Plastics are everywhere — they’re in our favorite electronic devices, they package our food and insulate our homes. Today, the total mass of plastic is twice the total mass of all living organisms on the planet, and it’s starting to change the processes that allow the Earth’s climate system to work. Plastic pollution researcher Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez breaks down the consequences of producing all of this plastic at every stage, from fossil fuel extraction to the disposal of single-use plastics in landfills and oceans. The first step to breaking free of our plastic problem is admitting we have one.
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Chandrama Ram
August 25, 2022 at 2:08 pm
We are yet Doomed, so what are we waiting for? To be Doomed?
Brett
August 25, 2022 at 2:10 pm
So plastic breaks down into…. plant food. OK
ghanditw
August 25, 2022 at 2:28 pm
joey deacon was a plastic
chas in lakewood
August 25, 2022 at 2:40 pm
Patricia, there is an additional insidious aspect.
Plastics leach a synthetic hormone that mimics estrogen.
Trolls gripe about effeminate men while continuing plastic use.
Stas Kalbas
August 25, 2022 at 2:43 pm
She lost me at climate change. Good bye
Lane Atkinson
August 25, 2022 at 4:30 pm
Ignorance is bliss!
Caper. here
August 25, 2022 at 2:45 pm
Just think of medications in capsules. Which we steadily eat.
Nikhath Mubeen
August 25, 2022 at 5:35 pm
Capsules are not made of plastic. They are usually gelatin or non gelatin, but bio derived.
That said, plastic is a huge issue, everyone must responsibly wake up to.
Rahul Aurangabadkar
August 25, 2022 at 3:08 pm
I hope to get solutions not the information/technical terms/data in numbers. 🙁
Nestor Fortuna
August 25, 2022 at 3:22 pm
She Is wearing a plástic headset…It Is an imposible prob to solve
Osvaldo lR
August 25, 2022 at 4:09 pm
Manage is the key, not solve.
Lane Atkinson
August 25, 2022 at 4:30 pm
It’d be impossible if everyone had your mindset.
Nestor Fortuna
August 25, 2022 at 5:54 pm
@Osvaldo lR we aré managing the prob now.
ViolinistJeff
August 25, 2022 at 4:33 pm
She denies the existence of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and she says that microplastics are in the air we breath, the water we drink, the food we eat, in our lungs and bloodstreams and in the placenta of unborn.
She does not qualify these statements nor cite sources. We also do not know how dangerous it is to have a microplastic in your bloodstream. Do doctors frequently do blood tests for microplastics?
Frankly, I want my plastic straws back, and I am willing to pay an extra 5 or 10 cents each for their proper recycling or disposal.
JonNap
August 25, 2022 at 4:36 pm
The problem with plastic is no one cares.. even though there’s a sure way to break plastic down into sugars with mushrooms. But you don’t hear about anyone doing it.
Illlium
August 25, 2022 at 11:26 pm
It’s convenient and as far as most living people in “civilized countries” are concerned it’s been around forever, so who’s gonna cast a stone? Too many hot topics going around a populous that’s already overloaded with information, ain’t nobody sticking their neck out over a TV dinner.
Younes Layachi
August 26, 2022 at 2:14 am
There are no alternatives to plastic.
It is too cheap,
too easy to make into any shape,
can have a wide range of any different properties as needed,
too durable,
…
Nicholas K Ricchiuti
August 25, 2022 at 5:06 pm
Commentary coming later.
Javier Granf
August 25, 2022 at 5:20 pm
Succsss
Marcus Reynolds
August 25, 2022 at 5:22 pm
We used to think plastic was fantastic but unless we do something drastic it’s gonna turn the whole world spastic.
Younes Layachi
August 26, 2022 at 2:12 am
🍪
Silence Motivation
August 25, 2022 at 6:32 pm
Don’t be violent be silent and
show your talent.
Guille Tigre
August 25, 2022 at 8:17 pm
10 minutes will never be enough for this topic
Jean Pierre Araneta Espinoza
August 25, 2022 at 9:11 pm
We ned a groop of heros for the art a real recicle. Elion musk WE NED YOUR HELP experp in desrup sistems
ronkirk50
August 25, 2022 at 9:51 pm
I’ve paddled all over on the rivers, lakes and the coasts in the U.S. and Canada and I’ve been appalled at the amount of plastic mostly single use drink bottles and packaging material littering our shores. I always collect, bag and carry away as much as I can, but it is just a drop in the bucket compared to the problem. Why we can’t at muster the political will to at least pass a FEDERAL bottle deposit law to mitigate this problem is unbelievable.
keyair jada
August 25, 2022 at 11:20 pm
The FED has lost it and the sad fact is, it’s pretty obvious that we are headed for hyperinflation. I would advise you invest rightly because sooner things might get ugly…
Tracy Eduardo
August 26, 2022 at 12:03 am
This is the kind of information that we don’t get from most Youtubers I will get in touch with him right now
luliofman
August 26, 2022 at 12:04 am
Hls method surprlses me. A Frlend that I referred to hlm,just recelved €10,150 .
Alphonsud Michael
August 26, 2022 at 12:10 am
He’s on TELE
GRAM ⬇️
Alphonsud Michael
August 26, 2022 at 12:10 am
@RyanMorrison
Girke Hose
August 26, 2022 at 12:15 am
Wow
Nona Manis 🌺
August 26, 2022 at 12:03 am
♀️ *WOMEN* 👏😊
_Women have the right to make decisions about their reproductive health in consultation with their family, their loved ones, and even their priest, pastor, or rabbi. It should not be the government making those decisions._
_We are working to ensure that we protect the WOMEN of America._ 🇺🇸
🌺 *HER EXCELLENCY KAMALA HARRIS* 🌺
😊👏😊👏😊👏😊👏😊👏😊👏😊
epop dokwdo مونتاج
August 26, 2022 at 4:34 am
A woman has no right to kill her child because she wanted to have an exciting night. Carrying a child is your responsibility, you should take your precautions (contraceptives) and think that you could get pregnant that night.
Nona Manis 🌺
August 26, 2022 at 12:03 am
*Malala* 🌺 👏😊
_Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world._
– *MALALA YOUSAFZAI* 🌺 👏😊
😊👏😊👏😊👏😊👏😊👏😊👏😊👏😊
Nona Manis 🌺
August 26, 2022 at 12:03 am
Love you *TED* ✓ 😊🌺.
*Thank you for every memory*
*Thank you for every smile*
*Thank you for every moment* .
😊😊👏😊🌺
_We may have closed our doors but _*_Our promise_*_ still stands, connecting MINDS CREATING the FUTURE_ 🌎🌍🌏.
Until we meet again…
😊👏😊👏😊👏😊👏😊👏😊
TheDragonlord70
August 26, 2022 at 1:49 am
Am I the only one who feels like everything that makes our world’s technological advances possible are destructive to the world? It’s like everything that we as a species have developed to make our lives easier also is making our planet’s environment less livable. I don’t believe that our ability to make things is inherently bad, or even that the things we do make are bad, but what about our worldview has allowed us to advance so far zo fast without consideration of the consequences? Was there ever a time when people thought about more than the benefits of an invention, or technical advancement? Did no one even ponder that there must be a dark side to what is done, or made? It’s hard to believe that the answer to these questions is no, no one ever considered it. But now that we are considering the downsides, and weighing our options we also have to think about changing our expectations. What will the world look like if we are able to do all of the things that appear to be necessary to prevent a climate change apocalypse? Will we be able to retain our standards of living? Will we be able to retain our way of life? Or will we be called upon to become poorer technically? Will it be incumbent upon us to step back from technological advancement and return to a less developed stage of society? Would we be able or even willing to do that? Would we be able or willing to make those sacrifices?
Minal Gawande
August 26, 2022 at 11:56 am
Awesome. Just what I want to say but stuck with words
Mr. C
August 28, 2022 at 12:12 pm
You’re spot on ….and no…we are unable to do anything that even remotely looks like regression. Our species should not exist.
Turbyte
August 28, 2022 at 5:22 pm
no
Yijuwarp
August 29, 2022 at 4:00 pm
the only way across is through, we need to innovate everywhere and increase our productive capacity to the point where we can undo the damage we’ve done. Any solution based on reduction is doomed to fail, replacement & reclamation are the only way forward.
Brian McInnis
August 26, 2022 at 2:05 am
We….we know. We know what the problem with plastics is.
magneat
August 26, 2022 at 5:06 am
We gotta do something about this problem. We can at least tell the world that we care. We pay taxes, right? Then we can tell our governments to make programs fight plastic pollution. To make 100% degradable materials popular, all sorts of recycling policies. Our future needs them.
Competitive Knowledge with Rida Attiqui
August 26, 2022 at 11:24 am
Thank you TED for this talk.
莫引
August 26, 2022 at 1:41 pm
I like Ted’s videos
Acme Fixer
August 26, 2022 at 6:06 pm
Mankind developed the toilets and sewer system to properly dispose of human waste; but completely and utterly failed to properly dispose of plastic waste. This must change for the survival of humanity.
বাংলা গান - Bangali SuperHit Songs
August 26, 2022 at 7:13 pm
Plastic is a property in Bangladesh. Because Bangladeshi people make petrol from plastics
Demetrius Campbell
August 26, 2022 at 9:25 pm
Good to get this info to the world i guess even if it feels like there’s little we can do to help
Sam Hz
August 31, 2022 at 1:40 am
you can do a lot actually, she mentioned to stop using plastic bags which we can all learn to switch easily to instead use a single bag (not made of plastic of course) for grocery shopping, etc. and that would make a huge impact already considering how we all make weekly trips to buy groceries and that’s just one example of the change we can start doing.
みそしる あさりの
August 27, 2022 at 1:44 am
I’m a Japanese student studying English on this channel😵💫It’s very hard to hearing, but I can only thank you for your help in studying!It would be helpful if there were Japanese subtitles❕ I don’t use a translator, so I think the sentence is strange. Sorry.
Sami Aimaq
August 29, 2022 at 1:53 pm
Hope you doing well. As I watched the vedio , she is not a native speaker to speak at good pronunciation that’s why most of her words were strange and you didn’t catch up well . More than that I really appreciate her work and presented an informative issue and make accountable people and government regarding using plastic and this issue should be considered as well.
Jacky Envidiado
August 27, 2022 at 11:37 am
Big companies or factories should stop producing big amount of plastics😭 they’re the reasons of this problem…. Normal people can’t produce plastics
Raju Bhuriya.GJ.20
August 27, 2022 at 5:45 pm
Raju.Bhuriya Gj 20🇮🇳👍👍👍👍
CANAL SENTIR
August 28, 2022 at 1:49 am
hi from Mexico. Excellent informational on plastics and their environmental harm. All true. thanks. Bottom line: alternatives must be developed.
Edward Bona
August 28, 2022 at 2:01 am
Most of that stage is made of plastic.
Alvin Tang
August 28, 2022 at 5:50 am
Your accent is too much I cannot hear properly if there is no captions
MD Monir Uddin
August 28, 2022 at 5:51 am
Sound is good, plastic destroyed World it’s true but our government never understand plastic destroy our next generation. I hope people understand plastic dangerous everyone Co2 🙃🙃
Lee Dong hun
August 28, 2022 at 8:26 am
This is a very informative talk. First of all, it convinces me not to use single-use plastics. We need to do someting for our next generations.
Brian Klock
August 28, 2022 at 10:29 pm
0:31 HAH. Plastics were invented in 1950 when the world population was only 2.5 billion (less than 1/3 of what it is now). That means “in the last 20 years” is essentially a 50-year/20-year split, lumping the middle 15 years into the first half instead of the 2nd half (35/35 is the even split). But if you take into account both population growth and economic growth, the numbers are probably completely natural numbers, so that half of plastic production in the last 20 years is literally not unusual or alarming. The plastics usage is in almost perfect proportion to the population increase!
Not that pollution from plastics isn’t a critical problem …
mars
August 29, 2022 at 7:44 am
I am always trying to avoid plastic, But the public won’t listen so much about the plastic waste they think it’s not an issue, just a simple thing plastic waste, Just throw in water pond, river etc
thu hien dinh thi
August 29, 2022 at 8:22 am
Nói ngọng thế
thu hien dinh thi
August 29, 2022 at 8:25 am
Chả bằng BBC News và BBC Learning English gì cả
Steve
September 1, 2022 at 11:37 am
I can see where this is going the Lord put this in my heart that she’s going to want to put the phone inside your body well that’s old news for me cuz God told me that a while ago you think I’m hearing voices well he puts things on our hearts and then we see things but I do hear God talk to me sometimes
Victor Gilbert
September 2, 2022 at 12:20 am
“The total mass of plastic is twice the total mass of all living organisms in the planet.”
Ellen Florencia
September 2, 2022 at 12:34 am
Thank you for your effort to remind us of the consequences of plastic to our community.
Samantha Subroto
September 2, 2022 at 12:43 am
This video is really informative, it explain the detail why plastic is a climate problem and that there is still a solution to it. Thank you so much for this video.
Nathanaela Theodora
September 2, 2022 at 12:50 am
Thank you it was a great speech. Companies should really stop producing plastics cause it’s the problem that we keep using them. But some of the shops doesn’t use plastics anymore, so we have to bring our bags, so that’s good. And yea, plastic does affect pollution.
Robin William
September 2, 2022 at 12:53 am
very informative speech, giving a lot of insight into the problems caused by plastic and making us care more about the environment by reducing the use of single-use plastics
Reynard Yapari
September 2, 2022 at 12:56 am
This video is really helpful. It contains a lot of information about the consequences of plastics and how plastics effects on climate change
Keisha Chandra
September 2, 2022 at 1:08 am
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