Free Republic

An estimated 1.6 billion disposable masks wound up in the ocean in 2020, creating a vast pile of floating plastic waste and threatening marine life across the planet. ... The throwaway masks sent 5500 metric tonnes of plastic into the oceans, which will take up to 450 years to biodegrade ... In China, an estimated 450 million disposable masks were manufactured every day during the height of the pandemic in April 2020. The looming environmental catastrophe prompted one French ecologist to warn last year: “Soon there will be more masks than jellyfish.”

As we hit exactly one year mark until the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the countdown has begun—and with that, the unveiling of the medals that the best athletes in the world will take home next summer. The medals boast the classic designs that fans see every four years as stipulated by the Interantional Olympic Committee, according to Tokyo 2020: Nike, the Greek goddess of victory; the name of the host city; and the five Olympic rings. What makes these medals special to Japan, though, is the public input and assistance that went into their creation. For...