South East Asia – Philippines, 2008. Photo: Tamara Thoreson Pierce _ coastalcare.org
coastalcare.org published a wonderful article that is the most comprehensive overview that i’ve found so far of the issues that i have been exploring. http://coastalcare.org/2009/11/plastic-pollution/
given the amount of plastics that we use and then throw away, some claim that plastic waste is a larger threat threat to the earth than other environmental problems. i don’t doubt that claim. petroleum is a necessary resource for producing plastic and is also a key topic when discussing global warming. some countries, manufacturers, and consumers are making an effort to curb oil consumption in automobiles but are they doing the same with other products that utilize oil during production? maybe, but it doesn’t seem to me that the majority of our population realizes plastics are produced from petroleum and they should. this short article explains some of these issues: http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2007/05/03/plastic-waste-more-dangerous-global-warming
plastic_islands 