WHAT: Join Adam Mahoney, journalist and co-author of The Problem with Plastic, and Regina Martin and Zoe Cunliffe of Black Women for Wellness for a free talk about the new book, The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late, and panel discussion on how fossil fuel and plastic pollution are impacting South Los Angeles.
WHEN: Saturday, June 20, 2026, at 11:30AM PT US
WHERE: Lore Leimert Park
4334 Degnan Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90008 (map)
This event is free and open to all.
Plastic is everywhere—wrapped around our food, stitched into our clothes, even coursing through our veins. What began as a marvel of modern science has become a toxic industry that is harming our health, polluting our planet, and driving climate change. According to a recent report in The Lancet, the world is in a plastics crisis, causing disease and death from infancy to old age, and covering the planet with 8 billion tons of plastic waste. Without bold new laws, these problems will only worsen. Plastic production has increased exponentially since single-use plastic’s start, from 2 million tons per year in 1950 to 450 million tons per year today. And production is expected to triple by 2060. Given that less than 6% of plastic is actually recycled in the United States, all that plastic will continue to harm us, our communities, and our environment.
The good news is there’s still time to turn off the tap and live in a world without pointless plastic. That’s the hopeful message at the heart of the new book, The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late from The New Press by Judith Enck and Adam Mahoney with Beyond Plastics.
The plastic pollution crisis is massive, systemic, and urgent. But The Problem with Plastic offers hope: We, collectively, have the power and influence to effectively slow the production of plastic. Plastic pollution is not inevitable; it’s the result of choices made by businesses, governments, and, to a lesser extent, everyday people. By equipping people with knowledge, hope, and an arsenal of solutions, we can put people and the planet before plastic, and save ourselves while there’s still time.
Join Adam Mahoney and Regina Martin and Zoe Cunliffe of Black Women for Wellness for a free book talk and panel discussion at Lore Leimert Park in Los Angeles, CA, on Saturday, June 20, at 11:30AM to learn more about the plastic pollution crisis and the solutions outlined in this bold new book.
Adam Mahoney is a climate and environmental reporter who has reported from more than a dozen U.S. states and Palestine, Mexico, Uganda, and Vietnam for newspapers and magazines including The New York Times and The Guardian. He lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.