Lithuania & NYC Declares War on Tide Pods
Here's the latest dispatch.
Good afternoon,
For you newbies out there, welcome to Outsider on the Inside. I hope this dispatch from in and around the nation’s capital on underreported topics finds you well.
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Quick Thoughts of the Week
If you don’t already, follow IWF’s Center for Energy and Conservation (which I helm). I can’t believe it’s been three months since I got promoted to center director!
RIP to Putin critic Alexei Navalny - who died at age 47 in a Russian penal colony (former GULAG). But please continue raving about how great Moscow subways and grocery stories are. / sarc
President Biden waited over a year to visit East Palestine, Ohio—the town ravaged by a toxic train derailment—to console the people. His EPA administrator lied about their concern too.
Check out my Safari Club Convention vlog on YouTube.
The new target of climate alarmists: your urban garden. Insanity, right?
That’s it for the week. Stay tuned for next week’s update!
Lithuania
Last week, my dad joined other participants of Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation’s “Witness” project for a special event at the D.C. Museum. The event was keynoted by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R-VA) - also a child of socialism escapees - and replete with good times, food, and drink.
The Baltic nation of Lithuania, where my family hails from, is also celebrating its 106th Independence Day today. From LRT:
The celebration on February 16 is actually called the State Restoration Day (Lietuvos valstybės atkūrimo diena). On February 16, 1918, the twenty members of the Council of Lithuania signed a document – the Act of Independence – declaring Lithuania a sovereign democratic state with the capital city Vilnius.
The document said Lithuania was severing statehood ties with all other nations – what it meant was primarily Russia, which ruled the land since the late 18th century, and Germany, under whose administration Lithuanians fell during World War One.
Google Doodle also observed the holiday. Lithuania, like other formerly Soviet-occupied nations, celebrates two independence days—with March 11th being Restoration of Independence Day.
And last night, folk singer Josiah Leming (of Josiah and the Bonnevilles fame) released a new song on the deluxe version of his recent album called “Lithuania.”
This was also pretty cool.
NYC Villanizes Tide Pods in Effort to Combat Microplastics Pollution
New York City isn’t serious about tackling crime unless it involves criminalizing the use of Tide Pods.
The Big Apple could be the first place in the U.S. to ban laundry and dishwasher pods under the guise of curbing microplastic pollution.
Referred to as the “Pods are Plastic Bill,” this legislation would ban the sale of detergent pods and sheets containing the ingredient known as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA or PHOV). If the city council passes the proposal, it would go into effect in January 2026 and result in a $400 penalty for anyone selling or distributing the products in question. Succeeding offenses would result in an additional $400 fine.
Bill proponents include Blueland—an eco-friendly cleaning products company advocating for detergent pod bans. In the past, the company asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to remove PVA from its Safer Choice and Safer Chemicals Ingredients list. Nevertheless, the agency denied the petition last April.
“The hope is to move the market to alternatives that don’t involve this plastic that is designed to go down our drains,” Blueland co-founder and CEO Sarah Paiji Yoo said. “Our hope is that this will be an impetus for companies broadly to innovate beyond single-use plastic and the use of single-use plastic for pods and sheets and other single-dose mechanisms.”
ICYMI: Alaska Conservation Nation Report
Stay tuned for Part II dropping end of March!
ICYMI
Articles/commentary/media appearances from the past week.
MEDIA MENTIONS
I appeared on The Andy Caldwell Show to discuss NYC mulling a tide pod ban and Biden’s Western Solar Plan.
ARTICLES/BLOGS
District of Conservation
Catch up on District of Conservation episodes below.
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—Gabriella