How the plastic industry turned the pandemic to its advantage

Corporations along the plastics value chain have faced a number of environmental and health crises, from toxic scandals to marine plastic waste and the climate emergency. In the two years leading up to the pandemic, the public backlash against plastic was a major concern for industry leaders.

However, the pandemic highlights the importance of plastic products for healthcare and hygiene. This temporary respite from public anti-plastic sentiment opened the door for industry to push back against single-use plastics bans.

During the pandemic, plastic was restored to its original paradoxical status as both a miracle and a menace for society. By the end of 2020, industry leaders had fully embraced the new pandemic narrative about the essential role of plastics in society and many expressed optimism about their future growth.

As one petrochemical industry executive enthused: "The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted how essential our products are. We saw record sales and record volumes for our products throughout the pandemic… over the long term we can continue to see that kind of growth."

The Changing Markets Foundation's report Talking Trash concluded that "the Covid-19 health crisis has, once again, shown that Big Plastic is always primed and ready to co-opt a crisis to its advantage, pushing to undermine environmental legislation or any restrictions on its products… The plastics industry is making cold calculations to carry on with business as usual."

We need legislation and binding regulations to address the plastics crisis.

oygh

2022-09-22 08:23:12 +08:00

这属于那种一听就绝对能听出来是中国人读的。
主要问题可能是汉语发音习惯是每个字都有“韵母”，而英语不是。并且英语里有很多发音是汉语（普通话）里没有的，所以在读的时候，会习惯性地使用汉语发音读法。
不过我觉得这不是问题，十个中国人里，九个半都是这样的。所以这应该是一种特色，而不是问题。

hadwin

2022-09-22 08:36:03 +08:00

口音很明显了。国人读英语（包括我）有个很明显的问题就是，一句话中不自觉地将重音停顿放在了连词介词上，比如 the and in at 等等，而这些词大部分情况下是不包含信息的，需要略读。出现这种情况的原因我个人认为包括：
1.英语句子不同于汉语句子，每个字词不一定都包含准确的意思，很多是为了主语动词服务，读英语句子应该将注意力放在信息点。长句不一定花点时间长，短句不一定不一定花点时间短。
2.词汇量小，对这类没有信息的词很熟悉，而对名词动词陌生，天然的会恐惧，就不自觉地转移的注意力。

以上拙见。希望共同进步。:)

第一次读英语文章，请大家帮听听

How the plastic industry turned the pandemic to its advantage