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Plastic – Susan Freinkel

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Plastic

A Toxic Love Story

Susan Freinkel

Genre: Nature

Price: $17.99

Publish Date: April 18, 2011

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Seller: OpenRoad Integrated Media, LLC


“This eloquent, elegant book thoughtfully plumbs the . . . consequences of our dependence on plastics” ( The Boston Globe, A Best Nonfiction Book of 2011).   From pacemakers to disposable bags, plastic built the modern world. But a century into our love affair, we’re starting to realize it’s not such a healthy relationship. As journalist Susan Freinkel points out in this eye-opening book, we’re at a crisis point. Plastics draw on dwindling fossil fuels, leach harmful chemicals, litter landscapes, and destroy marine life. We’re drowning in the stuff, and we need to start making some hard choices.   Freinkel tells her story through eight familiar plastic objects: a comb, a chair, a Frisbee, an IV bag, a disposable lighter, a grocery bag, a soda bottle, and a credit card. With a blend of lively anecdotes and analysis, she sifts through scientific studies and economic data, reporting from China and across the United States to assess the real impact of plastic on our lives.   Her conclusion is severe, but not without hope. Plastic points the way toward a new creative partnership with the material we love, hate, and can’t seem to live without.   “When you write about something so ubiquitous as plastic, you must be prepared to write in several modes, and Freinkel rises to this task. . . . She manages to render the most dull chemical reaction into vigorous, breathless sentences.” — SF Gate   “Freinkel’s smart, well-written analysis of this love-hate relationship is likely to make plastic lovers take pause, plastic haters reluctantly realize its value, and all of us understand the importance of individual action, political will, and technological innovation in weaning us off our addiction to synthetics.” — Publishers Weekly   “A compulsively interesting story. Buy it (with cash).” —Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature   “What a great read—rigorous, smart, inspiring, and as seductive as plastic itself.” —Karim Rashid, designer  

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Plastic – Susan Freinkel

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Susan Rice Did Nothing Wrong, Part the Millionth

Mother Jones

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I missed this a couple of days ago, but Nancy LeTourneau alerts me to a recent CNN report about Susan Rice’s requests to “unmask” the names of individuals in intelligence reports that she received when she was Obama’s National Security Advisor. This was all part of the great Devin Nunes fiasco, where he went to the White House to read the reports, came back to Capitol Hill to hold a press conference, and then rushed back to the White House to tell President Trump all about it. But there’s no there there:

After a review of the same intelligence reports brought to light by House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers and aides have so far found no evidence that Obama administration officials did anything unusual or illegal….Over the last week, several members and staff of the House and Senate intelligence committees have reviewed intelligence reports related to those requests at NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland.

One congressional intelligence source described the requests made by Rice as “normal and appropriate” for officials who serve in that role to the president.

Fine. Susan Rice did nothing wrong. It’s not as if we didn’t know that already, but it’s nice to see it confirmed. Rice must be getting really tired of being a handy Republican punching bag.

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Susan Rice Did Nothing Wrong, Part the Millionth

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A Republican Senator Just Announced They Won’t Endorse Donald Trump. Here’s Why.

Mother Jones

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On Monday, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) announced in a Washington Post op-ed that she would not be voting for her party’s nominee, Donald Trump.

I will not be voting for Donald Trump for president. This is not a decision I make lightly, for I am a lifelong Republican. But Donald Trump does not reflect historical Republican values nor the inclusive approach to governing that is critical to healing the divisions in our country.

Some will say that as a Republican I have an obligation to support my party’s nominee. I have thought long and hard about that, for being a Republican is part of what defines me as a person. I revere the history of my party, most particularly the value it has always placed on the worth and dignity of the individual, and I will continue to work across the country for Republican candidates. It is because of Mr. Trump’s inability and unwillingness to honor that legacy that I am unable to support his candidacy.

Collins is one of the famed yet elusive GOP “moderates” so it’s not like this will change the minds of a lot of Trump diehards, but it’s still a big deal if only because Trump is making a play to win her state.

Collins will not however be going the next logical step and endorsing Clinton. She says in the piece that she doesn’t support either of the parties’ nominees.

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A Republican Senator Just Announced They Won’t Endorse Donald Trump. Here’s Why.

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Chris Wallace Demands Answers to Yet More Benghazi Questions That Have Already Been Answered Dozens of Times

Mother Jones

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I was channel surfing this morning and happened to catch a few minutes of Chris Wallace talking to Claire McCaskill. The subject, yet again, was Benghazi. Why did Susan Rice blame the video? Also: Two sources said they knew it was a terrorist attack immediately, so why didn’t Rice say that? We need these questions answered!

I know, I know. It’s my fault for watching TV. But Jesus. Chris Wallace knows the answers to these questions. He has to know. But just in case he still doesn’t, here they are:

Why did Susan Rice blame the video?

On Chris Wallace’s own show aired four days after the Benghazi attack, here’s what Susan Rice said:

Well, first of all, Chris, we are obviously investigating this very closely. The FBI has a lead in this investigation. The information, the best information and the best assessment we have today is that in fact this was not a preplanned, premeditated attack. That what happened initially was that it was a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired in Cairo as a consequence of the video. People gathered outside the embassy and then it grew very violent and those with extremist ties joined the fray and came with heavy weapons, which unfortunately are quite common in post-revolutionary Libya and that then spun out of control.

But we don’t see at this point signs this was a coordinated plan, premeditated attack. Obviously, we will wait for the results of the investigation and we don’t want to jump to conclusions before then. But I do think it’s important for the American people to know our best current assessment.

Rice was very clear that she was providing a preliminary judgment. She was very clear about the role of the video: It had inspired protests in Cairo earlier in the week. She was very clear that we believed the Cairo protests sparked protests in Benghazi. She was very clear that we believed this provided extremist groups with a chance to launch an opportunistic attack.

In the end, almost all of this turned out to be true. The video did spark protests in Cairo. Some of the Benghazi attackers were motivated by the video. The attack wasn’t premeditated: it was planned no more than a few hours previously. The only part Rice got wrong was that there were, in fact, no initial protests in Benghazi. That was the best reporting we had at the time, but it turned out to be incorrect.

A couple of sources said they reported immediately that it was a preplanned terrorist attack. Why didn’t Rice and the rest of the Obama administration say that?

Because the intelligence community had multiple sources of reporting about Benghazi, and they conflicted. How hard can it be to understand this? Besides, the best evidence we have today is that it wasn’t a preplanned attack. It was an opportunistic attack organized in less than a day. What’s more, the groups that led the attack had only the most tenuous ties to Al Qaeda.

Aside from that, there’s this continuing weird totem around the word “terrorist.” What’s the point of this? Hillary Clinton called the attackers a “small and savage group.” Susan Rice called them extremists. Others used different words. It’s hard to understand why this matters. The attack was carried out by mostly local militant groups with mostly local grievances and no serious ties to Al Qaeda. The precise word you use to describe these folks can’t possibly be that important, can it?

And an aside….

Critics have focused heavily on the fact that the Obama administration blamed the “Innocence of Muslims” video for the violence that had erupted around the Middle East and then, indirectly, provoked the attacks in Benghazi. But I think everyone needs a trip down memory lane here. That video was a very, very big deal at the time. Maybe everyone has now forgotten this, but it did spark riots all over the region and it was the subject of nearly constant coverage in the local media both before and after the Benghazi attacks. The notion that it was responsible for regional violence at the time and at least partially responsible for what happened in Benghazi was hardly some bizarre flight of fancy.

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Chris Wallace Demands Answers to Yet More Benghazi Questions That Have Already Been Answered Dozens of Times

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Can Bobby Jindal Drive Out the GOP’s Demons?

Mother Jones

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Illustration by Marc Burckhardt

BOBBY JINDAL has never been one to wait. And so in November 2012, just one week after Barack Obama was reelected in a race the conservative establishment had long refused to believe it might lose, the 41-year-old governor of Louisiana stuck a knife in Mitt Romney’s back.

The party’s old guard was reeling and Jindal seemed poised to take advantage and confirm that he was a contender to lead the party in 2016. In winning a second gubernatorial term one year earlier, Jindal had crushed his top Democratic challenger by nearly 50 points, helping Republicans take control of the state Senate for the first time since Reconstruction. As Romney exited the national stage, Jindal was locking down the chairmanship of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), a perch that is generally considered a steppingstone to bigger things because of its access to a national network of conservative donors. And in his personal story and ethnic heritage, he offered a walking counterpoint to his party’s demographic stagnation.

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Can Bobby Jindal Drive Out the GOP’s Demons?

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World Briefing | Asia: The Philippines: Strong Typhoon Lands

The United States Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii said the typhoon, Haiyan, had maximum sustained winds of 195 miles per hour, with gusts up to 235 m.p.h. View post:  World Briefing | Asia: The Philippines: Strong Typhoon Lands ; ;Related ArticlesNational Briefing | South: Arkansas: ExxonMobil Fines Proposed After Oil SpillColorado Cities’ Rejection of Fracking Poses Political Test for Natural Gas IndustryCase of Insect Interruptus Yields a Rare Fossil Find ;

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World Briefing | Asia: The Philippines: Strong Typhoon Lands

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If Only… Grazed Grasslands Could Sop Up All Industrial CO2

A popular talk on how livestock grazing can stop global warming gets a tough scrub. Original article:  If Only… Grazed Grasslands Could Sop Up All Industrial CO2 ; ;Related ArticlesDot Earth Blog: If Only… Grazed Grasslands Could Sop Up All Industrial CO2A Closer Look at Climate Panel’s Findings on Global Warming ImpactsClimate Change Seen Posing Risk to Food Supplies ;

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If Only… Grazed Grasslands Could Sop Up All Industrial CO2

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Helen Caldicott, Chernobyl and the New York Academy of Sciences

A closer look at a claim of a million deaths from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster. Link:  Helen Caldicott, Chernobyl and the New York Academy of Sciences ; ;Related ArticlesDot Earth Blog: Helen Caldicott, Chernobyl and the New York Academy of SciencesIf Only… Grazed Grasslands Could Sop Up All Industrial CO2‘To Those Influencing Environmental Policy But Opposed to Nuclear Power’ ;

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Helen Caldicott, Chernobyl and the New York Academy of Sciences

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ExxonMobil wins and regular folks lose in $1 billion pollution ruling

ExxonMobil wins and regular folks lose in $1 billion pollution ruling

Thomas Hawk

Guess who wins.

Susan and Robert Lazzaro buy bottled water for cooking and drinking. Their jacuzzi sits empty and baths are out of the question. They limit their showers to two minutes or less.

And like many other homeowners in Jacksonville, Md., the Lazarros fear that the savings they invested in their home were wiped out when a local ExxonMobil gas station leaked for more than a month in 2006, poisoning the groundwater upon which they depended.

All was not lost: In 2011, a jury awarded victims of the gasoline leak $1.5 billion in compensation and punitive damages. Of that sum, $5.6 million was to go to the Lazarros.

But we’re talking about an oil giant here. Inevitability ran its course and all suddenly seems lost again.

That’s according to The Baltimore Sun, which reports that Maryland’s highest court on Tuesday rejected $1 billion in punitive damages from the $1.5 billion verdict and also rejected some claims from an earlier case in which $150 million was awarded to a smaller number of plaintiffs. The court ruled that victims of the pollution should not be compensated for emotional distress, nor should ExxonMobil have to pay for monitoring their health. From the article:

Charlie Engelmann, a spokesman for ExxonMobil, said in an email that the company was pleased with the decision.

“The evidence showed that we acted appropriately after the accident and the court has agreed,” Engelmann wrote. “We have apologized to the Jacksonville community and we remain ready to compensate those who were truly damaged by this unfortunate accident. We will continue the cleanup.”

The court rejected all six claims of fraud the jury affirmed in 2011, including ExxonMobil’s alleged willful deceptions of public officials and residents before and after the accident.

While ExxonMobil officials were pleased by the ruling, the Lazarros and their neighbors are left wondering how they will pick up the remnants of their polluted lives. ”We’re all still in a state of shock,” Susan Lazzaro told the newspaper. “It leaves us with such a sense of defeat because we are still living with this nightmare.”

The Associated Press reported that 150 families were affected by Tuesday’s ruling and that new trials have been ordered.

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ExxonMobil wins and regular folks lose in $1 billion pollution ruling

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