Plastics

End Game: The Petitions to Ban BPA

Matthew Spiegl | Posted 05.20.2012

Matthew Spiegl

As scientists continue to study the effects of BPA on humans, the FDA is finding that it is the one under the microscope -- the microscope of public scrutiny, that is -- and what we are seeing is troubling.

Lynne Peeples

Toxic Chemical Under Attack, But Are Alternatives Any Safer?

HuffingtonPost.com | Lynne Peeples | Posted 02.23.2012

As evidence mounts of the dangers of bisphenol-A, there is a rising urgency to purge the common chemical from consumer products. Several states hav...

Lynne Peeples

What Does Nature Know About Superglue?

HuffingtonPost.com | Lynne Peeples | Posted 01.05.2012

Kaichang Li was wading in the surf off the Oregon Coast when he spotted the future of superglue. Beneath the surface, a group of blue mussels anchored...

Study Finds Bioplastics May Harm Environment

| Posted 10.05.2011

This article comes to us courtesy of California Watch. Bad news about “environmentally friendly” biodegradable plastics: They may not be so e...

Bananas Considered For Greener Car-Building Material

Slashfood | Posted 05.30.2011

Proving nature is, in fact, often better than anything coming off a conveyor belt, we may soon have cars made from pineapples, bananas and coconuts. A...

Wholesale Prices Rise For 7th Straight Month

AP | CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER | Posted 05.25.2011

WASHINGTON — Steady improvement in the economy may soon come at a price – faster inflation. Shoes, clothes, tires, plastics and other pro...

ReThink Review: Plastic Planet -- Life in the Plastic Age

Jonathan Kim | Posted 05.25.2011

Jonathan Kim

Plastic Planet attempts to tell the full story of plastic -- how it's made, where it goes, and how chemicals found in plastics make their way into the environment, the food chain, and eventually into the human body.

The Tao of Punxsutawney: Career Advice for Groundhog Day and Beyond

Inder Sidhu | Posted 05.25.2011

Inder Sidhu

Tired of shoveling where you work? Maybe Punxsutawney Phil will lift your mood. But if frustrations linger after spring comes, then it may be time to reassess your career.

I'll Have the Can, Hold the Cups

Jennifer Schwab | Posted 05.25.2011

Jennifer Schwab

Tell the flight attendants you want just the can, no napkin, next time you need a shot of carbonated caffeine while in the air. Why use so many plastic cups, and what happens to them when the plane lands?

Go Below the Surface to See the Real Eco-Disaster from the Gulf Oil Spill

Wendy Gordon | Posted 05.25.2011

Wendy Gordon

Consensus is building that we need to break our addiction to oil at home through individual action as well as by moving forward with government reform

Teaching Kids (and the Rest of Us) About the Oil Spill

Jenn Sturiale | Posted 05.25.2011

Jenn Sturiale

I spied a disposable water bottle nearby, and it struck me: what better, more direct way to teach kids-- and adults, for that matter-- about how we've gotten ourselves into this mess in the first place?

Grow, Baby, Grow

Stephan B. Tanda | Posted 05.25.2011

Stephan B. Tanda

Who could forget Sarah Palin's famous line during the 2008 presidential campaign: "Drill, baby, drill!" With the current environmental and economic di...

Artists Saving our Planet from Plastic

Sarah Newman | Posted 05.25.2011

Sarah Newman

The Save My Oceans blog series celebrates artists who are refashioning plastic trash into art. Be inspired by these creative people to turn our seemingly useless waste into something useful.

Ten Anti-Plastic Heroes

Sarah Newman | Posted 05.25.2011

Sarah Newman

For Earth Week, I'm profiling anti-plastic heroes who are artists, activists, politicians and even corporations who are offering inspiring ways to cut plastic consumption.

6 Tips to Help Clean the Sea on World Oceans Day

Karin Kloosterman | Posted 05.25.2011

Karin Kloosterman

Coral reefs are at risk as the oceans warm up, plastic bottles are choking sea life, and overfishing is threatening species. World Oceans Day is an opportunity to celebrate what the oceans give us.

Top 10 Ways to Celebrate World Water Day

Sarah Newman | Posted 05.25.2011

Sarah Newman

World Water Day is a great way for us to start thinking about our personal impacts on our oceans, no matter where we live.

Step 1: Realize removing 1000 pounds of garbage out of the oceans by hand is...crazy.

Leah Lamb | Posted 05.25.2011

Leah Lamb

So it's begun! Pulling 560 (I mean over 1000 pounds) of garbage out of the ocean. I now realize this is officially a crazy idea. For many reasons. Bu...

'Rise Above Plastics' PSA Shows Urgency Of Ocean Waste Issue (VIDEO)

Posted 05.25.2011

The shocking amount of plastic waste that is funneled into our oceans often falls by the wayside when pit against other environment issues. The Surfri...

Parents of America: WAKE UP! Our Kids are Sick

Christopher Gavigan | Posted 05.25.2011

Christopher Gavigan

For almost 20 years, the nonprofit Healthy Child Healthy World has witnessed millions of parents learn that their homes, their environments, and their bodies have been contaminated by toxic chemicals.

Afloat in the Ocean, Expanding Islands of Trash

nytimes.com | LINDSEY HOSHAW | Posted 05.25.2011

Light bulbs, bottle caps, toothbrushes, Popsicle sticks and tiny pieces of plastic, each the size of a grain of rice, inhabit the Pacific garbage patc...

The Material of Public Art

Mark Mennin | Posted 05.25.2011

Mark Mennin

The production of plastics, a synthetic, may be greener than the overall impact from fashioning art out of wood, what would seem to be the most organic material.

"Refuse" Should Be Added To Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Refuse | Posted 05.25.2011

The problem is simply too massive to be promoting a gradual reduction in single-use disposable plastics. Every 5 minutes, 2 million plastic bottles ar...

Book Review: Giant Molecules: From Nylon to Nanotubes

Dan Agin | Posted 05.25.2011

Dan Agin

What happened in the 20th century was that the puzzle of life, which had passed from philosophers to theologians to zoologists, finally passed to chemists.

No Impact Week: Free to Be Plastic Free

Robin Madel | Posted 05.25.2011

Robin Madel

A former geology professor of mine used to say that this period of geologic history would be seen in the future as "The Pampers Layer." That can't be the legacy we intend to leave.

Cracking the Autism Riddle: Toxic Chemicals, A Serious Suspect in the Autism Outbreak

Harvey Karp | Posted 11.17.2011

Harvey Karp

We used to think substances like Teflon, plastics, and formaldehyde were harmless, but a rising tide of evidence has turned the spotlight on chemical exposures as a possible poison to our children's developing brains.