In 1973, Dupont patented the PET (PolyEthylene Terephthalate) plastic bottle as an innovative and durable alternative to glass. Since then, production of plastic bottles has skyrocketed to 500 billion a year.

Most people think our plastics problem is primarily about litter. And yes–there is a litter problem. But plastics also pollute air, water, foods and beverages with toxic chemicals.

Defend Our Health is a Maine based nonprofit that’s studying plastics as part of a campaign to eliminate plastic pollutants. Defend’s recent report, “The Hidden Hazards of a Plastic Bottle” traces the “chemical footprint” of a plastic bottle from fabrication [… continue reading]

When I visited my family summer home last week I saw something troubling: the tick, mosquito and lawn chemical people were out. Everywhere.

The lovely, high-end neighborhood where I grew up is right on Mattapoisett harbor—a place that used to be teeming with life. As a kid I used to scoop up starfish and bay scallops at low tide. I haven’t seen a starfish or bay scallop there in years. In fact, low tide now looks like a dead zone.

My brother just hired an organic landscaper for our family summer place. When he met the new landscaper, he asked him if [… continue reading]

For the first time, a state is being sued for it’s support of the fossil fuel industry. Sixteen children have sued Montana for violating their constitutional rights to a clean and healthy environment. The trial will begin June 12.

Under Montana’s state constitution, all citizens have the right to a “clean and healthy environment”. These rights were established at a constitutional convention in 1972 for the purpose of reducing the influence of the copper and coal industries. Pennsylvania and New York have similar rights.

Montana has been generous to the fossil fuel industry. The state has offered easy permitting and [… continue reading]

George Lakey is an activist, sociologist and writer who has added an academic underpinning to revolutionary change. But George is much more than that. From his arrest in the civil rights movement to his recent climate justice march at the age of eighty-three, George has committed his life to taking action for a more peaceful, equitable and healthy world.

I first met George in 2015 when he came to Maine to do a conference keynote. I picked him up at the airport and took him to dinner the night before his speaking engagement. We talked for hours that night. And we’ve [… continue reading]

What if we had a system that could capture and report green house gas emissions from sites all over the world? What if this system could monitor emissions accurately in real time, so we could pinpoint where pollution is coming from? What if we had a system that could tell us if climate policies are actually working? What if the data collected by this system was accessible and free to the public?

We now a system that does all of these things. It’s called Climate TRACE (Tracking Real Time Atmospheric Carbon Emissions). The system gathers data and images from existing [… continue reading]

Will we make it? This question is on our collective minds. We worry. We get anxious. We don’t like to think about it.

But what if everything turned out OK? What would the world look like, sound like, smell like, and feel like if we created a joyful and healthy future?
I’ve thought about this question for years. Chapter 14 of my book Advocating for the Environment describes a future where everything does turn out OK.

I hoped it would stimulate some interesting conversations with readers about possible futures. But so far, no one has commented on it. And I’ve wondered [… continue reading]

I don’t usually get emotional over EPA rule making. But reading that the US Chamber of Commerce said “reducing particulate matter may hamper our ability to build badly needed infrastructure” spiked my heart rate and got my adrenaline flowing.

Why? Because the only “needed infrastructure” that would be impacted by the new rules is infrastructure that burns coal and oil.

At the heart of this issue is public health and environmental justice. Particulate matter—more commonly known as soot—is small particles from smokestacks, trucks and other industrial activities. These tiny particles can embed in the lungs and have been linked to [… continue reading]

Imagine how the world would look and feel if we made a healthy, joyous, safe and equitable planet a reality. Now imagine it would only take 25% of us to bring this about*. Research has shown this can happen. (See post below on critical mass to learn more.) But in order for it to happen, we have to imagine it, we have to feel it, we have to believe it, and we have to take action.

The above is the beginning paragraph of my book, Advocating for the Environment. It’s also a terrific way to begin the New Year. Humanity [… continue reading]

I was walking with my niece Emily when she piped up about a recent conversation she’d had: “My friend denies climate change and there was nothing I could say to change her mind, she said. She sounded worried.

In my response to her I explained that all you need to effect change is critical mass. You see, when it comes to social change, not everyone has to agree. We don’t need 100% consensus. We don’t even need a majority. We just need a critical mass of people in support of a clean and healthy planet.

So what exactly is critical [… continue reading]

In my college classes and in my book I attempt to explain why places like Cancer Alley exist. I figure if we can understand why, then we will know where and how to make effective change.
It’s easy to see that the lives and health of the people in St. Joseph’s Parish aren’t valued by the shareholders of Formosa Plastics. Shareholders invest for profit. That’s the only thing they measure and the only thing management is accountable for.

Formosa is a $38 billion company headquartered in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. It’s highly unlikely that any of the investors or senior managers have ever [… continue reading]