Dear John,

August was a busy month, and there’s a lot of great work happening that we’re excited to share with you. We celebrated the 105th birthday of the U.S. National Park Service on August 25 with a great discussion focused on honoring nature by keeping plastic pollution out of it, and on the same day with our Coalition members and allies we launched a petition to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Haaland to eliminate the sale and use of single-use plastics in U.S. national parks. 

In September we’ll be focusing on the connection between plastics and climate—critical timing given the latest IPCC report and ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in early November. Our PPC Youth Ambassadors are also planning an exciting campaign in the lead up to the conference, so stay tuned to our social media channels for more to come on that.

And finally, we’re so excited that the Story of Plastic documentary film has been nominated for an Emmy award! The awards ceremony will take place on September 29, so let’s hope for a win! 

In solidarity,

Julia Cohen, MPH
Co-Founder & Managing Director
Plastic Pollution Coalition

★ US: National Park Service petition
Sign the petition asking the Honorable Deb Haaland, US Secretary of the Interior, to ban the sale and distribution of single-use plastic in US National Parks.

★ US: Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act petition
Tell your representatives it's time to support the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021 for the health and future of humans, animals, waterways, oceans, and the environment.

★ Global: Reopen with Reuse
Join Plastic Pollution Coalition members and allies in calling on restaurants, festivals, and national parks to reopen with reuse. Foodservice businesses already require strict safety standards to make sure reusables are sanitized, so let’s make our voices heard.

★ Global: Amazon petition
Tell Amazon to stop polluting our planet with single-use plastic packaging, and share this related blog.

★ “Understanding Packaging” (UP) Scorecard Intro (Aug. 19)
Together with an exciting group of collaborators, we introduced the “Understanding Packaging” Scorecard, which could prove to be transformative for the food service industry and entertainment venues! Watch the recording of the event here, and read more about chemicals in food packaging here.

★ Keeping Plastic Pollution Out of US National Parks (Aug. 25)
Our August webinar focused on keeping plastic pollution out of US national parks. You can read more here and sign a new petition asking Department of the Interior Secretary Haaland to eliminate the sale and distribution of single-use plastics in U.S. national parks.

★ Blue Frontier's Rising Tide Podcast with Dianna & Julia Cohen  (Aug. 2)
This podcast is a discussion with sisters Dianna and Julia Cohen, PPC co-founders. In this podcast, they discuss their lifetimes of art and activism and talk about the challenges of plastic pollution, including countering industry propaganda about recycling.

★ Earth 300 Impact Talks 2021 (July 17)
Hear PPC co-founder and CEO Dianna Cohen speak about plastic pollution as part of the Earth 300 Impact Talks 2021, the aim of which is to discuss how to prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in oceans.

★ Plastic Free Periods: Protecting Our Bodies & Preventing Plastic Pollution, by Meg Stern (July 28)
Check out this blog from PPC’s recent intern, Meg Stern, about our July webinar.

★ Big win towards just transition! (Aug. 25)
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has finalized the adoption of Alternative Language Notice in the public input process for air, water, and waste permits. Communities speaking Spanish, Vietnamese, and other languages will now have the opportunity to understand and identify potential hazardous projects entering each community. Although the rule has many portions that can and must be improved, this effort led by Coalition member Fenceline Watch sets the stage for actual systemic change for environmental justice communities throughout the state of Texas, home of the largest petrochemical complex in the US. Families along the Texas fenceline will now have the information and support to challenge oil, gas, and petrochemical projects.

★ Kevin Wachs of Earthly Body: “Not Everyone is Like You” (Aug. 18)

★ Victory! Galveston Bans Balloon Releases to Protect Wildlife (Aug. 13)

★ Youth from the Mount Madonna middle school and Shark Stewards advisees received the President’s Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) for their production of a play and video on ocean plastics and overfishing sharks. (Aug. 4)

★ First Holistic Assessment of Plastic Pollution in the Southern Caribbean (Aug. 3)

★ Center for Environmental Health added a new Planning Guide to the Ditching Disposables Toolkit. The toolkit helps schools transition from wasteful single-use food service ware to alternatives that are healthier for us and the planet.

★ Global Plastic Treaty a Non-Negotiable in Tackling Africa’s Plastic Crisis (Aug. 4)

★ Plastics & Climate: How Single-Use Packaging is Fueling the Crisis (Sept. 29 Webinar)
This webinar will feature Judith Enck, President of Beyond Plastics and former Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Obama, who will discuss the nexus between plastic production and climate change, including the immense environmental justice impacts, and Graham Forbes, Global Plastics Project Leader at Greenpeace, who will discuss how consumer goods companies’ reliance on single-use plastic packaging is providing a lifeline for Big Oil. This important conversation is especially relevant ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference 2021 in November, where world leaders are scheduled to gather in Glasgow, Scotland, with the goal to accelerate action on climate change. Sign up here.

★ Beyond Plastic Pollution Virtual Class | Fall 2021 (Starting Sept. 1)
Join Beyond Plastics Judith Enck’s seven-week online class, Beyond Plastic Pollution, offered by Bennington College’s Center for the Advancement of Public Action. This in-depth masterclass on all things plastic pollution-related will be held via Zoom on Wednesday evenings from 7:00-9:00 PM ET September 1–October 13.

★ Inland Ocean Ambassadors Online Certification Training (Apply by Sept. 17)
This virtual 5-week training covers the most pertinent ocean protection topics and features top minds in ocean conservation. The sessions, held each Thursday via Zoom from 5-7 pm MT from September 30–October 28th, are designed as intensive learning opportunities to engage with IOC’s staff and network. The application can be found here.

★ Break Free From Plastic Corporate Brand Audits (through Sept. 18)
Leading up to World Cleanup Day on September 18, Break Free From Plastic members and allies will be conducting corporate brand audits across the globe. Break Free From Plastic has been taking “cleanups” to the next level by documenting the identifiable brands found on the plastic pollution collected. Find out more here, and check out one event from Surfers Against Sewage here.

★ Fridays for Future Global Climate Strike (Sept. 24)
Find all the details here and Join the Global Climate Strike on September 24.

★ 42nd Annual News & Documentary Nominations (Sept. 29)
The Story of Plastic has been nominated for an Emmy in the "Outstanding Writing: Documentary" category. Let’s hope for a win!

★ WE’RE HIRING!
Director of Development

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