>> What do we do about all this? > There is no solution other than reducing consumption. Which can most easily be accomplished by increasing taxes on the consu

>> What do we do about all this? > There is no solution other than reducing consumption. Which can most easily be accomplished by increasing taxes on the consumption you want reduced. The ocean pollution in the article is due to shipping plastic waste to other countries, who subsequently let it shed into the ocean. Couldn't this problem be eliminated in a near instant by disallowing export of that low value plastic waste, and landfilling it in the US? It doesn't solve the oil / carbon problem, but neither does exporting it. It does solve the ocean pollution aspect pretty completely though. I'm not saying it's the best solution, but it does seem like a stepping stone.