Plastic Inc.: The Secret History and Shocking Future of Big Oil's Biggest Bet

ISBN: 0593717104

Author: Gardiner, Beth

Condition: New

A New York Times Book Review Editors ChoiceAn extraordinary expos of the industry flooding our world with plastic-and now ramping up to make more than everA compelling true-crime story. -Zo Schlanger, The New York Times Book ReviewDeeply researched, sharply written, and totally compelling. -Elizabeth Kolbert, author of the The Sixth ExtinctionIt is impossible not to compare Beth Gardiners Plastic Inc. to Rachel Carsons Silent Spring. -John Vaillant, author of Fire WeatherPlastic, the foundational material of modern consumerism, is everywhere in our daily lives. But the oil and petrochemical companies making it are hiding in plain sight. Because for all the vivid coverage of where plastic ends up, there is remarkably little discussion of where it comes from. Today, industry is pouring billions of dollars into plans to double, or even triple, the amount it churns out, even as individuals concerned about plastics out-of-control proliferation try to use less. As Big Oil stares down a future of diminishing demand for fossil fuels, plastic has become its financial lifeline.Award-winning journalist Beth Gardiner gives readers an up-close look at the plastic industrys relentless growth, its extraordinary profits, its toxic pollution and its hidden role in exacerbating climate change. Every chapter in Plastic Inc. brings new revelations, including how Big Oil pushed the lie that recycling was the answer to our plastic mess, even though companies always knew it couldn't work at scale; the hidden health crisis caused by chemicals and microplastics in the items we use every day; and the alarming parallels between the marketing strategies used by plastic producers and those of tobacco companies and Big Pharma.Plastic Inc.s gripping stories will reframe for readers a problem many of us think we understand, but which has deeper roots, and greater dangers, than we know.