On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet Series, former EPA regional administrator Judith Enck discusses her new book, co-authored with Adam Mahoney, The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late.
Enck examines how plastic pollution contributes to poisoned oceans, polluted air, a warming planet, and overwhelming waste, particularly affecting marginalized communities, which bear the brunt of petrochemical pollution. She writes that in less than a century, plastic has changed the world. In 1950, the world produced just two million tons of plastic. It now produces over 450 million tons per year. Plastic production is projected to double between 2019 and 2039.
Enck also focuses on solutions, including regulations, single-use plastic bans, producer responsibility, cigarette filter bans, and more.
Guest:
Judith Enck, senior fellow and faculty member in the Center for the Advancement of Public Action, former regional administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency, president of Beyond Plastics, and co-author of The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late
Resources:
Greenpeace: How the war on Iran exposes the link between fossil fuels, plastics, and price shocks
Plastic Pollution Coalition: Three Federal Bills Are Greenwashing Plastic “Recycling” as a Solution
France 24: From the oceans into our bodies: Plastic pollution 'associated with obesity and dementia'
The New York Times: Can You Really ‘Detox’ From Plastic?
Inside Climate News: After Chemical Industry Lobbying, EPA Considers Dropping Clean Air Protections for Plastic Waste Recycling
