At least 8 million tons of plastics enter the ocean each year, and researchers predict that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. To put a stop to the pollution, companies and consumers are banding together. Adrian Grenier, Actor, Entrepreneur, and Co-Founder of Lonely Whale Foundation, an organization trying to battle plastic waste entering the ocean joined us to discuss.
Grenier shares how Lonely Whale is campaigning to reduce the flood of plastic leaking into our oceans. The "Entourage" star's organization teamed up with Dell to convene a cross-industry working group made up of global companies in order to tackle the pollution problem. In 2016, Dell reached its 2020 goal of recycling 50 million pounds of recycled materials into its product.
Grenier says the key to solving the problem is infrastructure. Over 80% of ocean plastic comes from land-based sources, according to a report from McKinsey. He says we must figure out a way to bring the plastic back into the supply chain so companies can find uses for it.
Universities like UCLA, Yale, and Duke have announced they're implementing remote learning amid the COVID omicron variant surge, despite President Biden recommending that K-12 schools should continue in-person education. Jared C. Bass, senior director for Higher Education at American Progress, joined Cheddar to break down what institutions of higher education might be considering differently. "I think some universities are allowing periods of a bit of a respite to allow students to get testing and make sure when they do return back to campus that they're healthy," he noted.
The typical holiday rush to malls and other retail outlets on "Super Saturday" fell by 26 percent compared to 2019. Melissa Gonzalez, CEO and founder of retail strategist Lionesque Group, told Cheddar that shopping habits had already been changing. "I just think there's a shift in general. And then there's just a lot more pre-planning, and I don't think that's going to go away," she said. "You saw a lot of holiday gift guides go out earlier and deals go out earlier, so I think that's just going to be a trend going forward." She also discussed how cryptocurrency is going to play a role in retail in 2022.
Jeanenne Tornatore, travel expert, media personality, content creator, and former Orbitz senior editor, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she runs through items flyers should be mindful of this holiday season as the omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread.
With only two days left until Christmas, last-minute shoppers are facing major issues caused by supply chain shortages and the rising omicron variant. Kristen Gall, president of Rakuten Rewards, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Waze launched its first-ever "Year in Rear View" survey. Andrew Stober, Waze Head of Public Partnerships and Carpool, takes a look back at the year in travel to see the places we drove the most, the books and music that kept us entertained, and what we can expect in 2022.
Juan Perez Jr., education reporter for Politico, breaks down why Black Americans are leaving Chicago and how political controversy is impacting representation.
Marvel's "Spiderman: No Way Home" is the third highest-grossing film of the year and could be the only one to reach the $1 billion mark of 2021 with ticket sales already surpassing $750 million.
