The Plastic Crisis Isn't On You, Actually

The Most Important Question · Mar 9, 2026 · 1h 3m

Plastic. It is the miracle material that has quietly become the infrastructure of modern life over the past 63 years and the almost undefeated business model that's continuing climate change and keeping fossil fuel companies alive and reshaping our bodies, our oceans, and our politics.

Yeah, plastic keeps food fresh and hospitals running, and cars and planes lighter, and it's also in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the supply chains that keep churning out more of it while they tell us recycling will handle it.

Meanwhile, cities and states are actually trying to rein it in…