One could argue that the United States is finally being more honest about its massive problem with profound racism because all races are now able to witness the horrors of being Black in this country. This is mostly due to the advent of phones that have filming capabilities and social media. It is now right in front of us. We can no longer look away.We must stare it straight in the face.
There is more protesting, more education, more media made by and depicting the Black experience, and more people supporting Black-owned business. This is long overdue, and although it's progress, it's not enough. And tragically, the actions of everyone in this country, absolutely everyone, is about to have a major impact on Black (and Brown) lives in other countries.
I read this article a few days ago from the New York Times.
Summary: Oil companies in the United States have lobbied (because they are always lobbying) and have won (reads: bought) over the government once again. In the face of the lockdown and other advancements, oil is in trouble. The new solution to their predicament is not investing and obtaining greener technologies, but making more plastic. Just as the United States is finally talking about its plastic problem and making baby steps toward curbing it, big oil steps in. They are building more refineries and factories to produce more plastic for consumption and the "solution" is now to send it to Kenya for "recycling." This will, of course, affect Black lives.
Up until 2018, we sold our plastic to China. China would recycle a small fraction of it but most of it would end up in rivers and oceans due to contamination. What this really means is that the plastic was dirty and the cost to recycle it was more than it was worth. Usually, even if the plastic is clean, it costs more to recycle it than it does to create virgin plastic. Plastic can only be recycled once and in order to recycle plastic, you have to add virgin plastic to used plastic. Plastic only begets more plastic. Read about the truth of recycling here and here and here.
But in 2018, China closed its doors to foreign plastic. So first world countries went on the lookout for third world countries to which we could ship our garbage. Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam virtually overnight became the dumping grounds. These countries don't have the infrastructure to properly recycle this plastic. The plastic is often burned or left out in the sun to decompose, a process that will take hundreds and hundreds of years. The process is also rife with unethical practices regarding labor. People are exploited and exposed to toxins that cause a myriad of health issues. Read more about it here.
Now, the United States has its eyes fixed upon Kenya, a country that has used true democracy to restrict its own plastics. Oil will lobby harder and harder until Kenya breaks. This is a new form of colonialism. This is will endanger lives. This will exploit vulnerable labor. This will sicken the people. Plastic pollutes the water, air and land, and at every stage of production, it is deadly to all life on this planet. Read the entire report about health and plastic here.
We will continue to send our trash to third world countries. If people in first world countries had to live with their filth- see it firsthand, sit in it and have it stare right back in their faces, just like the videos of brutality are doing for the people in the United States, then maybe, just maybe we would do something about it. The United States government will not do anything about this issue. The corporations that are profiting from plastic will never do anything about this issue. It is up to the people to stop using plastic and then will true positive change occur.
Comments