Issue 415 of New Internationalist
Reader-owned global journalism
September 2008
September 2008
Sixty years ago plastic was an exotic development of modern chemistry. Today it is the most widespread human-made substance in the world. More than 250 billion pounds of raw plastic pellets are produced from petroleum feedstock every year. It is everywhere, in places you never imagined: computers and cell phones; packaging; food and drink containers; home furnishings and building materials; cars, trucks, airplanes and boats; children’s toys and beauty products.
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Included in this issue
This toxic life
They’re in our homes and our workplace, in the air we breathe and in the food we eat. *Wayne Ellwood* argues that toxic chemicals...
Things to do before I retire
Things to do before I retire… humble thoughts from the diary of GW Bush, as revealed by *Stefan Simanowitz*
Currents Coal Special
A special on coal – including the ‘clean coal’ con, windpower in China, success in Bangladesh and activism everywhere.
Earthworks 2008 cartoon competition
Earthworks 2008: highlighting cartoonists from the global South taking part in the Biennial *Ken Sprague* competition.
Time and Winds (Bes Vakit)
A beautiful contemplative immersion in the children’s sense of the immensity of time and events. Written and directed by *Reha...
Cambodia: Year Zero on trial
What can be wrong with putting five notorious Khmer Rouge leaders on trial? Plenty, argues lawyer *Brooks Duncan*, as he examines...
Message in a bottle
It’s a fashion statement and an environmental nightmare. *Zoe Cormier* examines one of the most successful marketing ploys ever...
Dancing, dying, crawling, crying
Stories of continuity and change in the Polynesian community of Tikopia by *Julian Treadaway*
Abandon the toxic treadmill!
Things you can do to avoid toxic plastics. PLUS the Action / Campaign directory.
Past issues
You can see our whole archive on the past magazines page.
Decolonize now
Palestine: From occupation to uprising
The crisis of loneliness
A world to win
The cost of greed crisis
Take back the land
Whose railway is it anyway?
Rivers of life
How we stop Big Oil
Jailbreak: reimagining justice
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