ocean pollution

The Story You’ve Been Told About Recycling Is a Lie

By Alexander Clapp

Mr. Clapp is a journalist and the author of “Waste Wars: The Wild Afterlife of Your Trash,” from which this essay is adapted. From the New York Times

In the closing years of the Cold War, something strange started to happen.

Much of the West’s trash stopped heading to the nearest landfill and instead started crossing national borders and traversing oceans. The stuff people tossed away and probably never thought about again — dirty yogurt cups, old Coke bottles — became some of the most redistributed objects on the planet, typically winding up thousands of miles away. It was a bewildering process, one that began with the export of toxic industrial waste. By the late 1980s, thousands of tons of hazardous chemicals had left the United States and Europe for the ravines of Africa, the beaches of the Caribbean and the swamps of Latin America.

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State budget provision stymies local plastic reduction efforts in North Carolina

by Will Atwater September 26, 2023 NC Health News

Environmental advocates across the state were shocked last week by the insertion of a provision in House Bill 259, now part of the 2023-24 state budget, that blocks local municipalities from establishing ordinances to reduce single-use plastic use. - You can’t make this stuff up!

“Plastic waste is a scourge on our society on many levels,” said Wil Weldon, board chair of Don’t Waste Durham, a nonprofit organization working to eliminate waste by establishing a so-called circular economy, a system designed to “keep materials, products and services in circulation for as long as possible” to slow climate change, according to the EPA. If fewer single-use materials, such as plastics, are produced, it lowers CO2 emissions from fossil fuels used to make plastics, and it reduces emissions from plastic waste decomposition. READ MORE…

How You Can Protect the Ocean and Help Save Marine Life from Home

PORCH

Used with permission

  1. HOW YOU CAN PROTECT THE OCEAN AND HELP SAVE MARINE LIFE FROM HOME

BY: Isabella Caprario

The ocean is more than just a mysterious and beautiful place that sparks the imagination. Scientists say that approximately 50 to 80-percent of the earth’s oxygen production comes from our oceans. A variety of marine life requires a clean ocean to breathe and thrive. Today, the world’s oceans are facing unprecedented danger due to various issues, including overfishing, pollution, oil spills, and more. Climate change is also affecting ocean animals and the cleanliness of the sea. Whether you want to save the whales or just do your part to keep the oceans cleaner, there are several things we can all do at home to promote a cleaner, safer oceanic environment. Read on to discover ways to help protect the ocean and save marine life, all from your own home.

READ MORE…https://porch.com/advice/protect-the-ocean