The omnipresence and versatility of plastics make them a building block of the modern world. They are used in everything from making airplanes lighter (and thus more fuel-efficient) and manufacturing electric cars; to auto dashboards and safety glass in windshields and lenses; to bulletproof vests; to carpets, housewares, pantyhose, clothes, and shoes; to packaging (yogurt containers) and keeping food fresh (and thus preventing disease). They are used for water pipes, eliminating metal piping that rusts, and in solar panels and wind towers and blades, and in the casing of cell phones.
