Bottled water is ubiquitous, taken for granted, and seemingly benign. Americans are consuming bottled water in massive amounts and spending a lot of money: In 2007, Americans spent $11.7 billion on 8.8 billions gallons of bottled water (Gashler 2008). That same year, two million plastic water bottles were used in the United States every five…

Plastic baggies, especially the sealable variety, seem to be a ubiquitous part of human culture. The zipper-type seal on plastic baggies is an example of an unappreciated engineering accomplishment that is relevant to everyday life. In fact, the challenge of fastening two pieces together probably dates back to the making of tools and clothing by…

In this lesson, a ready-to-teach cooperative reading activity, students learn about the effects of plastics in our environment, specifically that certain petrochemicals act as artificial estrogens and impact hormonal activities. Much of the content in this lesson was synthesized from recent medical research about the impact of xenoestrogens and…