10 Peak Plastic What This Book Is About A false dichotomy exists today wherein some consider plastic to be pur- posely good, while others believe it to be wickedly bad. Both these views cannot be correct as definitive statements, and the truth is neither of them are plastic provides both a net benefit to society we cannot do without while also becoming a growing existential threat we cannot live with either. The purpose of this book is not to be able to answer all these questions but rather to validate them as legitimate concerns and to put forth the appropri- ate degree of concern around solving them. To identify a problem of this level of mystery will require a multidisciplinary approach rather than taking on this complex problem from only one angle. In the next chapter, I will define plastic in an unconventional, multidisciplinary manner by weaving together polymer science, supply chain, public policy, environmental sci- ence, and other fields to demonstrate why plastic is more than just a material and can be considered a culture just the same. Might plastic be harmful to our health? It is a question that must be considered without being burdened as to whether it is correlative or causal. Concerns appear to be inconclusive at this point, but that just means we do not know, and the scale and com- plexity of plastic material makes it difficult to discern. In chapter 2, I seek to weave a blanket of the many dimensions of plastic without an indisput- able verdict, but opening the possibilities allows us to change its metaphor this degree of understanding must be much deeper than that of plastic as a material. After this baseline of a technical, supply chain, and policy discussion of plastic, chapter 3 delves into how these materials can impact both our soci- ety and natural ecosystems, with a primary focus on the oceans. Our oceans are a source of food and oxygen critical to our health and safety. There is suf- ficient evidence our oceans are on the brink of collapse through this mass introduction of synthetic substances, mainly plastic, its associated chemi- cals, and carbon dioxide as a matter of climate change. Certainly the debate on climate change is a contentious and political one, at least in the United States, and yet there are solutions in motion to address them, such as electric cars and renewable energy. In contrast, plastic systems have few meaningful alternatives for how it will stop harming our oceans and potentially our own bodies. In regions of Southeast Asia, a tipping point is happening today, as I will illustrate in this chapter. After this overview of plastic and its impact to the environment, chapter 4 addresses the concept of this Peak Plastic tipping point and what it would mean if we reach this point. If this tipping point indeed matters, what is its impact to us, and why should we care? This is an important chapter, since most Americans and others in the developed world pay little attention to this seemingly harmless material and what impact it may have to our future.
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