Judith Enck with David Abel: The Problem with Plastic

• This event will take place at street level.
• If possible, events are livestreamed. Check out our store YouTube channel for livestream updates.
• ASL interpretation may be provided (based on the availability of interpreters) but must be requested at least 2 weeks in advance of the event.
• Please email us at [email protected] as soon as possible if you require ASL interpretation, guaranteed seating, or other accommodations. Seats are limited.We will do our best to serve your needs!

"Plastic pollution has reached crisis proportions, and false solutions abound. But as The Problem with Plastic shows, there are real solutions out there. And, fortunately, there are people like Judith Enck working to enact them." --Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction

A powerful look at plastic's impact on human health and the environment, and how we can fight back by putting people and the planet over plastics

Plastic is everywhere--wrapped around our food, stitched into our clothes, even coursing through our veins. Once a marvel of modern science, plastic has become so inextricably woven into our lives that imagining a world without it can seem impossible. Over the last seventy-five years, plastic has cradled our planet in a synthetic embrace.

The Problem with Plastic critically examines the paradox of this material, first celebrated for its innovations and now recognized for its devastating environmental and public health impacts. With clarity and urgency, the book reveals how plastic pollution contributes to poisoned oceans, polluted air, a warming planet, and overwhelming waste, disproportionately impacting marginalized communities who bear the brunt of petrochemical pollution.

Revealing the alarming extent of microplastics infiltrating both the natural world and the human body, this compelling narrative challenges the illusion that recycling alone will save us. It unpacks the mechanisms of environmental racism and the deceptive greenwashing strategies used by the plastics industry to maintain the status quo.

More than a critique, The Problem with Plastic emphasizes the urgent need for action against plastic's toxic legacy. It highlights powerful stories of frontline resistance in places like Louisiana, Texas, and Appalachia, and equips readers with practical tools--including a "Household Waste Audit" to track and reduce plastic consumption, as well as model policy guides for driving legislative change.

Urgent, eye-opening, and ultimately empowering, The Problem with Plastic reminds us: plastic is a problem--but together, we can be the solution.

Judith Enck: A dynamic community leader who has spent her expansive career working to protect public health and the environment, Judith began as an environmental advocate and has held top influential positions in state and federal government. Appointed by President Obama, Judith served as the regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency overseeing environmental protection in New York, New Jersey, eight Indian Nations, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Judith is a professor at Bennington College, where she teaches classes on plastic pollution and was a Visiting Scholar at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.

David Abel is an award-winning reporter and documentary filmmaker. He's also a professor of journalism at Boston University. He spent 25 years as a reporter at The Boston Globe, where he was part of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings. Abel has spent more than a decade covering climate change and other environmental issues. His work has won an Edward R. Murrow Award, the Ernie Pyle Award from the Scripps Howard Foundation, and the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Feature Reporting. His films include the Emmy-nominated “Entangled,” which was broadcast on PBS, and other award-winning feature films, such as "In the Whale," “Inundation District,” “Lobster War,” and “Sacred Cod.” His most recent film, "The Petal Pusher," is an ode to New York City's Penn Station and his family's flower business there. It premiered at the DOCNYC Film Festival. See more about him at www.davidsabel.com.

Brookline Booksmith, thriving in the heart of Coolidge Corner in Brookline, Massachusetts, since 1961, is one of New England’s premier independent bookstores. We offer a vast selection of books, ranging from current bestsellers to the most eclectic titles. We are also known for our beautiful and inspired gifts. Customers buy and sell gently used books in our treasured Used Book Cellar and enjoy our bountiful bargain book selection. We host award-winning events series (including our groundbreaking Transnational Literature Series), offering more than 300 author talks, community conversations, and book clubs annually. Find more at brooklinebooksmith.com!

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