plastic pollution
Credit: Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash
Animals can tell us what pollution is left behind
Preserved birds, fish, and coral are helping scientists reconstruct decades of toxic pollution, filling in environmental data gaps and pointing to hidden health risks today.
In short:
- Researchers are turning to natural history museum specimens to track historical pollution, revealing how chemicals like lead and mercury have saturated both wildlife and human communities.
- A study found that house sparrows living near lead-mining towns in Australia had blood-lead levels that closely mirrored those of children living in the same areas.
- Coral skeletons from Spain’s Mediterranean coast captured fossil fuel pollution spikes from 1969 to 1992, helping pinpoint when human impact on the planet sharply accelerated.
Key quote:
“These specimens that exist in collections around the world have incidentally captured environmental samples from places and times that we can never return to, so we can use them to backfill the environmental record.”
— Shane DuBay, biologist at the University of Texas at Arlington and lead author on the study
Why this matters:
Archives of animal tissue are doing something our governments and industries often fail to do: preserving the evidence. Coral skeletons, like geological black boxes, are chronicling decades of fossil fuel pollution, pinpointing with grim precision when humanity hit the gas on planetary damage. In a world still battling with mercury, PFAS, and microplastics, the past isn’t past. It’s embedded in flesh and bone.
Read more: Why is the chemical industry pitting public health against economic growth?
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World leaders back ocean treaty and new marine reserves, but critics say action still lags
The United Nations Ocean Summit in France ended with pledges to ratify a treaty protecting international waters, but world leaders faced pushback for slow progress and weak commitments on key issues like bottom trawling and deep-sea mining.
In short:
- Sixty heads of state and 190 ministers met in Nice for the UN ocean summit, where France announced that the high seas treaty is expected to take effect by January 2026.
- Four new nations joined calls for a ban or moratorium on deep-sea mining, while 90 ministers supported a strong global plastics treaty ahead of negotiations in August.
- Critics, including Pacific island leaders and ocean advocates, said rich nations, especially France, fell short in addressing destructive fishing practices like bottom trawling.
Key quote:
“President Macron promised action on bottom trawling in marine protected areas but delivered only artificial limits and empty words.”
— Alexandra Cousteau, adviser to Oceana and granddaughter of Jacques Cousteau
Why this matters:
Oceans are central to life on Earth, producing over half the oxygen we breathe and absorbing much of the planet’s carbon dioxide. But decades of industrial overfishing, pollution, warming, and climate-driven acidification have pushed marine ecosystems toward collapse. Bottom trawling, a fishing method that scrapes the ocean floor, destroys habitats vital to biodiversity and carbon storage. Deep-sea mining threatens to scar untouched seafloors before their ecological value is even understood. While marine protected areas and international treaties offer hope, only a fraction of the ocean is currently safeguarded. Without enforceable limits and meaningful investment, rhetoric at high-level summits risks becoming a substitute for action, leaving frontline nations and future generations to bear the cost of marine decline.
Read more: Global effort to protect international waters nears milestone as more countries back UN ocean treaty
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New York weighs bold packaging law to cut landfill waste and reduce pollution
New York lawmakers are considering a bill that would force packaging producers to cut non-recyclable waste by 30% over 12 years, as the city struggles to manage its mounting trash and landfill burden.
In short:
- The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act would require packaging companies to register with the state, develop waste-cutting plans, and help fund recycling and composting efforts, while banning certain chemicals in packaging.
- Businesses and industry groups, including the plastics and chemical sectors, oppose the bill, arguing it is costly and unworkable, while supporters say it would save money and reduce environmental harm without raising consumer prices.
- Most of New York City’s trash is sent to landfills upstate or in neighboring states, with low-income communities and communities of color bearing the brunt of pollution and health impacts from waste transfer stations and truck emissions.
Key quote:
“This is David vs. Goliath on steroids. There is a lot of opposition from the New York State Business Council, American Chemistry Council, ExxonMobil, Amazon. It’s a rogues’ gallery of polluters that have lined up to oppose the bill.”
— Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics and a former regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Why this matters:
New York’s trash crisis is a public health and environmental threat. With only 17% of curbside waste recycled, most of the city’s garbage ends up in landfills, often in rural or low-income communities already overburdened by pollution. Diesel trucks hauling trash add to air pollution, increasing the risk of asthma, cancer, and heart disease, especially for children and people of color. Landfills also emit methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that drives climate change. Reducing packaging waste could help cut plastic waste, improve air quality, and make neighborhoods healthier for everyone.
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Tulane faces backlash for silencing researcher exposing pollution and racial bias
A Tulane University scientist has resigned, alleging she was muzzled for exposing how Louisiana’s petrochemical industry harms Black communities through pollution and discriminatory hiring.
In short:
- Dr. Kimberly Terrell resigned from Tulane’s Environmental Law Clinic, claiming the university censored her advocacy and barred her from discussing her studies linking toxic pollution to racial health disparities.
- Internal emails show university officials feared her work would jeopardize political and donor support for a high-profile redevelopment project tied to New Orleans’ historic Charity Hospital.
- Terrell’s research revealed higher cancer rates, premature births, and unequal employment in Black communities near petrochemical facilities, sparking pushback from elected officials and donors.
Key quote:
“I cannot remain silent as this university sacrifices academic integrity for political appeasement and pet projects. Our work is too important, and the stakes are too high, to sit back and watch special interests replace scholarship with censorship.”
— Kimberly Terrell, former director of community engagement, Tulane Environmental Law Clinic
Why this matters:
Here's a story that cuts right to the bone of environmental justice in the South, where petrochemical plants line the Mississippi River with polluting smoke stacks and nearby communities have long been treated as sacrifice zones. It's another blow to environmental justice and academic freedom in the face of corporate and political influence.
Read more:
- “Cancer Alley” residents exposed to more than the lifetime exposure limit for cancer-causing compound: Report
- Op-ed: “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you” — disabling environments in Cancer Alley and the Ohio River Valley
- Community activists plead to be heard through “closed doors” outside nation’s top energy conference
- Lives “devastated’ by petrochemical industry pollution in Texas: Report
- Op-ed: Why is the chemical industry pitting public health against economic growth?
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Costa Rica pushes global ocean protections and deep sea mining moratorium
Costa Rica’s president used the United Nations Ocean Conference to call for a global pause on deep sea mining and greater international cooperation to protect marine ecosystems.
In short:
- Costa Rica, which protects 30% of its marine territory, co-hosted the U.N. Ocean Conference in Nice, urging countries to halt deep sea mining until more research is available.
- President Rodrigo Chaves Robles emphasized that safeguarding oceans benefits all nations and that harmful practices like plastic pollution and bottom trawling must be addressed collectively.
- Costa Rica is using payments for environmental services and technology like satellite tracking to curb illegal fishing and support conservation efforts, especially in vulnerable coastal communities.
Key quote:
“For decades now, we have treated the ocean as a sort of infinite pantry or food store, but also we’ve treated it as a global waste dump.”
— Rodrigo Chaves Robles, president of Costa Rica
Why this matters:
The ocean covers over 70% of the planet and absorbs around a quarter of the carbon dioxide humans emit each year, buffering us from climate catastrophe. But industrial fishing, plastic pollution, warming waters, and now deep-sea mining threaten marine biodiversity and the livelihoods of millions who depend on healthy seas. Deep sea mining in particular risks damaging fragile ecosystems that scientists barely understand, yet it’s gaining momentum due to demand for metals used in electric batteries. Costa Rica’s call for a moratorium reflects growing concern that industry is outpacing science. As some nations expand marine protections, others resist regulation, leaving the ocean vulnerable. Decisions made now could shape the fate of Earth’s largest carbon sink — and a cornerstone of global food security — for generations.
Related: Global effort to protect international waters nears milestone as more countries back UN ocean treaty
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World leaders to meet in France to confront ocean crisis and push for $100 billion in pledges
A global conference in Nice next month will convene over 10,000 participants, including world leaders and scientists, to address warming seas, plastic pollution, and dwindling ocean resources.
In short:
- The U.N. Ocean Conference, hosted by France and Costa Rica from June 7–13, will gather world leaders, businesses, and civil society groups to develop the Nice Ocean Action Plan targeting pollution, overfishing, and climate stress.
- France seeks 60 ratifications for a high seas biodiversity treaty and plans to push for protections covering 30% of the world’s oceans, decarbonized shipping, and increased funding.
- The Trump administration may open American Samoa’s seabed to mineral extraction, highlighting growing tensions over deep-sea mining, which is not addressed in the conference’s declaration due to lack of consensus.
Key quote:
“What is different this time around? Zero rhetoric. Maximum results.”
— Maritza Chan Valverde, Costa Rica’s U.N. Ambassador
Why this matters:
The health of the ocean underpins much of life on Earth, yet its systems are buckling under the weight of human activity. Rising ocean temperatures are intensifying storms and threatening marine biodiversity. Meanwhile, plastic pollution kills wildlife and contaminates seafood, while overfishing depletes key food sources for billions of people. Maritime shipping, a major carbon emitter, adds to the climate burden. Ocean degradation isn’t confined to the deep — it impacts food security, weather patterns, and economies everywhere, particularly in coastal communities and island nations. What happens to the oceans is a public health issue, a food justice issue, and a planetary one. And with some governments now eyeing deep-sea mining as a new industrial frontier, the stakes are rising. Any meaningful progress hinges on whether political promises made in Nice translate to legal enforcement and sustained funding.
Read more: UN urges global action to protect coral reefs facing extinction
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Texas school board faces lawsuit over lack of public notice on Exxon tax break vote
A Texas environmental group is suing a rural school district for allegedly violating state law by failing to properly notify the public ahead of a vote approving a major tax break for ExxonMobil’s proposed plastics plant.
In short:
- The San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper filed suit against Calhoun County Independent School District, claiming it gave only 14 days’ notice — short of the 15-day legal requirement — and buried meeting details deep in its website.
- The lawsuit challenges the district’s April 29 decision to grant ExxonMobil a 50% property tax break on a $10 billion plastics plant that could save the company $242 million over a decade.
- Plaintiff Diane Wilson, a longtime environmental advocate, warns the plant's runoff would drain into waterways undergoing a multimillion-dollar cleanup following a 2019 settlement from her earlier lawsuit against Formosa Plastics.
Key quote:
“This wasn’t just a flaw in the process. We feel it was a deliberate attempt to avoid public opposition.”
— Diane Wilson, executive director of San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper
Why this matters:
Tax abatements for petrochemical projects are increasingly common in rural Texas, where local governments face pressure to stimulate economic growth but often lack the legal infrastructure or public engagement to fully evaluate long-term impacts. When public notice laws are ignored or skirted, communities lose their ability to participate in decisions that could reshape their environment for decades. The ExxonMobil plastics plant in question could produce three million tons of polyethylene annually, adding to the region's legacy of industrial pollution. The area’s waterways, already subject to plastic waste and chemical runoff, risk further contamination. These waters feed into ecosystems and fishing grounds vital to both local livelihoods and biodiversity. Plastics production also brings air emissions, energy use, and microplastics that can infiltrate soils and bodies.
Related: One of the country’s largest petrochemical complexes wants to expand amid community backlash
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