Bread and Circuses<p>Fossil fuels — coal, oil, and gas — how are they put to use by modern industry and by consumers?</p><p>Much of it is used to create electricity, by burning coal or gas and sometimes oil in power plants. Much is also used directly to heat buildings or to heat water. A large amount, obviously, is used for propulsion, as in jet fuel, or in diesel for container ships or trucks, or in gasoline/petrol for cars. </p><p>But a very large amount of the fossil fuels we extract are used to make petrochemicals, which in turn produce things like synthetic rubber for car tires, and plastic for — well, for everything. </p><p>More than half of all the plastics ever produced were made in just the last 20 years. Production was over 400 million tons in 2020, up from just two million tons in 1950. And we’re just getting started.</p><p>Projections show that global plastic production and usage is expected to nearly *quadruple* by the early 2050s. </p><p>That’s a huge problem. Because if we are to have any hope of keeping global heating below 2°C, we need to cut plastic production by 75% before 2050. Not quadruple it, slash it by 3/4.</p><p>So, do you think that will happen? If we ask the capitalist owners of our society to agree to a cutback, what will they say?</p><p>We already know the answer. </p><p>Even though the plastics industry is responsible for producing (1) a huge amount of greenhouse gas emissions, and (2) a huge amount of toxic wastes, and (3) huge amounts of plastic pollution in the oceans, in our water supplies, and even in our bodies, the plastics industry also produces one more *very* important thing — a HUGE amount of profits. 💵 💵 💵</p><p><a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/Science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Science</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/Environment" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Environment</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/Climate" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Climate</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/ClimateChange" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateChange</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/Pollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Pollution</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/Capitalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Capitalism</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/BusinessAsUsual" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BusinessAsUsual</span></a></p>