Maura Stephens

The get-rich-quick scheme, banned in China and elsewhere, is invading U.S. communities unchecked, posing as an “equalizing, democratizing” currency.

It’s not.

As Judith Enck and others have explained, business as usual is like skydiving and not pulling the parachute. The longer we take to pull the chute and start seriously addressing plastics in the environment, the harder our landing is going to be.

New research shows that as well as harming sea animals from the smallest fish to the largest whales to entire coral reefs, plastics and microplastics are dangerous to human health.

Plastics are a scourge we all know too well. After more than 150 years of plastic production, this material has invaded every living corner of the Earth.

Personally, I’ve never bought the leftist “principled” rejection of “lesser evilism.” Why would we want the greater evil?

In New York State, some 82 towns and counties have passed ordinances outlawing fracking, a natural gas drilling method known for causing severe water pollution. Another 35 have ordinances in the works. But until last week, no one knew quite what would happen when those ordinances were—inevitably—challenged by drilling companies.

Now, in a resounding win for activists, two different state Supreme Court justices have upheld fracking bans in two different New York towns.