We’re drowning in plastics

Today is World Ocean Day — a day to recognize the importance of our global oceans, because without healthy oceans, there's no healthy future.

Oceans cover 70% of our planet. They sustain life on Earth from the water we drink to the air we breathe to the food we eat. But today, they're under assault from many directions, including plastic pollution and climate chaos. To make matters worse, Trump plans to axe our ocean monitoring system which will severely degrade the accuracy of weather predictions.

We need to end the world's addiction to fossil fuels. Every day we delay, we flood the world with more dangerous, planet-warming carbon dioxide and other gases from burning fossil fuels. Trump is making this problem worse by doubling down on oil and gas giveaways.

But fossil fuels aren't the only force harming the planet. We also need to take on the plastic pollution crisis with a bold, binding global plastics treaty. We're drowning in plastics that are littering our beaches, destroying our ecosystems, and poisoning human health.

That's why I've been fighting on every front.

• I introduced the Fighting Fibers Act to require washing machine filters that can capture up to 90% of microfibers before they ever reach our waterways.
• I introduced the bipartisan Microplastics Safety Act to require the FDA to study the full health impacts of microplastics — because the average human brain now contains enough tiny plastic fragments to equal the weight of a plastic spoon, a 50% increase in just the past decade.
• And just recently, I led my Senate colleagues in urging the EPA to use its existing authorities to address the full lifecycle of plastic pollution and protect Americans from microplastic exposure.

We need action, and we need it now. That's why I will always use every tool I have to ensure healthy oceans for generations to come.

Onward!

Jeff