Plastic

Author : Susan Freinkel
Publisher : HMH
ISBN 13 : 0547549148
Total Pages : 341 pages
Book Rating : 4.49/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Plastic written by Susan Freinkel and published by HMH. This book was released on 2011-04-18 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This eloquent, elegant book thoughtfully plumbs the . . . consequences of our dependence on plastics” (The Boston Globe, A Best Nonfiction Book of 2011). From pacemakers to disposable bags, plastic built the modern world. But a century into our love affair, we’re starting to realize it’s not such a healthy relationship. As journalist Susan Freinkel points out in this eye-opening book, we’re at a crisis point. Plastics draw on dwindling fossil fuels, leach harmful chemicals, litter landscapes, and destroy marine life. We’re drowning in the stuff, and we need to start making some hard choices. Freinkel tells her story through eight familiar plastic objects: a comb, a chair, a Frisbee, an IV bag, a disposable lighter, a grocery bag, a soda bottle, and a credit card. With a blend of lively anecdotes and analysis, she sifts through scientific studies and economic data, reporting from China and across the United States to assess the real impact of plastic on our lives. Her conclusion is severe, but not without hope. Plastic points the way toward a new creative partnership with the material we love, hate, and can’t seem to live without. “When you write about something so ubiquitous as plastic, you must be prepared to write in several modes, and Freinkel rises to this task. . . . She manages to render the most dull chemical reaction into vigorous, breathless sentences.” —SF Gate “Freinkel’s smart, well-written analysis of this love-hate relationship is likely to make plastic lovers take pause, plastic haters reluctantly realize its value, and all of us understand the importance of individual action, political will, and technological innovation in weaning us off our addiction to synthetics.” —Publishers Weekly “A compulsively interesting story. Buy it (with cash).” —Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature “What a great read—rigorous, smart, inspiring, and as seductive as plastic itself.” —Karim Rashid, designer

Author : Ranjan Ghosh
Publisher : Cornell University Press
ISBN 13 : 1501766287
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.82/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Plastic Turn written by Ranjan Ghosh and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2022-11-15 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Plastic Turn offers a novel way of looking at plastic as the defining material of our age and at the plasticity of plastic as an innovative means of understanding the arts and literature. Ranjan Ghosh terms this approach the material-aesthetic and, through this concept, traces the emergence and development of plastic polymers along the same historical trajectory as literary modernism. Plastic's growth as a product in the culture industry, its formation through multiple application and chemical syntheses, and its circulation via oceanic movements, Ghosh argues, correspond with, and offers novel insights into, developments in modernist literature and critical theory. Through innovative readings of canonical modernist texts, analyses of art works, and accounts of plastic's devastating environmental impact, The Plastic Turn proposes plastic's unique properties and destructive ubiquity as a "theory machine" to explain literature and life in the Anthropocene. Introducing several new concepts (like plastic literature, plastic literary, etc.) into critical-humanist discourse, Ghosh enmeshes literature and theory, materiality and philosophy, history and ecology, to explore why plastic as a substance and as an idea intrigues, disturbs, and haunts us.

Author : Heather Davis
Publisher : Duke University Press
ISBN 13 : 147802237X
Total Pages : 107 pages
Book Rating : 4.74/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Plastic Matter written by Heather Davis and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2022-02-04 with total page 107 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Plastic is ubiquitous. It is in the Arctic, in the depths of the Mariana Trench, and in the high mountaintops of the Pyrenees. It is in the air we breathe and the water we drink. Nanoplastics penetrate our cell walls. Plastic is not just any material—it is emblematic of life in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In Plastic Matter Heather Davis traces plastic’s relations to geology, media, biology, and race to show how matter itself has come to be understood as pliable, disposable, and consumable. The invention and widespread use of plastic, Davis contends, reveals the dominance of the Western orientation to matter and its assumption that matter exists to be endlessly manipulated and controlled by humans. Plastic’s materiality and pliability reinforces these expectations of what matter should be and do. Davis charts these relations to matter by mapping the queer multispecies relationships between humans and plastic-eating bacteria and analyzing photography that documents the racialized environmental violence of plastic production. In so doing, Davis provokes readers to reexamine their relationships to matter and life in light of plastic’s saturation.

Author : Michiel Roscam Abbing
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 1642830089
Total Pages : 138 pages
Book Rating : 4.88/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Plastic Soup written by Michiel Roscam Abbing and published by . This book was released on 2019-04 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Plastics have transformed every aspect of our lives. Yet the very properties that make them attractive--they are cheap to make, light, and durable--spell disaster when trash makes its way into the environment. Plastic Soup: An Atlas of Ocean Pollution is a beautifully-illustrated survey of the plastics clogging our seas, their impacts on wildlife and people around the world, and inspirational initiatives designed to tackle the problem. With striking photography and graphics, Plastic Soup brings plastic pollution to brilliant life for readers. According to some estimates, if we continue on our current path, the oceans will contain more plastic than fish by the year 2050. Created to inform and inspire readers, Plastic Soup is a critical tool in the fight to reverse this trend.

Author : Kate Nelson
Publisher : Lost the Plot
ISBN 13 : 9781925700602
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.07/5 ( download)

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Download or read book I Quit Plastics written by Kate Nelson and published by Lost the Plot. This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kate Nelson has been disposable-plastic free for a decade. She started small: stopping her use of plastic bags and water bottles, refusing straws and carrying a reusable cup for takeaway coffee. But unhappy with how much plastic she still handled in her day-to-day life, she knew she had to do more. It took years, but Kate has developed effective strategies that others can easily adopt. This inspiring and practical guide to reducing your use of plastic is packed with information, how-to's and tips to help you cook, clean, shop, wear, and live plastic-free. Kate shows how to reduce your waste and live more simply and sustainably, no matter where you're starting from. With over 60 recipes--covering nutrition, bodycare, hygiene and cleaning--Kate Nelson provides the tools you need to make small personal changes that have lasting global impact. Includes dual measures.

Author : Charles Moore
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101517786
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.89/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Plastic Ocean written by Charles Moore and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011-10-27 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The researcher who discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch—and remains one of today's key advocates for plastic pollution awareness—inspires a fundamental rethinking of the modern Plastic Age. In 1997, environmentalist Charles Moore discovered the world's largest collection of floating trash—the Great Pacific Garbage Patch ("GPGP")—while sailing from Hawaii to California. Moore was shocked by the level of pollution that he saw. And in the last 20 years, it's only gotten worse—a 2018 study has found that the vast dump of plastic waste swirling in the Pacific Ocean is now bigger than France, Germany, and Spain combined—far larger than previously feared. In Plastic Ocean, Moore recounts his ominous findings and unveils the secret life of plastics. From milk jugs and abandoned fishing gear to polymer molecules small enough to penetrate human skin and be unknowingly inhaled, plastic is now suspected of contributing to a host of ailments, including infertility, autism, thyroid dysfunction, and certain cancers. An urgent call to action, Plastic Ocean's sobering revalations have been embraced by activists, concerned parents, and anyone alarmed by the deadly impact and implications of this man-made environmental catastrophe.

Author : Jay Sinha
Publisher : Page Street Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1624144268
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.64/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Life Without Plastic written by Jay Sinha and published by Page Street Publishing. This book was released on 2017-12-12 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After the birth of their son, Jay Sinha and Chantal Plamondon set out on a journey to eliminate plastic baby bottles as the Canadian government banned BPA. When they found it was difficult to procure glass baby bottles, Jay and Chantal made it their mission to not only find glass and metal replacements for plastic, but to make those products accessible to the public as well. Printed on wood-free FSC (sustainable certified) paper and with BPA-free ink, Life Without Plastic strives to create more awareness on the issue of BPA, polycarbonates and other single-use plastics, and provides readers with safe, reusable and affordable alternatives. While plastic has its uses in technology, medical and some products around the home, certain single-use plastics release chemicals when put in contact with food and water. These disposable plastics are also found in produce and cleaning products. Jay and Chantal show readers how to analyze their personal plastic use, find alternatives and create easy replacements in this step-by-step guide. Get your family healthier, spread consciousness and create positive reflection on you for helping the environment by taking action.

Author : Paul D. Q. Campbell
Publisher : Industrial Press Inc.
ISBN 13 : 9780831130657
Total Pages : 266 pages
Book Rating : 4.52/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Plastic Component Design written by Paul D. Q. Campbell and published by Industrial Press Inc.. This book was released on 1996 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is for the industrial designer interested in the applications of plastics in products and industry. It explains how different plastics are processed, and it contains extensive examples of common and unusual plastic components and products with an explanation of how they are manufactured. Every year, more products are being replaced or augmented by the same product made from plastic, and this trend has resulted in much debate about the effectiveness of plastic replacements. Today's plastics can be designed to operate in all weather conditions and chemical surroundings. They can be economically produced for short run part production or readily adapted to high quantity production, and they can be cut, glued, tapped, or machined by traditional methods to suit design needs. Explains how to choose the best processing method, what fastening or joining methods can be used, and how to use the characteristics of a plastic to judge its suitability for an application. Covers all major contemporary molding processes. Discusses, in detail, important topics such as surface finish and special effects.

Author : Eugenie Samuel Reich
Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 9780230224674
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.79/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Plastic Fantastic written by Eugenie Samuel Reich and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2009-05-12 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses the scientific scandal that arose when researchers at Bell Laboratories discovered that wunderkind physicist Jan Hendrik Schön falsified his data to prove that he had discovered a simpler way to make transistors, which would have drastically improved energy technology.

Author : Will McCallum
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0525506144
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.40/5 ( download)

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Download or read book How to Give Up Plastic written by Will McCallum and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2019-07-16 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An accessible guide to the changes we can all make—small and large—to rid our lives of disposable plastic and clean up the world’s oceans How to Give Up Plastic is a straightforward guide to eliminating plastic from your life. Going room by room through your home and workplace, Greenpeace activist Will McCallum teaches you how to spot disposable plastic items and find plastic-free, sustainable alternatives to each one. From carrying a reusable straw, to catching microfibers when you wash your clothes, to throwing plastic-free parties, you’ll learn new and intuitive ways to reduce plastic waste. And by arming you with a wealth of facts about global plastic consumption and anecdotes from activists fighting plastic around the world, you’ll also learn how to advocate to businesses and leaders in your community and across the country to commit to eliminating disposable plastics for good. It takes 450 years for a plastic bottle to fully biodegrade, and there are around 12.7 million tons of plastic entering the ocean each year. At our current pace, in the year 2050 there could be more plastic in the oceans than fish, by weight. These are alarming figures, but plastic pollution is an environmental crisis with a solution we can all contribute to.