Public concern about plastic pollution has been rising.  More and more of us are choosing reusable grocery bags, metal straws, and reusable water bottles.  We shake our heads at images of immense plastic garbage patches in the ocean. We see reports of birds with 15% of their body weight in plastic.

While all of this is going on, companies like ExxonMobil, Shell, and

Saudi Aramco are ramping up production of plastic – which is mostly made from

oil, gas, and their byproducts.  They are

doing this as a hedge against the growing possibility that the global response

to climate change will reduce demand for their fuels.  Plastics are part of the category called

petrochemicals, which currently account for 14% of oil use.  Petrochemicals are expected to drive half of

oil demand growth over the next 30 years.

The World Economic Forum predicts plastic production will double in

the next 20 years.  The fracking boom in

the United States has turned this country into a big growth area for plastic

production.  Natural gas prices are low

which is hurting profits at fracking operations.  But fracking also unearths ethane, which is a

feedstock for plastic production.  So

plastic is becoming a kind of subsidy for fracking.

The American petroleum industry’s hub has historically been the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana as well as a stretch along the lower Mississippi River.  There is a slew of new projects there.  The industry is also seeking to create a new plastics corridor in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, where fracking wells are rich in ethane.

Society in general may be increasingly concerned about the impact of

things like carbon emissions and plastic pollution, but the fossil fuel

industry continues to focus entirely on growth and profits.

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The Plastics Pipeline: A Surge of New Production Is on the Way

Photo, posted January 10, 2015 , courtesy of Daniel Orth via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.