Resources (all)
Assigned Readings
- American Chemistry Council. "Phthalates." (Industry, Health)
- Assis, George F."Applying Recycled Plastic Lumber Technology to Short-Span Bridges", STRUCTUREmag.org. October, 2010. (Invention, Industry)
- Barry, Carolyn. “Plastic Breaks Down in Ocean, After All—and Fast.” National Geographic News, August 20, 2009. (Health, Waste)
- Benefits of Plastics, website, SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association. (Industry, Invention)
- Berkeley Plastics Task Force. “Seven Common Misperceptions about Plastics.” EcologyCenter.org, April 8, 1996. (Waste, Sustainability)
- “Bisphenol A: Food Containers, Effects on Humans, Gov’t Regs.” Video, Sylvia Chase, narrator, KCET, 2009. (Health)
- Burke, Monte. “Plastic Man.” Forbes.com, December 23, 2002. (Invention)
- Der Hovanesian, Mara. “I Have Just One Word for You: Bioplastics.” Bloomburg Businessweek Magazine, August 13, 2008. (Sustainability, Invention)
- Deutsch, Claudia. “Plastic Recycling Is a Work in Progress.” New York Times, March 30, 2002. (Sustainability, Industry, Waste)
- Georgia Tech Research Institute. “Case Study: Breaking Down Plastics—New Standard Specification May Facilitate Use of Additives That Trigger Biodegradation of Oil-Based Plastics in Landfills.” (Sustainability)
- Hamilton, Jon. “Surrounded by Plastic, NICU Infants Tested for Risk.” Audio, NPR, May 19, 2009. (Health)
- Howard, Brian Clark. “Green Chemistry Discovery Could Lead to Safer Plastics.” Atlantic, Technology Blog, March 15, 2011. (Invention, Sustainability)
- Interbrand.com. “Scott Vitters, General Manager, Plantbottle Packaging, Coca-Cola.” Audio interview. (Industry, Sustainability, Invention)
- Kanellos, Michael. “Reaping Oil from Discarded Plastic.” New York Times, “Green: A Blog about Energy and the Environment,” September 29, 2011. (Sustainability)
- Killinger, Jennifer. “Plastics and Energy Recovery.” American Chemistry Council, March 1, 2011. (Waste, Sustainability)
- Knoblauch, Jessica. “The Environmental Toll of Plastics.” Environmental Health News, July 2, 2009. (Health, Industry, Invention, Sustainability, Waste)
- Kostigen, Thomas M. “The World’s Largest Dump: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” Discover Magazine, July 2008. (Waste)
- Logomasini, Angela. “Plastic Bag Bans Are Bad for the Environment.” Competitive Enterprise Institute WebMemo No. 18, November 8, 2011. (Industry, Sustainability)
- McDonald, Mark. “The Fatal Shore, Awash in Plastic.” International Herald Tribune, August 23, 2012. ( Waste)
- Mieszkowski, Katherine. “Plastic Bags Are Killing Us.” Salon, August 10, 2007. (Waste)
- Moore, Charles. “Seas of Plastic.” Video, TED-Ed. (Waste)
- National Electrical Manufacturers Association. “EU REACH and U.S. Regulation of Chemicals and Chemical Users.” White paper. (Invention, Industry)
- Natural Resources Defense Council. “Endocrine Disruptors.” November 25, 1998. (Health)
- Sharpe, Richard. “Is It Time to End Concerns over the Estrogenic Effects of Bisphenol A?.” Toxicological Sciences 114:1 (2010): 1–4. (Industry, Health)
- Strom, Stephanie. “Companies Pick Up Used Packaging, and Recycling’s Cost.” New York Times, March 23, 2012. (Waste, Industry)
- Swanson, Maureen, and Rebecca Roberts. “Chemical Safety Bill Has Diverse Support.” Philadelphia Inquirer, January 5, 2012. (Health)
- University of Cambridge. “Plastic Electronics.” Video, 2012. (Invention)
- University of Cambridge. “Plastic Logic: From Innovation to Impact.” August 1, 2009. (Invention)
- Warner, Bernhard. “In the Fight against Plastics, Mushrooms Become an Unlikely Weapon.” Bloomburg Businessweek, Innovation and Design, January 14, 2013. (Sustainability)
- Wills, Amanda. "Why You Can't Ignore Plastics Recycling." Earth 911, November 29, 2010. (Industry, Waste, Sustainability)
Other Sources
- Agilyx.com website. (Sustainability, Waste)
- American Chemistry Council website. (Industry)
- American Chemistry Council. “Too Valuable to Waste.” Video, 2010. (Industry)
- American Plastic Manufacturing. “Plastic Bag Myths.” (Industry)
- Anastas, Paul. “Green Chemistry: Innovations for an Environmental and Economic Prosperity.” Lecture, UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Los Angeles, November 16, 2011. (Sustainability)
- “As You Sow’s Conrad MacKerron.” Audio interview of Conrad MacKerron by John Shegerian, GreenIsGoodRadio.com podcast, November 12, 2011. (Waste)
- Beyer, Eben. Are Mushrooms the New Plastic? Video, TED Talks, July 2010. (Sustainability, Invention)
- Biddle, Mike. “We Can Recycle Plastic.” Video, TED Talks, 2011. (Sustainability, Industry, Waste)
- Bioplastic Innovation website. (Sustainability, Invention)
- Bisphenol-A.org website. “About Bisphenol-A.” (Industry, Health)
- Black, Harvey. “Chemical Reaction: The U.S. Response to REACH.” Environmental Health Perspectives 116:3 (March 2008): 125–127. (Industry, Health)
- Bytesize Science. “Prized Science – Robert Langley: A Founding Father of Tissue Engineering.” Video, 2012. (Invention)
- “Can a Plastic ‘Alter Human Cells’?.” USA Today website. (Health)
- Carnini, Frank. “Bewildering Bioplastics.” Audio, Eco RI News. (Sustainability)
- “Chemical Fallout.” Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, JSOnline website. (Health)
- ChemMatters. “Plastics Go Green.” Video, 2010. (Sustainability)
- Cheung, Telly. “The Sustainable Future.” Video, 2011. (Sustainability)
- Coca-Cola Company. 2011/2012 Coca-Cola Sustainability Report, November 7, 2012. (Industry, Sustainability, Invention)
- Cohen, Nancy. “For Empty Water Bottles, There’s an Afterlife.” Audio, NPR News Special Series, Plastic Peril? June 8, 2007. (Sustainability, Waste)
- “Design Landmarks.” European Plastics News website. (Invention)
- “Earthrise: Plastic Fuel.” Video, Earthrise, March 12, 2014. (Sustainability, Waste)
- “EcoTalk: Bio-degradable Plastics.” Video, Eco Talk, 2010. (Sustainability)
- Environmental Protection Agency, Green Chemistry website. (Invention, Sustainability)
- Environmental Working Group. “The Future of U.S. Chemicals Policy.” Video, 2009. (Health)
- Flatow, Ira. “Building Bridges from Plastic Shampoo Bottles.” Audio, NPR, Talk of the Nation: Science Friday, December 23, 2011. (Invention)
- Freinkel, Susan. “Plastic: Too Good to Throw Away.” New York Times, March 17, 2011. (Health, Industry, Invention, Sustainability, Waste)
- Gerlock, Grant. “Bioplastic Boom.” Audio report, KQED QUEST Nebraska, July 13, 2011. (Sustainability)
- Gunther, Marc. “Coca-Cola’s New PlantBottle Sows Path to Greener Packaging.” Audio, Greenbiz.com, December 1, 2009. (Industry, Invention)
- Hamilton, Jon. “Public Concern, Not Science, Prompts Plastics Ban.” Audio, NPR, Special Report: Plastic Peril? April 1, 2009. (Health, Industry)
- Hopewell, Jefferson; Robert Dvorak; and Edward Kosier. “Plastics Recycling: Challenges and Opportunities.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 364:1526 (July 2009): 2115–2126. (Sustainability, Waste, Industry)
- Inventor of the Week website. “Robert Langer: Biomedical Applications of Polymers.” Massachusetts Institute of Technology, June 2002.
- Jordan, Chris. “Chris Jordan on Midway Atoll and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” Audio, New York Review of Books podcast, November 11, 2009. (Waste)
- Jordan, Chris. Midway: Message from the Gyre trailer. (Waste)
- Jordan, Chris. “Polluting Plastics.” Video, 2010. (Waste)
- Kahn, Jennifer. “Plastic. Fantastic?.” Mother Jones, June 2009. (Waste, Sustainability, Health)
- Kim, Sun Joo. “Europe’s First Bridge Made from Recycled Plastic.” SmartPlanet.com, October 31, 2011. (Invention, Industry)
- Koch, Holger M., and Antonia M. Calafat. “Human Body Burdens of Chemicals Used in Plastic Manufacture.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 364:1526 (July 2009): 2063–2078. (Health)
- Lytle, Claire Le Guern. “When the Mermaids Cry: The Great Plastic Tide.” CoastalCare.org. (Health, Waste)
- McLendon, Russell. “What Is the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch?.” Mother Nature Network, February 24, 2010. (Waste)
- Meeker, John D.; Sheela Sathyanarayana; and Shanna H. Swann. “Phthalates and Other Additives in Plastic: Human Exposure and Associated Health Outcomes.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 364:1526 (June 14, 2009): 2097–2113. (Health)
- Moore, Charles. “Ten Years Later, the Gyre Is All Around Us.” Video, Ted-Ed, 2010. (Waste)
- Plastic Pollution Coalition website. (Waste)
- Plastic Pollution Coalition. “Plastic Lasts Longer Than Life.” Video, 2012. (Waste)
- Plastics Europe. “Uses of Plastics.” (Invention)
- PlasticsMakeItPossible.com. “New Plastics.” American Chemistry Council. (Invention, Sustainability)
- “Recycled Plastic Bridge Supports Tank.” Video, 2009. (Invention)
- “Rubbish in the Pacific.” Slide show, New York Times website, November 9, 2009. (Waste)
- Save the Plastic Bag website. (Industry)
- Smith, Carol. “Plastic to Oil Fantastic.” Our World 2.0: United Nations University website, August 27, 2010. (Sustainability, Waste)
- Sneha, Barot. “BPA-Free and Beyond: Protecting Reproductive Health from Environmental Toxins.” Guttmacher Policy Review 13:1 (Winter 2010). (Health)
- Society of the Plastics Industry. “History of Plastics.” Video, 2009. (Invention)
- Society of the Plastics Industry. “Scott Vitters of Coca-Cola at Sustain ’08.” Video, 2009. (Industry, Invention)
- Song, J. H.; R. J. Murphy; R. Narayan; and G.B.H. Davies. “Biodegradable and Compostable Alternatives to Conventional Plastics.”Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 364:1526 (July 2009): 2127–2139. (Sustainability)
- Swann, Shanna. “Endocrine Disruption 101: Dr. Shanna Swann.” Video, Mt. Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center. (Health)
- Terry, Beth. “Living a Plastic-Free Life.” Audio, Minnesota Public Radio News, August 20, 2012. (Waste)
- Terry, Beth. “Living Plastic Free.” Video, Tedx, 2010. (Waste)
- “Times Topics: Plastic Bags.” New York Times website. (Waste, Industry)
- “Unfinished Business: Extended Producer Responsibility for Post-Consumer Packaging.” Video, 2012. (Waste, Industry)
- University of Cambridge. “Plastic Electronics: A Neat Solution.” March 2012. (Invention)
- Wargo, John. “Pervasive Plastics: Why the U.S. Needs New and Tighter Controls.” Yale Environment 360 (November 12, 2009). (Health)
- Wassener, Bettina. “The Peril of Plastic.” New York Times, May 22, 2011. (Waste)
- WNYC Radio. “Toxic Plastic in Your Body?.” Interview with John Wargo. Video (October 7. 2009). (Health)
- Young, Robin. “Should Supermarket Plastic Bags Be Banned?” Audio, WBUR Boston, Here and Now, November 29, 2012. (Industry, Waste)
Print Sources
- “Autos: Plastic Ford Unveiled,” Time Magazine, August 25, 1941.
- Fenichell, Stephen. Plastic: The Making of a Synthetic Century. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.
- Freinkel, Susan. Plastics: A Toxic Love Story. New York: Henry Holt, 2011.
- Hohn, Donovan. “Moby Duck, or, the Synthetic Wilderness of Childhood.” Harper’s Magazine, July 2007.
- Humes, Edward. Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash. New York: Avery, 2012.
- Murphy, W. “Carl Walter: A Pioneer in Shaping the Medical Device Industry.” American Journal of Surgery 148 (1984).
- Nicholson, Joseph L., and George R. Leighton. “Plastics Come of Age.” Harper’s Magazine, August 1942.
- Royte, Elizabeth. “Corn Plastic to the Rescue.” Smithsonian Magazine, August 2006.
- Tierney, John. “Recycling Is Garbage.” New York Times, June 30, 1996.
- Tullo, Alex. “Valuing Bioplastics.” Chemical & Engineering News, July 15, 2013.