CBS Interactive. (2023, January 25). Sustainable shopping: Avoiding plastic, reducing waste. CBS News. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/sustainable-shopping/ 

California uses so much plastic daily, for water bottles, shopping, etc. Specifically in the bay area, fast fashion is a major contributor to plastic consumption and waste. In Highland Park, Joseph and Lauren Macrino set out to help this problem by creating a plastic-free store where shoppers can refill items using their own reusable containers. This zero-waste store, like others in California, are small steps to avoid single-use plastic and protect our environment. If these stores are not local to you, people are encouraged to cloth rags, reusable water bottles, and bar soap compared to the alternatives.

Overall, this article does a good job of highlighting small efforts to combat our plastic over consumption and how any person can help our environment by avoiding single-use plastic. This relates to environmental science by looking at smaller solutions to plastic use which would hurt our environment. I liked this article, although it is such a small step compared to our giant problem. I think if more stores like this one open up, it could make a pretty big impact on reducing plastic. However, my question is: What are we going to do with the plastic we have already made?

Petsko, E. (2022, September 27). California’s bold move to Curb Plastic Pollution. Oceana. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://oceana.org/blog/californias-bold-move-to-curb-plastic-pollution/  

Because of California’s big economy, California has a big plastic problem too. On June 30, The Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act or Senate Bill 54 was signed. The bill requires companies to reduce their plastic consumption by 25% over the next 10 years and it estimates that it will eliminate 23 million tons of plastic waste in this time frame. California spends $420 million annually to reduce and clean up plastic, but this law will finally implement a long term solution to this issue.

This article explains the plastic prevention act that was signed just in 2022 in order to eliminate plastic waste specifically in California. This relates to environmental science by showing the correlation between environmental clean up and our government. Environmental science exists to keep our world safe and our environment thriving, so ways to keep it in good conditions relates to environmental science. This article does a good job of explaining Senate Bill 54 and how it will help California in reducing plastic use and recycling plastic.

Rogers, P. (2022, November 2). Whales off California coast eat 10 million pieces of tiny plastic pollution a day, new Stanford Study Estimates. The Mercury News. Retrieved February 7, 2023, from https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/11/01/whales-off-california-coast-eat-10-million-pieces-of-tiny-plastic-pollution-a-day-new-stanford-study-estimates/ 

A recent Stanford study came out, showing that due to excessive use of plastic, whales off the coast of California have been ingesting millions of microplastics daily. When plastic fills the stomachs of wildlife, it causes malnourishment, and even death. Additionally, traces of chemicals found in plastics have been found in deceased whales on beaches and studies show that these chemicals weaken whale’s immune systems. Dr. Jeff Boehm explains how action is necessary to save marine animals and keep them healthy. Although California has been struggling with plastic consumption, California has also started to make efforts to decrease plastic pollution through new laws.

This article relates plastic consumption to California’s marine life, and its connection to people. This relates to environmental science because the condition of our oceans and animals lives are, or should be important to us. I like how the article focused the plastic problem specifically on whales because many of these articles have sounded the same, but this one varies. Overall, I think this article does a good job of showing how micro plastics hurt sea life, but it could have gone into more depth to explain why these animals need immediate saving and protection from our over consumption of plastic.

Lam, M. (2022, November 3). ‘you can’t recycle your way out’: California’s plastic problem and what we can do about it. KQED. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from   https://www.kqed.org/news/11901288/you-cant-recycle-your-way-out-californias-plastic-problem-and-what-to-do-about-it#:~:text=California%20dumps%20more%20than%2012%2C000,recycling%20and%20waste%20management%20agency. 

California’s plastic problem is urgent, dumping more than 12,000 tons of plastic each day. Because all plastic is different, it is difficult to recycle and sort everything. Some laws have been implemented to encourage reusing plastic, but they are not enough. And as more bills are talked about, such as, ​​AB 793 and AB 1371 have failed because of the impracticality. This could be very detrimental to California because plastic use is supposed to double by 2025 due to the e-commerce economy according to state Assemblymember Laura Friedman. Lastly, plastic use can now be connected to passing chemicals to humans, and climate change, meaning the importance of reducing plastic has greatly increased.

This article notes the urgency of California’s plastic consumption and ways to attack the problem. It discusses failures to reduce plastic use and some successes, although little compared to the big picture problem. This article relates to environmental science because it provides readers with the harsh effects of our actions relating to the environment, and how to attempt to fix these problems. I think this article does a good job of showing the importance of recycling and avoiding plastic, but it needs more details regarding the laws that we do have in place.

Weisbrod, K. (2022, October 12). California passed a landmark law about plastic pollution. why are some environmentalists still concerned? Inside Climate News. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://insideclimatenews.org/news/12102022/california-plastics-pollution-bill/ 

The new California law, Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, attempts to reduce waste by making producers of plastic directly responsible for it. The law is set to reduce plastic packaging by “25 percent in 10 years” and will require most of single-use plastic to be recycled because less than 6% of plastic waste actually gets recycled in the United States. These seemingly, solid provisions are also producing a lot of controversy. Some leaders argue that there are loopholes to get through recycling. Companies could use chemical recycling to abide by the law, but chemical recycling isn’t actually recycling according to environmentalists.

The law in this article aims to reduce the amount of plastic and to ensure it gets disposed of correctly, which is super crucial to environmental science. Environmental Science studies interactions within our environment, how they affect us, and how to keep our world safe. The law in this article, when implemented, will reduce plastic use which does hurt our environment significantly. I enjoyed reading this article because it promotes action regarding our environment, rather than just talking about it. This law won’t fix everything in our corrupt world, but it definitely is a big step to protecting our home.

Bissell, Joel. “Watch Drones Pick up Litter on Michigan Beaches and Waterways.” Mlive, MenuSubscribe, 27 Aug. 2022, https://www.mlive.com/news/2022/08/watch-drones-pick-up-litter-on-michigan-beaches-and-waterways.html?outputType=amp. 

On Tuesday, August 23, the PixieDrone and Bebot debut in the Great Lakes of Michigan. Designed to pick up plastic through sand and water, these robots can “sift through about 32,000 square feet of sand per hour” and collect up to 200 pounds of trash before needing to be emptied. These machines were funded 1 million dollars by The Council of the Great Lakes Region to help protect our environment. Grand Valley State University keeps these robots running and will deploy them to even more public beaches this year.

This invention does a great job in combining engineering and environmental science by using robots to help our environment. By using technology to deal with environmental issues, we can find more efficient ways. With this being said, I also can’t imagine two little robots doing much to our environment and it won’t eliminate future plastic. However, it definitely is a start, because if others use this as inspiration, I’m sure more machines like this will be spread throughout the country to get rid of plastic in precious bodies of water and other habitats.

Hickey, H. (2022, August 23). Beach trash accumulates in predictable patterns on Washington and Oregon shores. UW News. Retrieved August 28, 2022, from https://www.washington.edu/news/2022/08/23/beach-trash-accumulates-in-predictable-patterns-on-washington-and-oregon-shores/

Due to citizen science, volunteers with the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team were able to survey 843 beaches year-round. They found that some beaches were “sticky zones” or had a high amount of litter. A study by the University of Washington found that trash washed up on shore can be from their own community or neighboring towns. It also showed a seasonal pattern with an increase in trash in the Spring. With this data, experts say that it will be easier to come up with solutions to the plastic problem.

Overall, this article does a good job of linking patterns in plastic wash up with solutions. It shows us the impact of plastic we use, not just in our area, but in other communities. This means that plastic affects everyone, so knowing its pattern could help us figure out where and when our solutions should be implemented. This connects to environmental science, as it shows us the effects we have on our environment. Knowing this, we need to take bigger steps to save it.

Choi-Schagrin, W. (2022, July 1). California requires plastics makers to foot the bill for Recycling. The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/climate/california-plastics-recycling-law.html 

On June 30th, California signed a new law regarding reducing and eliminating plastic. The new law states that the manufacturers of plastic have to pay for recycling institutions, rather than taxpayers. It also says that single-use packaging must be recyclable or compostable by 2032. Experts claim that this law has been the best that the US has seen because it requires both producing less plastic and being able to dispose of them correctly. ​​Anja Brandon, a policy analyst at the Ocean Conservancy explains that “the new California law would eliminate 23 million tons of plastic in the next 10 years,” helping to fight climate change.

This article directly aims to reduce the amount of plastic and to ensure it gets disposed of correctly, which is super crucial to environmental science. Environmental science is the study of our environment and how to save it, so an article about solutions to the issues in our world is very related to Environmental Science. Although it will not fix the entirety of the plastic problem, it is a big step in the right direction. It will be interesting to see this law actually in place, and to see how companies plan to reduce plastic. I think this article is almost a breath of fresh air, as in the media, I mostly see only the problems that plastic has caused and never the solutions. 

Swearingen, D. (2022, August 4). USF student invents lumber alternative using recycled plastic. USF News. Retrieved August 28, 2022, from https://www.usf.edu/news/2022/usf-student-invents-lumber-altternative-using-recycled-plastic.aspx 

In just the past couple years, John Cotter, a mechanical engineering student at University of South Florida discovered a way to use recycled plastic as wood. By heating plastic, squeezing through a specialized machine, and reinforcing it with polymer, Cotter made a sustainable and stronger building material than wood, that will reduce deforestation and the price for consumers. Under a grant by the National Science foundation, he continues to build off his ideas and create more sustainable materials, like a concrete and recycled product fence.

This eco-friendly, recycled plastic material is a great idea and can really change the way we rely on plastic. Not to mention, this invention also saves trees and makes sustainability an affordable option for lower income communities. Unlike the plastic tote bags from Anybag, this idea is a more direct solution to our plastic problem because it stops us from using plastic in the first place. This article directly relates to Environmental Science, as it aims for a more sustainable building material, protecting our environment.

Iredale, J. (2022, July 30). Not just any bag. The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/30/style/not-just-any-bag.html?searchResultPosition=2

Alex Dabagh, the owner of Park Avenue International, a New York leather goods company, began to notice all the single-use plastic bags he received in the fashion industry. To help solve this concern, he broke down these plastic bags, sealed them into long strands, and weaved them into a reusable bag, just like any other typical textile. His first prototype was released in 2020 in ReFashion Week NYC, but his new company, Anybag, has grown tremendously. Collecting an estimate of 588,000 single-use plastic bags from local businesses, he got to partner with big brands like Adidas and Ralph Lauren.

Although this plastic solution is a step in solving the world’s plastic problem, I think it won’t affect our country on a big enough scale. Yes, this will help decrease plastic around New York, but it is just a small amount compared to our world’s plastic. More companies like this will help, but it is simply not enough. Though, reusing plastic is a big part of environmental science because it helps find solutions to our problems and focuses on the effects we have on our planet.