Plastic: A Toxic Love Story (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780547152400)

Plastic built the modern world. Where would we be without bike helmets, baggies, toothbrushes, and pacemakers? But a century into our love affair with plastic, we're starting to realize it's not such a healthy relationship. Plastics draw on dwindling fossil fuels, leach harmful chemicals, litter landscapes, and destroy marine life. As journalist Susan Freinkel points out in this engaging and eye-opening book, we're nearing a crisis point. We've produced as much plastic in the past decade as we did in the entire twentieth century. We're drowning in the stuff, and we need to start making some hard choices.

Freinkel gives us the tools we need with a blend of lively anecdotes and analysis. She combs through scientific studies and economic data, reporting from China and across the United States to assess the real impact of plastic on our lives. She tells her story through eight familiar plastic objects: comb, chair, Frisbee, IV bag, disposable lighter, grocery bag, soda bottle, and credit card. Her conclusion: we cannot stay on our plastic-paved path. And we don't have to. Plastic points the way toward a new creative partnership with the material we love to hate but can't seem to live without.

Author: Susan Freinkel
ISBN-10: 054715240X
ISBN-13: 9780547152400
Publisher: Mariner Books
Language: English
Published: 04/18/2011
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.13lbs
Size: 9.12h x 6.42w x 1.05d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 04/01/2011
Publishers Weekly 01/17/2011
Choice 05/01/2012