‘It’s time we confront the ugly truth about plastic recycling’
Holly Kaufman at the San Francisco Chronicle
The “plastics industry — i.e., the fossil fuel industry — has misled consumers, claiming that its products are recyclable,” says Holly Kaufman. Even for “technically recyclable plastics, there is not always a local facility where that can happen.” Recycling “doesn’t fundamentally address any of plastic’s human and environmental impacts.” Relying on “recycling instead of squarely addressing the overproduction and overuse of plastics would be as flimsy as plastic wrap.” It’s “essentially another form of plastic production.”
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‘“Narconomics,” not prohibition, is behind the rise in synthetic drugs’
Jim Crotty at The Hill
“Drug trafficking organizations are profit-driven,” so it’s “not surprising traffickers embraced synthetic drugs. What’s surprising is that it took so long,” says Jim Crotty. As with “every other market, advances in technology, transportation and globalization have fundamentally transformed the illicit drug trade.” It’s “true that we cannot arrest or seize our way out of the drug crisis,” but “enforcement matters, and when done right, it can have a massive impact.” Otherwise “these new substances are here to stay.”
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‘Is Jim Crow making a comeback?’
Willie Wilson at the Chicago Tribune
Jim Crow “seems to be making a comeback through policies designed to roll back progress,” says Willie Wilson. Civil rights leaders “could not imagine the gains made toward a more inclusive and fairer society being undone.” Black people are “disillusioned by the lack of progress made on closing racial, health and economic disparities.” The “lack of voter participation is a recognition that citizens do not see a reason to vote because nothing will change.”
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‘Serving as an Israeli diplomat: We must appreciate ambassadors’
Tova Herzl at The Jerusalem Post
Ambassadors “live in fine residences, are driven in elegant cars and may attend several receptions a week,” but “this is not the pleasurable mingling it seems,” says Tova Herzl. Receptions “bring together hundreds of people: from government and opposition, media and culture, religion, academia, and the diplomatic corps.” You “never know who you will meet or what questions may be thrown at you.” For an “Israeli diplomat, especially at times like these, image and reality are far apart.”
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