Prepare for Change

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/24/world-unable-cope-10-years-talks-un-global-treaty-to-end-plastic-waste   This year, various researchers found microplastics in every sample of placenta they tested ; in human arteries, where plastics are linked to heart attacks and strokes; in human testes and semen, adding to evidence of the ubiquity of plastics and concern over health risks. The plastics crisis is widely recognised as a threat to human health, biodiversity and the climate.  Two years after a historic agreement by 175 countries to adopt a mandate on negotiations for a global, legally binding treaty to address the whole life cycle of plastics, delegates remain widely divided on what to do – and a deadline is looming. Progress has stalled over a row about the need for cuts to the $712bn plastics industry . The last talks , in April, failed to get an agreement to put production targets – seen as key to curbing plastic waste – at the treaty’s centre. *...

  https://www.yahoo.com/news/york-judge-rejects-state-efforts-202606195.html   A coalition of environmental groups, meanwhile, allege Greenidge is pumping millions of pounds of carbon dioxide into the air, while contaminating the nearby Seneca Lake with daily discharges of heated water required to run the plant. “The Finger Lakes community has been sounding the alarm on the disastrous impacts of this facility on their water, air, and climate,” said Mandy DeRoche, a deputy managing attorney in the Clean Energy Program at Earthjustice. “We will continue our fight until Greenidge shuts down for good,” * * * * * I remember to shut off the lights when I leave a room I won't be going back to for a while.  Meanwhile, Bitcoin roars through enough electricity to run several small countries.  The timing couldn't have been worse.  And you can't forget AI starting to suck up electricity so we can make funny videos.  Or the Cloud storage instead of just keeping c...

  https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2024/09/23/california-sues-exxonmobil-plastics-recycling/   “For decades, ExxonMobil has been deceiving the public to convince us that plastic recycling could solve the plastic waste and pollution crisis when they clearly knew this wasn’t possible,” Bonta said in a statement. “ExxonMobil lied to further its [record]-breaking profits at the expense of our planet and possibly jeopardizing our health.”  * * * * * Just like there's a geological layer that shows the meteorite hit that killed the dinosaurs, so there will be a geological layer full of plastic that shows how we drowned ourselves in waste.

  https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg64pwxzln4o  "Sustainable fuels are synthetic alternatives to fossil fuels, made from renewable sources. These can include waste cooking oils, vegetable fats and agricultural waste, as well as captured carbon dioxide. The advantage of burning fuels like these is that it does not add to the overall load of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere." * * * * * The only stickler seems to be difficulty ramping up production.  But once the economic fundamentals are figured out, that should not be a problem.  

  https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/29/world/video/denver-basic-income-project-duerson-digvid   "The Denver Basic Income Project gave over 800 unhoused Coloradans up to $12,000 over the past year with no strings attached. 12 months later, with a funding proposal up for renewal, CNN’s Meena Duerson examines the pilot’s impact and what may happen to the participants if funding runs out."   Another success!  People don't want to be poor. Many are poor just because they are barely under what they need to survive in our society.  A little nudge makes a huge difference in most cases.

Plastic is in our bodies now.  It's in the Arctic.  It's everywhere.  And it hardly breaks down.  We need an alternative.  

  This seems entirely possible in any country.