SOURCES & RESOURCES

Hi folks- welcome to my blog. It's less bloggy than most, it's more of a tool for looking up information on PLASTICS, especially as related to marine debris. Plastics have become a big problem for the planet because there is SO MUCH of it and it doesn't go away... ever. Over time it gets brittle and breaks apart into smaller and smaller pieces, but the strong synthetic plastic polymers continue to exist. The oceans are particularly vulnerable to this phenomenon because the cold water and lack of bacteria make it even more difficult for breakdown to occur.
Maybe by now you have heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an area roughly 2 times the size of Texas in the middle of the N Pacific Subtropical Gyre which is becoming a plastic soup. It's a sad state of affairs, but fixable in that all we have to do, I mean ALLLLLL of us, is be more sensible in our habits and consumer choices. Bring Your Own Bags to the grocery store; Bring Your Own Mug to the cafe; choose less packaged products when possible. It's doable, for a worthwhile cause...
Poke around below to find out more.

Nurdles (pre-production plastic pellets)

Nurdles (pre-production plastic pellets)
Manufacturers need to be responsible for cleaning up their own spills

Saturday, February 16, 2008

April Pledge

Okay, so, we each accidentally got us into this mess. That's the good news, it means we can each intentionally get us out. How? One pledge. A pledge that is written in mental stone. Just one. Just yours, that you follow through on, because a pledge is a promise and if you promise the Earth something, that's a promise you should keep. Big Earth, don't fib to Mother Nature.

So, examples for APRIL. That's all, let's start with one month- THAT we can all do. Let's do Earth Month because Earth Day seems awfully short, considering it's a whole planet we're honoring. End each of the following with "... in April."
1. I pledge NEVER to buy a plastic water bottle.
2. I pledge to bring my own tote bags EVERY TIME I go grocery shopping.
3. I pledge to bring my own mug for my soy latte caffeine fix.
4. I pledge to pick up at least 3 pieces of plastic every time I walk down the beach/sidewalk/park.
5. I pledge to NEVER accept a Styrofoam to-go container from a restaurant- I will ask for an alternative beforehand.
6. I pledge to write one letter to one company that I find ludicrously overpackages its products.

One month. Once your pledge becomes habit, I bet you'll never go back.
What's your pledge?

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