|
|||||
|
Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year. Just one of those plastic bags takes 1,000 years to break down. California was poised to become the first state to initiate a law that would ban the use of these long-lasting plastic bags, but it failed to pass. Continue reading Chemical Industry Succeeds In Defeating Ban On Plastic Bags In California
Much of the global ocean remains uncharted in terms of pollution but the more we look, the more we find. And now even the most remote, pristine waters on the planet — the coastal seas of Antarctica — are being invaded by plastic debris. In a series of surveys conducted during the austral summer of 2007-2008, researchers at the British Antarctic Survey and Greenpeace trawled the region finding an errant fishing buoy and a plastic cup in an exceedingly remote sea. It doesn’t sound like much, but finding trash in the far corners of the planet is a worrying sign. The research team believes the debris they found represents the leading edge of a tide of man-made refuse that is just now starting to make its way into the most secluded parts of our oceans. READ THIS STORY AT NEWS.DISCOVERY.COM Continue reading Discovery News: Scientists’ Find Hints at Coming Antarctic Garbage Patch 
Photo: Zainub / Flickr
Continue reading California plastic carryout bag ban movement gaining ground 
Photo: zainub / Flickr
The Assembly passed a bill Wednesday that would prohibit single-use plastic bags from being offered in supermarkets, convenience stores and pharmacies, and would charge customers five cents for recyclable paper bags. The California Grocers’ Association, which includes retailers Safeway and Costco, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger support the bill. Californians use around 19 billion bags a year. According to Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, the author of the bill, the state spends $25 million to collect and bury these bags. Environmentalists are also concerned that the bags can become litter. Marine life can ingest the bags or become entangled in them, and this can result in injury or death. The American Chemistry Council, which is against the bill, is concerned about the cost to consumers and the cost of running the program. The bill now heads to the state Senate for consideration. READ THIS STORY AT NYTIMES.COM Continue reading NYT: California is one step closer to banning plastic bags |
|
||||
|
DC Bureau | About PEC | Contact Us | Submit a tip! | Staff The National Press Building 529 14th St. NW, Suite 962 Washington, D.C. 20045 | 202-466-4310| A Product of the Public Education Center. Copyright © 2013 | All Rights Reserved Share Our Stories: Feel free to republish our articles, graphics and blog for free. Just credit us and link to us, but please don't edit our material or sell it separately. (We're licensed under Creative Commons, which provides the legal details.) Powered by WordPress & Atahualpa |
|||||
The Pacific garbage patch and the Atlantic garbage patch – giant islands of garbage that linger in the ocean – are each sobering reminders of how when we throw things away, they don’t go “away.”
