The latest double issue of the American Bar Association’s Human Rights Magazine has a theme that matters deeply to Moms: Environmental, Energy, and Climate Justice.
Moms’ Senior Analyst for Petrochemicals, Cynthia Palmer, was invited to write an article for the issue, “The Environmental and Health Impacts of Plastics.” In it, she explains how the plastics supply chain releases potent carcinogens and greenhouse gases at every step. She details who is most at risk: the millions of under-resourced and historically marginalized people who “reside in the shadow of plastics fabrication facilities, unprotected from the round-the-clock toxic pollution and the all-too-frequent petrochemical leaks, fires, and explosions.”
Tell Congress: Support the Protecting Communities From Plastics Act
Cynthia has a unique vantage point on plastics, having trained at the intersection of law and environmental and occupational health. She delves into how the nation’s laws governing the plastics industry are “weak, inconsistent, and riddled with astonishing loopholes, a relic of long-outdated science and relentless petrochemical industry influence.”
Although recycling has gained strong popularity in recent years, Cynthia explains that “notwithstanding industry propaganda, there is no safe and economical way to recycle or get rid of plastics.”
Ultimately, Cynthia writes, plastics are a lifeline for oil and gas companies determined not to let climate change and the promise of renewable energy cut into their profits. “Production is on track to double by 2040 and triple by 2050. This expansion will accelerate planetary heating and will impose severe consequences on workers and frontline communities,” she notes in the article.
To learn more about plastics and health, including feedstocks, manufacturing, disposal, racism, and so much more, read the full article in ABA’s Human Rights Magazine.
Learn more about Moms’ work on petrochemical pollution.
Tell Congress: Support the Protecting Communities From Plastics Act