Human Impacts Application Assignment

Do You know where your plastic goes?

    This Article, written by lead reporter Erin McCormick and many other contributors answers the exact question posed in the heading. The average American wouldn't know the journey of their discarded plastic, or that over one million tons of plastic waste are exported out of the U.S each year, most of it being contaminated, filthy, and very difficult to reuse. Much of this waste finds its way into third-world countries like Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand. To give a little history, the main importer of America's plastic waste used to be China but as they've cracked down on their quality standards new importers had to be located. The list is a lot longer than just Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand but I wanna highlight these three because they've spoken out the most against the U.S exporting plastic waste to their countries in recent years. The article doesn't detail every environmental impact this process has because that list would be endlessly impossible to create; to name a few would be respiratory illnesses in local indigenous populations, crop death, and contaminated ecosystems due to overwhelming supplies of waste. 

    Speaking of respiratory illnesses, there are other health issues presented in the article impacting the local human populations. The working conditions of indigenous employees have worsened over the years. Each day they inhale toxic fumes that can lead to a plethora of illnesses. Water supplies have been tainted by toxic substances. No one can begin to imagine the fear these people have to drink their own water, but fear does stop them from drinking it because it can cause developmental disorders and increase the likelihood of getting cancer. 

    After describing the events above it can be difficult to understand why the U.S is still exporting its plastic waste to other countries, but the simple answer is financial profit. The industries set in place make billions a year off the entire journey their plastic undergoes, including being sold to third-world countries for processing and recycling. Another reason could be to simply ship our waste away. Why would Americans want to see their own waste when it can be whisked away across the ocean, out of sight out of mind right? This can change though by making Americans more aware of the impacts their plastic has. A good way to do so is demonstrated by images like the one below.

COMPACTED PLASTIC

    Image by blahedo

    

Similar Impacts

    A similar human impact that was also discussed in class would be oil spills in the Amazon rainforest, specifically the Ecuadorian people v. Chevron oil spill case. Plastic and oil are very similar in the way they are used, sold, and the way they affect the environment and indigenous people surrounding them. Both plastic and oil are treated as a commodity, a luxury most first world countries can take advantage of. They are viewed to have an endless supply, so for the companies creating them, there is an endless demand. There are slight differences in the uses of oil and plastics. To some, oil could be seen as a necessity. It fuels cars, fills homes with heat, and has been around decades longer than plastic. Plastic is more often not seen as a necessity unless viewed in specific retrospects like the medical field. Similar comparisons can be made about environmental and indigenous population factors. The article discusses the effects plastic processing has on the local's professions and health. The plastic industry dominates remote village areas forcing the occupants to work in their unsafe facilities. Their health is also in detriment from toxins spread in the soil and water. Like the workers in Vietnam, the Ecuadorian people's livelihoods were also affected by the oil spill. They couldn't hunt if the area was contaminated, which also meant they couldn't provide for themselves anymore. Going off on that point, local animal life, plant life, and river life were harmed by the oil spill, much like the soil and water were in Vietnam. There is no doubt that both indigenous peoples were negatively impacted by plastic and oil. A difference would be the immediateness of the harm. An oil spill has fast, devastating consequences while plastic harm can take longer to develop.

 EMPTY RIVERBED FILLED WITH OIL

                Photo by Julien Gomba

Keene State Usage 

    As Keene State students and citizens we are very involved in the impact plastic consumption has on the environment. Every day hundreds or maybe thousands of disposable plastics are thrown away in the Zorn dining commons alone. Everywhere we turn there are cups, bottles, bags, silverware, food containers, all plastic and all used, disregarded, and shipped off to some location elsewhere. We contribute to the overall aggregate effects plastic usage has on the environment. A cup that could be used tomorrow on campus could end up in the hands of a Vietnamese factory worker a week from now. And from then on the burning of that plastic can add toxins to other humans and the soil and water they depend on. 

    Some solutions that could combat these harmful effects are completing the first two steps of the reduce, reuse, and recycle process. Here at Keene State, we could look to reduce the amount of disposable plastic consumption or switch to alternatives like correctly sorting and cleaning the waste we are making. Creating initiatives to spread awareness of the plastic waste issue could also prove useful. Programs, posters, and seminars on how to correctly throw away our waste would make a great start, or to even further the support for the issue already on campus. These are all small changes that can be implemented but at this current point in time may prove to be the most meaningful. It's difficult to unite the masses and make drastic changes all at once, so implementing the solutions discussed above could make a great start. 

                                                            LIFE HERE AT KEENE

                                                            Photo by Lori L. Stalteri