https://www.statista.com/chart/12211/the-countries-polluting-the-oceans-the-most/

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/dead-whale-had-115-plastic-cups-2-flip-flops-in-its-stomach/ar-BBPTOuN?li=BBnbfcL

This was promoted by reading the article about the dead whale. Is there any way to pressure other countries who pollute at rates 10-30 times more than we do?

We send them jobs.

A good first step would be for the the United States to assume a leadership role on the environment, accept man-made climate change is happening, and implement policies that promote green living. Instead we are denying, and backsliding on policy.

But we are way ahead of the curve on 2 of those 3 items. The current presidential administration does not acknowledge man-made climate change, perhaps because of global competition with an expanding and still polluting China.

The U.S. has taken a lot of "good first steps."

Also, please let me know what we can do about their population growth rates! (Sarcasm)

That's one solution to both questions.

That's ridiculous. Please stay on topic and don't pirate this thread.

oski003 said:

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But we are way ahead of the curve on 2 of those 3 items. The current presidential administration does not acknowledge man-made climate change, perhaps because of global competition with an expanding and still polluting China.

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China may pollute more in total, but in per capita CO2 emissions the US still beats them easily (reference article below which is dated as of 2015 [hence I think is still close enough to today to be relevant]).

https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/science-and-impacts/science/each-countrys-share-of-co2.html#.W_RPftVKjmE

I always believed we should look at the environment on two fronts:
1. The big picture like global warming (and how we can reduce CO2 emissions)
2. The local level, and the air, water, and land that we live in and breath and drink everyday.

Regardless of what is happening in the big picture, I still want our society to take steps to ensure I have clean water to drink, clean air to breath, and non-toxic land to live on. Therefore, even if China is still polluting heavily, we should still commit to making America cleaner, and not have the flint water crisis.

As for how to promote less pollution abroad, I think a great method would be by promoting and incentivising green tech at home. California has a goal of being powered 100% by carbon free sources by 2045. This goal will promote innovations in production and storage of clean energy, and with mass production and application it will become cheaper to make (hopefully) which will then allow developing economies to afford to invest and purchase these technologies. We need to acknowledge that fossil fuels are on borrowed time with a shelf life of about 10-20 years and we should divert the infrastructure resources from them to clean energy.

Also, investing in animal-less meat. It would throw the agriculture industry into turmoil, but if we no longer need to raise animals for meat by providing lab-grown meat, methane production and water consumption would plummet. It would also go a long way to addressing population increases.

Again, the technologies at home can be applied abroad, and would both help the American economy and the world's pollution issue.

oski003 said:

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That's ridiculous. Please stay on topic and don't pirate this thread.

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Sorry.
It was my way of saying Good Luck.
Ain't gonna convince other nations to change their polluting ways, because you ain't gonna control global populations.

There is hope that new energy technologies can eliminate air pollution thru fossil fuels burning, but people eat meat, and cows fart and burp. And cows also require land, so we are plowing down the rain forests. And we humans are generally like ants all over an ant hill.

So, population.
And while it IS absolutely ridiculous, but people occasionally joke that wars do reduce populations. It's a disgusting joke, and I only said it in complete jest. But, yes, sickening.