Can You Avoid Plastic Pollution In A Pandemic?
Last week, my husband unloaded eight paper shopping bags filled with plastic-wrapped food. After decades working on sustainability – and the last four years focused on single-use plastic, including a TEDx talk last year and another in 2017 – the sight made me physically ill. This is the third week of shelter in place for most of the country, including Los Angeles, where I live. And while most of us spent the time battling alternating bouts of terror and boredom, the plastics industry was in attack mode. As the New York Times described, “The plastic bag industry, battered by a wave of bans nationwide, is using the coronavirus crisis to try…
Mommy Greenest TED Talk, Too
I was so nervous stepping into the TED red circle to take on recycling. Because I was about to share a solution that was at odds with the plastic pollution activism movement that I am a part of.
Plastic: 4 Facts You Should Know
Have you heard the stats on plastic? One million plastic bags used every minute around the globe. Three million water bottles used every hour in the United States. Five million straws used every day in America. Plastic production increased 2,000 percent from 1964 to 2014. More than 300 million tons of new plastic produced annually and less than 10% recycled. Plastic overconsumption is affecting our environment—and our health. Reports show that eight million tons go into the ocean each year (the equivalent of a garbage truck full every minute) and that if we don’t do something about it, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. In the last two…
Watch My TEDx Talk!
I feel so honored to have been chosen by TEDxSantaBarbara to share my vision of how one straw can change the world. What are you doing to fight plastic pollution? I’d love to hear about it. Thanks!
More Plastic in Oceans Than Fish?
I was startled when I read this prediction: By 2050, we’ll have more plastic in oceans than fish. Today, by weight we have about 20% plastic in oceans, as compared to fish, which is still a startling statistic. But a new report shows that we may have passed the tipping point. Why–and what can you do? Read on!
MN Takes Silver with #Microbead Ban
Yesterday, Minnesota announced a ban on plastic microbeads, nearly a year after Illinois became the first state to ban them. With New York’s Microbead-Free Waters Act pending, more states are set to follow suit, as lawmakers act on the microbead pollution problem.
Top 10 Recycling FAQs Answered
I am not great about remembering my reusable water bottle. Unless I’m going on a picnic, I tend to forget it in the car whenever I resort to plastic bottles or cups, I make sure to recycle them—even if it means carting them home in my purse. You might think I’m crazy, but the truth is nearly 80% of plastic water bottles aren’t recycled, and plastic makes up 80% of the trash that pollutes our oceans. Hopefully the fact that I just signed Food & Water Watch’s Take Back the Tap pledge to pack reusable water bottles this summer will keep me in line. (Want to join me? Sign here!) But…
What Are Phthalates? Nix Them in 3 Easy Steps
Can a rubber ducky make your kids fat? A 2012 study found a connection between a chemical found in PVC and kids’ obesity: Children with the highest level of the common phthalate di-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) in their blood were nearly five times as likely to be obese as children with the lowest levels. But what are phthalates? These chemicals, also known as plasticizers, are used to soften plastic. (Want to know why that your old ball gets brittle? That’s because phthalates have leached out of it.) They also serve to help personal care products penetrate the skin, as well as preserve synthetic fragrances.
