PPC Webinar | Policy Matters: Solutions for a Plastic Pollution Free U.S.

Plastic pollution is an urgent threat to the climate, human health, communities, the environment, and wildlife. With industries set to triple their plastic production by 2060, public support for policies to reduce plastic pollution is growing across the world. From implementing bag bans and fees on single-use plastics, to rules that strengthen regulations on industrial polluters, communities and policymakers are using many strategies to address the growing plastic pollution crisis. Plastic pollution ultimately needs to be stopped at the source, and encouragingly, leaders in the United States are working to develop policy solutions that do just that. Bills like the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act and Reducing Waste in National Parks Act are legislative solutions intended to reduce and prevent single-use plastic and plastic’s many forms of pollution from impacting our climate, communities, waterways, and natural wonders.

During our September 19 webinar, we will discuss policy solutions for addressing plastic pollution in the United States. Learn about what the Biden Administration is doing from Jonathan Black, Senior Director for Chemical Safety and Plastic Pollution Prevention at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Also joining will be Joan Mooney, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Management and Budget for the U.S. Department of the Interior; and Jane Patton, U.S. Fossil Economy Campaign Manager at the Center for International Environmental Law. The conversation will be moderated by Christy Leavitt, Campaign Director for Oceana. 

Date: Tues., September 19
Time: 2-3 pm PT | 5-6 pm ET
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PANELISTS

Jonathan Black

Jonathan Black (he/him) is the Senior Director for Chemical Safety and Plastic Pollution Prevention at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, a component of the Executive Office of the President. He previously served as a Special Assistant to the President & Senate Legislative Liaison from January 2021 to October 2022 where he worked on some of President Biden’s signature legislative achievements, like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. Prior to that, Jonathan served nearly 20 years in the U.S. Senate working on energy and environmental issues, including chemical safety and plastic pollution issues. He was a Senior Policy Advisor for Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and a Senior Professional Staff Member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources for Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). He is originally from Long Island, New York.

Joan Mooney

Joan Mooney is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Management and Budget for the U.S. Department of the Interior. She most recently was President and CEO of The Faith & Politics Institute, working closely with lawmakers, federal officials, and Board Chair Emeritus Congressman John Lewis at the intersection of their values and public service to advance productive discourse and constructive collaboration. Mooney served as Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Congressional and Legislative Affairs, leading efforts to secure significant increases in agency funding, and as Chief of Staff and Budget Associate for a western Oregon member of Congress. She has degrees from George Mason University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Jane Patton

Jane Patton (she/her) is the U.S. Fossil Economy Campaign Manager at the Center for International Environmental Law. Since 2016, Jane’s work has focused on organizing and coordinating groups around the world and in her home state of Louisiana in the fight against petrochemical pollution, plastics, and carbon capture and storage. You can find the latest on CIEL’s plastics policy work here.

MODERATOR

Christy Leavitt

Christy Leavitt (she/her) is Oceana’s Plastics Campaign Director, overseeing the organization’s U.S. initiatives to address the plastic pollution crisis and curb its devastating impacts on our oceans, climate, and communities. In this role, Christy leads Oceana’s policy experts, scientists, and field team in advocating for federal, state, and local government policies that reduce the production and use of single-use plastics. Under her leadership, Oceana has campaigned to pass more than a dozen state laws and 60 local plastic reduction policies. She has testified before Congressional and state committees and been quoted in numerous news outlets. This fall she will be featured in a new PBS documentary called “We’re All Plastic People Now” about the pervasiveness of plastic pollution in our lives. Christy has advocated and organized for strong environmental policies for more than two decades. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from Occidental College.

RESOURCES

• Center for International Environmental Law
• Oceana
• White House Council on Environmental Quality
• DOJ and EPA File Complaint Over Denka Facility’s Air Pollution Cancer Risks in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana
• Environmental and Health Groups Urge Federal Trade Commission to Update Green Guides, Prohibit False Plastic Recycling Claims
• Investigation of Louisiana’s Environmental Injustices in Cancer Alley Abruptly Ended by EPA
• No Single-Use Plastics in Our National Parks!
• Trains Carrying Toxic Plastics and Chemicals Derail in Ohio and Michigan
• U.S. Policymakers Propose Making July “Plastic Pollution Action Month”
• White House, U.S. EPA Announce New Plans to Address Plastic Pollution