If you’re looking for something to get you 13 minutes closer to the weekend (and you’re not absorbed in the riveting events going on in Egypt), I recommend this TED talk featuring Van Jones on the way plastics hurt the poor:
In it, Jones looks at the growing concern over plastics in our environment and bodies. While the green movement often focuses on rescuing plastic bottles from landfills, we overlook rescuing the communities poisoned by the production processes, low-income families that use plastic disproportionately, and the overseas workers whose lives are shortened by toxic recycling processes.
Jones lays blame on a culture of disposability: disposable bottles, people, and communities. And in usual Van Jones-style, he brings it back together to show how the cause of greens is ultimately tied to social justice causes.
Wow, thanks for the post Eric. I like how he explains it in terms of the disposable people and disposable products. Bio mimicry also holds great potential, let’s hope it can be tapped.