And therein lies the reason why we would rather destroy the earth than ruin the economy. (whose economy we might ask?) Plastic manufacturing should have been banned decades ago, but the petro-chemical industry had fortumes to be made. Profit was put before the common good of the earth and all of us...with no thought of the future.
If plastic had been made of hemp instead of poisonous chemicals, then the marine life would have been fed, not killed....the landfill would have been littered with biodegradable organic material that would have fertilised the ground instead of polluting it. Plastic would never have become the threat that it is now.
Farmers would have had ongoing crops to plant and harvest to feed the world's need for plastics, fabric, livestock feed and thousands of other uses. They knew this all along, and banned hemp along with its cousin cannabis as a superior medicine because the oil giants wanted money....and the pharmaceutical industry likewise had money to be made in patent medicines for which they could charge whatever they liked. They spun a web of lies and we believed them....they laughed all the way to the bank. Now look what they have done!
Haven't they got a lot to be proud of.....?