Taming Plastic: Stop the Pollution

“Plastics were created to last forever... and that’s the problem,” reads the back of this heavy-hitting nonfiction title from environmental activist Bates. Readers learn about the history of plastic, the economy’s addiction to it, and its toll on the environment in spreads featuring an assortment of stock images. Though unflinchingly direct about the escalating plastics crisis, a good half of the volume identifies alternatives and outlines creative ways in which governments, businesses, and individuals currently participate in waste-reduction movements, including Lego’s investment in biodegradable materials research. Bates assures young people that their efforts count and urges them to become “emergency planetary technicians.” A closing quotation by Einstein sums the volume up: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Somber and eye-opening. Ages 9–12. [em](Mar.) [/em]