A beach full of trash with nowhere to go

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Kimberly Adams (0:31)

A familiar face is joining the Treasury Department and a beach full of trash with nowhere to go.

From Marketplace in Washington, I'm Kimberly Adams. The Treasury Department has a new addition this morning. Economist Judy Shelton is joining as a counselor to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to advise him on, according to a release from the department, currency policy with a particular focus on evaluating financial conditions in China. For more on Shelton and what her appointment might mean, we're joined by Chris Lowe, Chief Economist at FHN Financial in New York. Good morning, Chris.

Chris Lowe (1:07)

Good morning, Kimberly.

Kimberly Adams (1:08)

Let's dig in to this news about the Treasury Secretary naming Judy Shelton as a counselor in his office. Remind us who Shelton is and what this might mean for Treasury.

Chris Lowe (1:19)

Shelton is an economist and made her reputation for backing a return to the gold standard. She was nominated by President Trump in his first term as a governor at the Federal Reserve, but her nomination did not make it through the Senate. Since then, she's been in the periphery of the White House, not an official economic advisor, but obviously still talking to the president.

In this case, she's been hired on as a senior advisor at the Treasury, apparently because she is an expert on the Chinese economy and Bessent is looking for advice.

Kimberly Adams (2:04)

Let's turn to some other news this week. US Treasury yields hit a 24-year high this week. We've just seen so much volatility in this market. What are you expecting coming down the line?

Chris Lowe (2:16)

This is an increase in what's called the term premium. That is effectively payment for the risk of holding debt over a long period of time.

When the term premium rises, it's because traders are worried about the quantity of debt that's expected to be sold.

Kimberly Adams (2:37)

Chris Lowe is Chief Economist at FHN Financial in New York. Thank you, Chris.

Chris Lowe (2:41)

Thank you.

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Kimberly Adams (4:15)

Two years ago, Congress approved millions of dollars in funding to clean up some of the nation's dirtiest beaches and many of those beaches are also in some of the areas that are hardest to access. But then cuts by the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency effectively killed the project. Now, there's no clear future for all that trash. Emily Schwing reports from Alaska.

Emily Schwing (4:38)

25 years ago, Eric Palaster's dad founded Gulf of Alaska Keeper or GOAK. The nonprofit has hauled hundreds of thousands of pounds of plastic waste off Alaskan beaches ever since.

Eric Palaster (4:52)

Nobody knows that one of the most remote places on the planet that should be absolutely clean is hammered by garbage.

Emily Schwing (5:00)

To get here, you have to take a helicopter. The flight over Montague Island, a narrow strip of land that separates Prince William Sound from the Gulf of Alaska, reveals miles of littered beaches, hundreds of giant white square bundles dot the coastline. These are super sacks. They're the size of garbage dumpsters and filled with, well, garbage.

Every year, dramatic storms and ocean currents carry tons of marine debris to this island from all over the world. For the last two summers, dozens of GOAK crew members and volunteers have come out here to clean up as much as they can. That includes Daniel Hatley.