The hazardous chemicals being transported by the derailed train — including vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen — are used to make PVC, the world’s third most used type of plastic.
The International Energy Agency projects that by 2050, more than half of all oil and gas will be used to make plastics and petrochemicals. This has enormous climate impacts.
Back in 2014, state officials said the number of electric vehicles in the state would need to be 169,000 by 2020 to meet climate goals. By 2025, that number had to rise to 300,000. But reality has fallen wildly short of the dream.
The tourist attraction undergoes routine maintenance regularly, but last had a major assessment in 2014 after Superstorm Sandy. The area that collapsed was not thought to have been affected by that storm.
Science isn’t finished until it’s successfully communicated. "Don’t Look Up" succeeds not because it’s funny and entertaining, but because it’s serious sociopolitical commentary posing as comedy.
