NH Marine Debris: October 2012

Last night I was on Facebook looking at the silly and the maddening, the cute kids, brides and the "science-y" posts. In any case, I ran across two very interesting articles that elicited two very different reactions on essentially the same subject matter- PLASTIC. The first was this link to a great story about Method- a small soap company- that has introduced a new bottle made entirely from recovered ocean plastic! I eagerly clicked on the link, read the article and I inwardly cheered- see humans are not so awful and uncaring- and immediately reposted on my wall and I pinned it onto my Plastics Board on Pinterest. Indeed- it is a very cool accomplishment for Method and it has achieved- at least with me- what I am sure was the driving factor behind this eco-groovy bottle- money! Yes- I am that cynical- however, I also applaud this effort and thus am planning to continue buying this soap because I believe in supporting a company that at leasts invests some of that money into something so eco-worthy and hopefully other companies will follow suit. If one company is successful then others will jump on the bandwagon!

Shortly after reading this GOOD piece of news, my finger clicked on this link to a short piece about what Curiosity, the rover exploring Mars, had come upon. Yep- you guessed it- an as yet to be identified but more than likely piece of PLASTIC. And just like that my thoughts returned to- people are really going to ruin not only this planet but apparently we are beginning to pollute Mars! I actually said under my breath- Is this a joke? And then I immediately posted the link to my Facebook wall.

So why am I going on about this? Well, because as I am thinking about both of these posts, I realized that I am thinking a lot about plastic and marine pollution these days. It is a topic that is constantly in my thoughts either in my personal life or my work. Every time I am at the grocery store and I reach to buy something- I think- is this ok? This is too much plastic. I shouldn't buy it but we need it. Do I have my reusable bag? If I don't- make sure you tell them that you'd rather have paper. NO- I don't want my plastic-wrapped chicken in more plastic thanks! I have tried and continue to try to reduce my plastic consumption. I made the change to cloth diapers but I must say- I still have to use disposables at night otherwise my kids wake up sopping wet. I try to buy our milk in glass bottles from local dairies. I use my reusable cup more often than not these days. I hoard bottle caps and am trying to figure out where to recycle them.

As I was reading those two pieces- I became aware that through plastic (and marine debris and derelict fishing gear) I have found something that makes me want to go to work, makes me write grants and makes me want to save the world- well at least the world's oceans.

Who knew that plastic held such powers?

I certainly did not think that eight months ago I would become so involved and invested both professionally and personally in this cause. I also did not imagine that through my collaborations with Blue Ocean Society (which I inherited) that I would get to spend working hours on gorgeous days on the water, on islands, on sailboats meeting and working with people on both sides of the issue.

Who knew plastic and garbage would open doors for me while at the same time stimulate my brain, develop arm muscles and finally feel like through this, my work matters- in some way- what we do matters. But more than anything else, who knew, that I would become someone who is more than just words and "beliefs"- I am now a person of action (or at least I can say I am doing the best that I can).

Plastic and marine debris- really? Who Knew?