesity, diabetes, and hyperactivity (Adverse Health Effects of Plastics, n.d.). Research has shown that BPA enters human body through exposure to plastics, such as plastic bottles. Moreover, risks of these bottles increase even more if they expose to high temperatures, because the plastic will secrete its harmful chemicals into drinks (Lights, 2012).

The next time you are out for a run, walk, or bike ride, count the number of plastic bottles you see on the ground. I have done this and it is mind boggling. The environmental concerns caused by producing, distributing, and disposing of plastic water bottles is under scrutiny by various public interest groups. The negative impact of plastic water bottles on our environment is real and requires action. The production of these bottles needs to stop because they pose an ongoing threat to the health of the environment. One main reason plastic water bottles should not be produced is because they create a health risk to the environment. Plastic bottles are made of a petroleum product known as PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) and these bottles require large amounts of fossil fuel to make and transport them. Even though fossil fuel is a major energy source used in the world today, overconsumption can lead to serious environmental issues such as air pollution. According to the journal article “Message in the Bottle,” it is estimated that the total energy needed to make, transport, and dispose of one plastic bottle of water is equivalent to filling the same bottle one-quarter full of oil. This is a great deal of oil to produce just one nonreusable water bottle. It also takes three liters of water to produce a one-liter plastic bottle of water (“Message in a Bottle”). In addition to this, it can take plastic bottles up to five hundred years to decompose, and during the decomposition

Plastics are one of the most used materials on a volume basis in U.S. industrial and commercial use. Plastics are commonly into today’s lifestyle and make a major contribution to virtually all product areas. Although the plastics industry in the United States is now in its second century, the most important developments have occurred since 1910. The roots of these modern developments go back not only to the research of cellulose nitrate by John Wesley Hyatt in the 1860s, but also to the plastic-like compositions used by man through the centuries. Humans probably don’t realize how often we use plastics or use something that has plastic particles. From the bristles on our toothbrushes, to bulletproof vest, to fibers that help in the making

The human population has led to the accumulation of huge amounts of non-degradable waste materials across our planet. The problem of environmental pollution was caused by indiscriminate dumping of plastic waste has assumed global proportions. They are used in almost all industries, especially for packaging and they account for more than 50% of total consumption, especially they are used for bottling and baling. They

Take a look around, plastic is everywhere. From the cars that we drive, to the containers that our food comes in. Nearly, everything we come in contact with contains some sort of plastic. This source has simplified our lives in various ways and has become a major staple of everyday life. We use it for entertainment, communication, and to save lives. But, no matter how convenient plastics are, they still seem to do more damage than good to ourselves and the environment.

Plastics are very convenient products that we use in our every day life and for most people it would be difficult to imagine a plastic free world. It is everywhere: used for water bottling purposes, food covering, parts that make up our daily items such as cell phones, clothes, and hospital equipments. With so many convenient methods for the use of plastics, many of us fail to recognize the dangers of plastic pollution which starts with industrial pollution, continues with its distribution and consumer pollution. Designed to be discarded, disposable plastics such as water bottles, lids and straws are the greatest source of plastic pollution in addition to being toxic to our health and non-environmentally friendly due to

Plastics contain toxins- it’s really surprising when we see our grandparents stamina. They are better in terms of health when compared to us. Their healthy life style, no plastics for food were the main reasons for their stamina. Plastics contain huge number of toxic substances which are not only harmful for your health but also capable of making you sick. The main toxin is BPA or Bisphenol A which is a harmful component which is responsible to cause heart problems, hormonal imbalances, harmful effects on brain and diabetes. Hence it is better to avoid plastic containers.

Due to its light-weight, cheap cost, long term strength and durability, the several past decades have uncontrollably used plastics for everything from packaging fast food, and transportation to industrial and agricultural areas in both rural and urban locations (Microbial Degradation of plastics). Such heavy use of plastic has taken a dangerous toll on the planet due to its rapidly elevating amount of plastic waste and pollution. The worldwide use of plastic increases at an alarming rate of 12% per year and to put this into perspective, an article published in the Journal of Biochemical Technology by authors Swapnil K. Kale, Amit G. Deshmukh*, Mahendra S. Dudhare, Vikram B.

The news on some once-promising plastic alternatives is not so encouraging. A review published last month in Environmental Science and Technology by a group of scientists — one at the polymer science division of the Indian Institute of Technology — finds that “degradable The news on once-promising plastic alternatives is not so

They consume growing amounts of energy and other natural resources, degrading the environment in numerous ways. In addition to using up fossil fuels and other resources, plastic products create litter, hurt marine life, and threaten the basis of life on earth. There is over 45 million tons of plastics per year and nearly every piece of plastic ever made still exists today because of its long-life properties. Biodegradable plastics could be an effective solution to all of these problems. Biodegradable plastics are a much better choice than non-biodegradable plastics because they are friendlier to the earth and the environment. Biodegradable plastics break down faster, can be recycled easier and are non-toxic. With these characteristics of biodegradable plastics, we could help save lives and the environment as well and reduce the threat plastics give to marine life. Plastic, the wonder material that we use for everything, is perhaps the most harmful of this trash because it does not readily break down in nature but if it is biodegradable, these plastics break down faster so they have a much shorter effect on the earth, and they will degrade completely. Normal plastics are manufactured using oil, and this process is very harmful to the environment by polluting the air and environment, but this is not the case with green biodegradable plastics. Using biodegradable plastics will minimize the effects that these products

Plastic bags have been a way of life for the last 50 years, and the idea of changing something that has become a staple of our societies grocery stores is unthinkable. As technology increases and society becomes more aware of our environment, the environmental effects of plastic bags have been found to far outweigh the benefits. The main reason behind the negative impact of plastic bags on our environment is the inability to dispose of them in a way that will help eliminate the problem (C.M. Finzi-Quintao, 2016). Burning the bags releases toxic fumes into the atmosphere while landfills hold then indefinitely which has become a worldwide problem with plastics in general. Further, even putting these bags in the recycling bin have shown does not do much good. Nearly all municipalities usually burn or send them off to the landfill regardless due to the expenses needed to recycle this type of plastic due to its difficulty to break down and not being a realistic compound to use for anything else without an overhaul to the facility (Wagner, 2015). Although reversely, the cost of production of paper bags and recyclable bags is something that many do not consider when confronted with the idea of plastic bags and the effects of them on our society. This has led to citizens all over the world to ask themselves if the plastic bag benefits outweigh the costs. Choosing this topic to research stemmed from a common concern as to the environment and the way we are treating it currently, and