On this Independence Day

The Ocean Conservancy suggests a simple pledge:

Declare your independence from unnecessary plastic.

Not taking a straw, carrying a reusable mug, keeping canvas bags in one's car for grocery shopping, using silverware instead of plastic utensils, etc. is not so hard. I've been doing these things and have found that while it requires some planning, it's not a huge inconvenience.

None the less, a colleague who participated in the challenge while at work said last week that she often still 'forgets' when she gets lunch and realizes she's taken a plastic utensil, despite the fact that she keeps silverware in her office. I asked why. She explained:  

"It's just so easy to take disposable things."

She suggested that, "We need to make it harder to use them."  At least in reference to plastic bags, some cities, states and countries are doing just that.

"An estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year - 380 billion of those in the U.S. - and governments have been slow-moving at best to do anything about them. ...but things are finally starting to pick up."  -Rachel Cemansky

In the meantime, what else can a person do? The student colleague (whom I mentioned in post #1) said that seeing the damage we're causing (via the documentary we saw) is what compelled him to change his habits. 

The following film, just 3:54 minutes, made by Chris Jordan with the support of many people via Kickstarter, is one of the more visually-compelling and heartbreaking things I've seen:

Midway

 
One person in my city countered: "Our trash doesn't go any where near the ocean. It goes in a large pile south east of town."  Sadly, it's not 'just' in our oceans, caused by people who live near the world's coastlines. Trash is in our Great Lakes, and in lakes, streams and watersheds all over the world. We all generate trash.

All of us can also make a difference, regardless of where we are...one straw, one plastic fork, one plastic bag at a time.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, 

committed citizens can change the world. 

Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. 

- Margaret Mead