Last Wednesday, April 25, 2012 we
hosted Karen Ristuben,
an artist from Gloucester, MA. She gave a beautiful and eye-opening
presentation called Just one Word.... It was
full of information about plastics and what they have been doing to our planet
since they came into every day use in the 50's. I won't go into the
details of her presentation. I hope you will click on the links we have
provided so that you can go and look for yourselves at some of what she was
talking about but let me just say that it moved me to tears and it has caused
me to really think about my own consumption of plastic, convenience and how
unbelievably careless and cavalier I have been. Like many of us, I try to
be conscious about my impact on my environment but Karen's presentation really
brought it home to me (and I hope to others like me) that I say a lot but when
it comes right down to it, I don't do enough. I thought I did. I really thought
I did but in one hour I was forced to be honest and admit that I am not
consistent and that sometimes the convenience that plastics afford my life
often trumps the environment. We can all do more. How many times have we heard
that and try to do just that? After listening to Karen's performance I realized
that we HAVE to do more. We have a
lot to take care of.
7 billion tons. That's
how much plastic is floating in our oceans. I'm sure you have all heard of the
floating island of plastic that is the size of Texas. Well it exists. And
it isn't just one. It is at least five. Plastic islands gather in the 5
gyres in each of the five oceans. And it isn't just floating on the
surface it is pervasive into the water column. Plastics break down into
smaller floating bits that outnumber plankton 5 to 1. And let's talk about all
of the chemicals that also leach out of the plastic into the water column.
Bisphenol A (BPA) and polystyrene to name a few. Plastic soup. So all this plastic
that was created to last forever, and it does, was created for convenience and
usually to be used once.
These 7 billion tons
of forever plastic doesn't just float indefinitely- it gets eaten by fish,
turtles, whales, seals and ultimately us. It gets into the guts of birds,
around heads of animals and residual chemicals can even end up in breast milk
-not in trace amounts- but in significant concentrations. The most
natural and "breast is best" idea can actually be a direct line to
toxic exposure for your infant. So just because we don't chew on plastic
bags or mistake floating plastic bits as food we are still ingesting it in one
form or another.
There is so much
more information out there on this. But I have to admit that listening to this
presentation made me realize how pervasive, and insidiously embedded in MY life
(and possibly yours too) plastics are. When I got I home I noticed it
EVERYWHERE IN MY HOUSE. Plastic gallon water bottles that I used to make my
baby's plastic bottles with formula that is in plastic containers. I noticed
that all of our medications are in plastic bottles. Soda bottles. Tupperware.
Plastic take out containers. Cups. Kids plates. A Bumbo and its tray.
Toys. Utensils. And this was just in my kitchen.
Taking inventory of
the plastic that is in my life and home I am overwhelmed. How did I get here? How do I get out of
it? I know that every little bit can help but where to start? So here is MY
list of what I am going to do to curb my plastic consumption. It is not
extensive- YET- but it is a starting point.
-I will try to not
ever use another plastic bag again.
-Spend the money! I
will get my water treated so I don't ever buy another plastic water bottle
again.
-I will not buy
another drink in a plastic container.
- Recycle as much as
I can.
-Learn what plastics
are truly recycle-able and try not to use the others.
-I will help clean
up my beaches and my woods.
-I will donate toys
and hope that the next owners will donate them when they are finished.
-I will decline a
straw at restaurants.
-I will always have
my travel mug or cup with me.
-I will bring my
reusable bags everywhere.
- I am switching my
baby to cloth diapers
-I will join the
local effort to make Portsmouth, NH plastic bag free. If we can make places
implement a non-smoking ban I am sure we can make them be plastic bag free.
-I haven't figured
out what to do about other plastic containers and packaging- how do I avoid
having to buy those?
This is hardly
anything but it is a start.
Anyone reading this-
if you have other ideas- please comment and let me know. We can start a list
and pass it around.
I want to leave this
planet knowing I did as much as possible to keep it healthy and alive. And this
is how I am starting.
How will you?
