"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can..."

Today I started to wonder if any one person's individual efforts can possibly make a difference. In sixty to seventy short years, we've littered the planet with non-biodegradable plastic -- and there's no sign of stopping. 

Particularly at large events in which public safety is critical, disposable plastic is par for the course. 

  
One can spend a lot of time arguing whether plastic manufacturers and chemical companies perpetuate public demand for disposable plastics (or vice versa) but in the end, the former keeps producing stuff designed to be thrown away after one use and the latter continues to consume it.

On June 11th, I challenged myself to get off of non-disposables and have remained committed to the practice. Today at an ice cream social event, for example, I managed to participate without creating plastic garbage by choosing ice cream in a cone. Still, many opted for a bowl. Did it really matter that I took my ice cream in a cone? If there had been no cones, would I have not taken the ice cream? (I really wanted the ice cream.) What's one more disposable bowl and spoon?

Sixty-six (66) days ago, a colleague and I went to see the documentary, Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. I went feeling a bit like I was the choir to which the movie would speak. Shortly into the film, I realized with complete dismay that I'd walked into the auditorium with an armload of disposables for the convenience of a take-out dinner (see the picture on the inaugural post). 

How invisible the disposable waste problem was to me! 

Seeing the film that evening was what prompted the initial 20-day challenge and my attempts to highlight what I've learned here.

Tonight, after weeks of preparation, the student colleague who accompanied me to the film sixty-six days ago successfully brought the Plastic Paradise film to our workplace as the culmination of his summer project. Roughly sixty people came. This was fewer than we had hoped but in his introductory remarks, my colleague reminded me of Margaret Mead's famous words:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
 
My colleague encouraged me tonight when he recited these words, even while I've reminded myself of these words previously (see 4th of July post). The operative words are "small group". It's easy to get discouraged working toward something on one's own.

Still, one my own, here's something I used to buy - and throw away - every day:

Here's what I haven't thrown away in the last 65 days: 

I could take similar pictures of the paper towels I no longer always grab on autopilot, or the plastic bags, restaurant carry-out and yogurt containers that used to accumulate in my cupboards.  

One person's actions do add up, often pretty quickly. Why not be that person?

Then, find other people to become a small group that begins to change the world.