A Green Fire

I have spoken about the plastic problem before, but I don’t think I have address the problem with plastic in the oceans.  I want to point you to some great sites where you can learn all about the growing plastic contamination of our oceans.

JUNK is a raft made of thousands and thousand of plastic bottles.  The bottles are bound together into pontoons that form the flotation for the raft.  It is being sailed from California to Hawaii by two men.  The blog tells of their progress so far.  The reason they are doing it is to bring attention to the plastic trash floating everywhere.

Algalita Marine Research is where you can learn about the Algalita and the North Pacific Gyre.  This summer, the boat went out to document the ‘Texas sized garbage patch’ present in the gyre.  It is actually bigger than Texas.  Check out their site.

A film crew went out this past summer on the Algalita to film what is in the ocean, what the Algalita found, and if the garbage patch was real.  If you want to see what they found, look at Garbage Island. This is their 12 part documentary about the gyre and all the trash there.

What it comes down to is that all our garbage blows out to sea or gets washed there by our rivers.  Anything that can float or be carried by the water eventually ends up in the ocean.  Once there, it just hangs around forever, being broken into smaller and smaller pieces, but never really decomposing because plastic does not decompose.  It breaks down into smaller pieces, but it is still plastic.

What can one individual do?  Until there is an alternative to plastic, the best thing a person can do is dramatically reduce the amount of plastic they use.  Every time you make a choice other than plastic, you are helping reduce how much will eventually be in the environment, hanging out forever.

There is a LOT of information in the news these days about how harmful and dangerous plastic is to human health.  Check out, Polymers Are Forever and Plastic Ocean.

The problem can seem overwhelming, the more you learn.  I am working towards improving my health on all levels, and part of that is trying to reduce the amount of plastic I use, as well as, the amount of new plastic I purchase.  These are small steps, but I think it is important that I am making them, rather than just ignoring the issue.  I am no where near the level of Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish, but I am thankful she gives such good information on how to reduce consumption.  She also offers loads of alternatives to plastic.

One step I have taken is my work water bottle.  I have a glass bottle with a metal screw top lid.  It started life as a bottle of apple juice that I bought.  When the juice was gone, I kept the bottle and now I refill it with tap water from the water fountain at my work.  I have saved about three dollars a day doing this, because that’s how often I fill it.  That’s at least three disposable bottles a day that I am not consuming.

At home, I have a filtered pitcher to filter out the chlorine from my water. I drink that water out of my glasses, and I use it in my coffee maker.  I don’t buy bottled water for home use.  My tap water is well water, not city water.  I live too far out in the county to be on a city system.

I will be going back on the road with my job in September.  One option I am looking into is a Kleen Kanteen.  Ms. Terry recommends this product.  The advantage is it almost plastic free, it is easily refillable, and I will ALWAYS know which water container is mine.  Also, if I drop it, it will not shatter.  Potential shattering is why I do not want to take a glass bottle with me.

What’s one change you have made to reduce plastic use in your life?

Today for lunch, I went to a grocery store to get a hot lunch.  I like that option b/c usually there are several vegetable choices and there is a small line, and I like to take my food to the park afterwards.

This was my first time at this particular grocery store and after she put my food in a Styrofoam container, she then wrapped it in plastic!?! I had never seen that done before and I was quite surprised.  My tea was in a Styrofoam cup and came with a plastic straw. Sheesh.  I felt like a walking garbage pail kid, spreading filth where ever I stepped.

Well, I get to the park and open it up and inside the plastic sleeve with my plastic fork and knife are my tiny salt and pepper packets.  I checked just because I was curious.  The pepper packet said ingredients, ground pepper.  The salt however contained, Sodium chloride, sodium silicoalum? (last letter or letters torn off because I opened it before I read the back) , dextrose, potassium iodide, and sodium bicarbonate.  Whoa.

Just what is all that?  Well the first ingredient is, well, salt.  The second is a mystery, the third is a form of sugar, the fourth is added to table salt in small quantities to make it “iodized”.  Lastly we have sodium bicarbonate, more commonly known as baking soda.

That’s a lot of stuff for a tiny packet that is boldly labeled SALT and instead is much more.  I did not sprinkle it on my black eyed peas.  I went with the ground pepper instead.  I’m not sure why this salt packet has so many ingredients.  My salt at home is labeled, salt.

I am unhappy with how much plastic and Styrofoam I encountered with this lunch as well.  This has inspired me to reinforce my goal of bringing my lunch as much as possible.