The economic injustice of plastic
Summary
Van Jones is talking about detrimental effects of plastic on people, especially poor people, and a new idea to enjoy high quality of life without destroying the planet. First of all, he mentions that plastic is harmful to poor people at every stage of production, use, and disposal. In fact, a place including a petrochemical company was called “cancer alley” because the process of making plastics killed people by causing cancer. In addition, plastic products have dangerous chemicals in them, but poor people cannot but choose them because they are the cheapest ones. Moreover, most developing countries are recycling plastic, and that means they are burning the plastic. Thus, toxic chemicals released into the air shorten people’s life. However, the polluted air affects the entire globe as well as the area. In other words, nobody can avoid the risk caused by the disposal of plastic. Thus, he insists that we must discard the idea of disposability, and he introduces a combined concept. It ties together two concepts, biomimicry and democracy. First, the idea of biomimicry, which is an emerging science, is respecting the wisdom of all species. This means that other species have made things that we need using biological processes without waste or pollution, and so we should learn from them. Another idea is democracy, which means respecting the wisdom of all people. He believes that these ideas will give us green society and a movement started for removal of plastic will expand to other movements.
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I disagree with him for several reasons. Above all, he says that we must get rid of plastic because it hurts the earth and people. There are many different kinds of plastic in the world, and it is used in many ways. It has deleterious effects on people in some respects, but it is very useful for people in other ways. For example, FRP (fiber reinforced plastics) is used for the reducing weight of cars or airplanes because it is lighter than steel and stronger than aluminum in the corrosion resistance. Like this, there exist technologies which cannot be developed without plastic. Thus, I believe that it is better to spend time to find more effective ways of disposing of plastic than to try to remove it. Moreover, he states that poor people does not have a chance to choose other products because of its price. However, using plastic products is not a matter of choice any more, and not all of them are cheap. We can’t already image the world without plastic. Take a look around. You probably have at least one thing made of plastic. For these reasons, I can’t agree with his opinion.
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http://www.ted.com/talks/van_jones_the_economic_injustice_of_plastic.html
Image: Global Justice Game
There's a region in Louisiana known as cancer alley (or chemical corridor, take your pick). You can guess why. Cancer claims victims at an alarming rate along the 85-mile stretch of the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, where more than 140 industrial plants spew pollution into the air and water.
Where is Cancer Alley?
Set in the middle is St. James Parish (Louisiana's counties are called parishes), considered by the Environmental Defense Fund to be one of America's 25 most polluted counties. Louisiana had the second-highest death rate from cancer in the U.S. in 2002; it had also been ranked second in the U.S. by the EPA for total onsite releases of chemicals and pollutants.
Set in the middle is St. James Parish (Louisiana's counties are called parishes), considered by the Environmental Defense Fund to be one of America's 25 most polluted counties. Louisiana had the second-highest death rate from cancer in the U.S. in 2002; it had also been ranked second in the U.S. by the EPA for total onsite releases of chemicals and pollutants.
1 comment:
I believe it is obvious those plastic disposals are attacking our planet though you believe some his opinion miss some points. You say it is necessary for some parts such as components of air plane or car to use plastic and I agree with you. However, I believe in some parts, we are using plastic products unnecessarily and we can reduce using plastic products with our commitment and attentions to perverse our planet from contaminants. Let’s think about cups, forks and, spoon in cafeteria. We use them easily and throw it since we can use it in free of charge and convenient. However, we can bring our own cups or forks. Moreover, it is good idea for some people who can afford to buy non plastic containers to purchase containers produced with glass or other materials that is less harmful than plastic disposals. In addition, I love the term he suggests, “Biomimicry”. It is wonderful idea scientists or invertors learn from nature and imitate some aspects such as creating something without pollution and not harming surrounding. In conclusion, I believe that we should think about whether we are using plastic containers not because of cheap price but because of pursuing convenient life.
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