Jamal Anaele 3/2/2011 GIN HH Jamal, Thank you for your recommendation as you give our country an alternative. I would have liked to see more concrete facts about the dangers of plastic and the makeup of biodegradable plastic – this would help me make my decision. Note that America and Qatar have never been at war, although your point is well taken about oil often being the center of conflict. Thanks again, El Supremo To all it may concern: Plastics pose a difficult threat towards our environmental future and every human’s posterity. Over 500 million plastics are used each year. These plastics come in the form of soda cans and plastic bags but are all made of the same petroleum oil. The oil takes up valuable resources and causes CO2 pollution in where it is used. It can safely be said that if we did not use this oil, we would have a cleaner healthier environment. Our society depends a lot on plastics and if we can find a safe alternative, pollution would be greatly minimized. There are several possible solutions to the plastic problem. These include tackling the disposal of plastics, the way they are extracted produced and finding alternatives for petroleum based plastics. However, the most logical solution would be to slowly introduce biodegradable plastic alternatives. As Jamal Anaele 3/2/2011 GIN these are introduced, the production of petroleum-based plastics should slowly decrease until an overall stop. The manufacturing of oil should stop in order to save the healthy conditions of a city, or the sea life in some cases. (When accidental oil spills occur) Oil production also causes major conflicts between big MEDC’s such as America or Qatar and we should strive to live conflict-free. By agreeing with some of the following solutions we can look forward to a healthier, peaceful environment. It is recommended that we start with a complete new overhaul. Alternatives that are better for the environment should be introduced. The biodegradable plastics would be a better alternative to the petroleum based plastics used today. This is due to the fact that these plastics degrade naturally and are not harmful to the environment at all. Thus there is no problem with the disposal of the product. However, the product might need more time to be worked upon and perhaps minimized in price range. If the right price range is found, many from all over the globe would find this as a perfect solution. Marine life would also be saved. Sea life is a very beautiful aspect of our world today and it is diminishing by stupid acts of littering. It is difficult to stop littering everywhere, but if we can manage to use these biodegradable plastics, there will be no problem. The plastics will decompose naturally and sea life will not be harmed. Yet there are other unhealthy things that come with the creation of plastic. Individuals are harmed by the potent chemicals used to make the plastic. Biodegradable plastic creation does not involve this problem however. In order Jamal Anaele 3/2/2011 GIN to address the area of disposal once more, perhaps a better approach should be taken. Plastic bottles can be replaced globablly over a period of time by stainless steel bottles. These bottles are even more durable than plastic and do not involve the dangerous chemicals that are used in the creation of it. These bottles will last longer and are less likely to release chemicals as they wear on. This means that the drinker is less likely to get poisoned from these bottles than the plastic bottles. As an alternative to the oil used in making plastic, corn starch and sugar can be used. These are renewable sources and will not deplete our earth’s valuable resources. I hope that these solutions can be taken into consideration and put into immediate effect. By using biodegradable plastics, we offer a better way to dispose of plastics without harming the environment. There is also less pollution due to the natural decomposition. Using natural resources will help us keep our valuable resources. Oil rigs are running out and several drills have been looking around for even more. When these run out, we will be left empty handed. Thus it is better to start a new way of creation of plastics today then in the future. Thank you Mr. President.