Plastic pollution is overdramatized and overplayed – it’s not an existential risk
Stafford and Jones 19 [Rick Stafford - Professor of Marine Biology and Conservation, Bournemouth University and Peter JS Jones - Reader in Environmental Governance, UCL, 2-27-2019, accessed on 7-25-2024, "Why plastic pollution shouldn't distract from other environmental challenges", World Economic Forum, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/02/climate-change-obsession-with-plastic-pollution-distracts-attention-from-bigger-environmental-challenges/]
By now, most of us have heard that the use of plastics is a big issue for the environment. Partly fuelled by the success of the , people are more aware than ever before about the – as well as the impact it can have on – with industries promising .
Single use plastics are now high on the agenda – with many people trying to do their bit to reduce usage. But what if all of this just provides a convenient distraction from some of the more serious environmental issues? In our we argue plastic pollution – or more accurately the response of governments and industry to addressing plastic pollution – provides a “convenient truth” that such as climate change.
Yes, we know plastic can entangle birds, fish and marine mammals – which can starve after filling their stomachs with plastics, and yet there are no conclusive studies on population level . Studies on the toxicity effects, especially to humans are . for example, that plastic is not as great a threat to oceans as climate change or over-fishing.