Plastics: As Dangerous as Climate Change, But With a Solution
*By Conor White*
*For more information, visit National Geographic's Planet or Plastic campaign at [http://natgeo.com/planetorplastic](http://natgeo.com/planetorplastic).*
Decades of plastic consumption and the resulting waste has created a global accumulation of non-biodegradable materials that is choking the planet's waterways, as serious a problem as climate change, according to National Geographic. There is, however, one clear difference: Earth has an answer to its plastic problem.
By using silicone or metal straws, reusable water bottles, and canvas grocery bags instead of those made from plastic, consumers can ease the accumulation of plastic waste that's clogging the world's oceans, said Jenna Jambeck, a National Geographic explorer and associate professor at the University of Georgia.
"These sound really sort of mundane, but they're not," Jambeck said in an interview Monday with Cheddar. "They actually do make a difference, and people can choose the planet over plastic."
Each year, more than 9 million tons of plastic waste ends up in the ocean. According to some estimates, that plastic could remain in marine environments for 450 years or longer. National Geographic is hoping to reduce that number with its new ["Planet or Plastic?"](http://natgeo.com/planetorplastic) initiative, encouraging consumers to stop using single-use plastics.
"It can be empowering for people to know that actually, their choices do matter," Jambeck said. "Through this research, if you show that those individual actions that we take every day, taken collectively, or thinking about them over time, they definitely matter."
In 2015, Jambeck and a group of scientists calculated the amount of plastic waste finding its way into the planet's oceans annually, which became the impetus for the National Geographic initiative. It is featured in the June issue of National Geographic.
The 'Planet or Plastic?' initiative includes [tips](https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/05/plastics-facts-infographics-ocean-pollution) for consumers to reduce their use of plastics and a [pledge](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/plasticpledge/?beta=true) to make a difference.
Jambeck said consumers should not to give up if they happen to forget their reusable water bottle or grocery bag.
"Be sort of forgiving with yourself, because every time that you remembered, you actually had an impact," she said.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/national-geographic-launches-planet-or-plastic-initiative).
Plant-based meat giant Beyond Meat's reign over the fast food world continues, as McDonald's announced that it is expanding its test of Beyond's McPlant burger, to nearly 600 restaurants, an increase from the eight that it's been testing in since November. This comes less than two weeks after Beyond Fried Chicken made its nationwide debut at KFC restaurants, the first time that plant based chicken has been widely distributed in a fast food capacity. Arun Sundaram, Senior Equity Analyst at CFRA Research explains why these latest collaborations may be proof that Beyond Meat products could slowly be becoming an unlikely staple in the fast food and chain restaurant world as consumers opt for more healthy food options.
BD Veritor is a variation of the at-home COVID test that uses a smartphone to interpret the results. The test is taken via a nose swab test strip that is then scanned by your phone’s camera with the result clearly displayed as positive or negative. James Walker, vice president of integrated diagnostics USA for BD, joined Cheddar to discuss how the test hopefully takes the "guesswork out of testing." Walker also went into what BD is doing to deal with the surging demand for at-home tests amid the omicron spread. "While we don't disclose how much we produce, we have capacity to manufacture up to 12 million rapid antigen tests per month and are delivering on our commitments to distributors and retailers," he said.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Sidechef CEO breaks down how it's building a platform to make recipe shopping easy; Luum CEO explains the process of having a robot put on eyelash extensions; A look at Curiosity Stream's new original series, 'Evolve.'
Moderna launched a clinical trial of a COVID-19 booster shot specifically targeting the omicron variant. The first participant has already received a dose, and Moderna expects to enroll about 600 adults total, split between two groups. In the first group, participants will have previously received two doses of the Moderna vaccine, and in the second, participants will have received its booster. Dr. Paul Burton, chief medical officer at Moderna, joined Cheddar’s Opening Bell to discuss the trial, yearly boosters, and what lies ahead for the company.
With the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics right around the corner, experts are warning that climate change is threatening not only the event but also the future of snow sports. Despite being the world's top polluter, China is hoping to use the event to demonstrate the country's commitment to fighting climate change, and pledging to host a "low carbon" games. Xubin Zeng, professor of hydrology and atmospheric sciences at the University of Arizona, joins Cheddar News.
New research is suggesting that giving extra cash to low-income mothers can actually influence the brain development of their infants. These findings provide the first rigorous evidence of how payments and monetary support can affect children in the early years of life. Authors of the study, Nathan Fox, professor in the department of human development at the University of Maryland, and Sonya Troller-Renfree, postdoctoral research associate at Teachers College at Columbia University, join Cheddar News to discuss.
Communities of color are disproportionately affected by climate change and continuously feel the impacts. Mark Magaña, founding president and CEO of Green Latinos joined All Hands to discuss.
