After China banned plastic waste imports in 2018, developing nations in South East Asia were flooded with junk plastic from the U.S. and Europe. Indonesia responded by limiting the flow of discarded plastic, establishing new regulations and enforcement regimes. Yale Environment 360 magazine reports that four years ago, an amendment was passed at the global Basel Convention that sets rules for developed nations sending hazardous waste to less-developed ones.
(“Indonesia Cracks Down on the Scourge of Imported Plastic Waste,” Yale 360, Aug. 1, 2023)
Dollar General is one of the largest chains of dollar stores nationally. The company is built on a lean business model which builds its stores where the average income is less than $40,000 a year. Like Wal-Mart, these stores crush local retail competitors by supplying low-priced products to cash-strapped populations. Now Dollar General is moving into the health care market.
(“Discount Health,” American Prospect, Aug. 2, 2023)
Leah Hunt-Hendrix was born into a life of privilege, growing up in a luxury apartment on Fifth Avenue in New York City. A member of the right-wing family that owns Hunt Oil, one of the largest private oil-and-gas companies in the U.S., Hunt-Hendrix now in her 40s. She had an awakening when she met Duke University Divinity professor Stanley Hauerwas who convinced the undergraduate that her family’s big oil money was not normal and “she should find a way to make herself actually useful.” As a New Yorker profile reports, Hunt-Hendrix is among a group of super-rich heirs of oil fortunes who support grassroots campaigns organizing against the fossil fuel industry, confronting the climate crisis.
(“What Should You Do With An Oil Fortune,” New Yorker, Aug. 7, 2023)
