Money talks, we all know, but does it have to lie? In the May 24-30 and May 31-June 6, 2024, issues of the Warwick Advertiser and The Photo News, the Straus newspapers ran a full-page advertisement on the last page, paid for — in almost impossible to read text — by the American Chemistry Council. This is no group supporting science education. It is a lobbying group for the chemical industry and the people who bring you more and more plastics. The ad uses scare tactics and lies to encourage people not to support a bill in Albany that will help reduce plastic waste. Re-thinking packaging and improving recycling won’t give the consumer fewer choices; it will give us all a cleaner, healthier environment.
Almost all plastics are made from chemicals that come from the production of planet-warming fuels (gas, oil and even coal). Our reliance on plastic therefore prolongs our demand for these dirty fuels. Some of the companies the American Chemistry Council represents are Chevron, Exxon, Shell, Solvay, Daikin and 3M. Many of the companies represented by ACC produce what is known “forever chemicals” — those chemicals that get into our bodies for life and are linked to many health problems.
The American Chemistry Council is spending millions of dollars on public relations campaigns to encourage use of more plastics and nasty chemicals. Among other things, they lobby legislators against regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Now, they are spreading their lies in our local newspapers. People tend to trust their local newspapers. Straus should honor that relationship and not take money from groups that do not care about — are actually out to hurt — Warwick, Monroe and neighboring communities.
I write this letter because I value the Straus newspapers. I understand that it is increasingly harder to keep local news alive. I want the Straus newspapers to survive. I just don’t want them to compromise their good reputation by accepting false advertisng.
Gail Buckland
Warwick