Micro-plastic pollution to the fore – unfortunately it conflates pollution with climate change and seeks hundreds of billions of dollars in damages – not clean-up

Regular readers will know I have a “bee in my bonnet” about the potential for micro-plastics to be a catastrophic cause of ill-health and death – maybe even a global ALL species ending event.

CHD has posted an article here which is of interest t those who, like me, have grave concerns.

Here Come the Lawsuits? Plastic Manufacturers Could Be Held Legally Liable for Pollution • Children's Health Defense (childrenshealthdefense.org)

“As scientific understanding and public awareness of the health and environmental harms of plastics pollution continue to mount, plastics producers and plastic packaging manufacturers could face a rising tide of lawsuits from communities and states seeking to recover damage costs, a new report suggests.”

Here is a link to the 75-page report calling for litigation and proscribing how to do it.

ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/make_polluters_pay_cities_states_recoup_costs_plastic_pollution_report.pdf

Pretty aggressive stuff.

Also referenced in the CHD article is this report:

“The amount of plastic waste worldwide more than doubled between 2000 and 2019, and the material is now so pervasive in ecosystems, food chains and even the human body that it is difficult to find any place on the planet not contaminated with plastics, the report explains.

Tiny plastic fragments called microplastics are found in air, water and soils, resulting in multiple pathways for ingestion into our bodies.

Microplastics can circulate through the bloodstream and accumulate in organs like the lungs, kidneys, stomach and heart, and they have been detected throughout the reproductive system including the placenta, breastmilk, semen, penis and testicles.”

“According to a 2018 study, the plastic-attributable disease burden in the U.S. resulting from plastic chemicals exposure is estimated to cost roughly $249 billion.”

Well, now that the C19 scamdemic has destroyed the creditability of all science, we need to be wary of the agenda lying behind the attacks on big oil. Those completing studies are the product of decades of “woke” ideology, not science.

Similarly, wouldn’t this also lay open the path to suing any manufacturer using plastics in making cloths, make-up et to prosecution? How about the lead acid batteries from autos and trucks that end leeching from a landfill?

The objective here seems to be to bankrupt big oil, not solve the existing problem.

The CHD article also references this paper:

Global trends in climate change litigation: 2024 snapshot - Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment (lse.ac.uk)

Here’s one “key point” in that article:

“At least 230 new climate cases were filed in 2023. Many of these are seeking to hold governments and companies accountable for climate action. However, the number of cases expanded less rapidly last year than previously, which may suggest a consolidation and concentration of strategic litigation efforts in areas anticipated to have high impact.”

In my view, micro-plastics have nothing to do with climate change. They are a separate and distinct threat. Conflating the two is counter-productive to clearing the existing problem up.

Where does it end? Should passengers on airlines be sued for using aircraft? Should people be sued for eating and secreting substances from foods consumed that are more likely to contain toxic substances?

The hypocrisy of the fight with big oil is apparent – renewable energy is the “alternative” and that causes a whole bunch of environmental and ecosystem damage, uses slave labour and – for offshore wind turbines –-kills entire species of whales, dolphins, sharks and fish. Not a pep about that.

The CHD article posts some push back from industry groups, but here is another example of lawfare being misused to pursue a political dogma, instead of cleaning crap up, the effort is to bankrupt and destroy those with an opposing view.

Onwards!!!

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