Why Waste Annoys Me: Part Two of a Three Part Blog - Plastics

Waste Part Two: What's with all the disposable plastic?

I hate plastic, this is a hate that is only rivaled by my hatred from our culturally engrained dependence on plastics.

Here are some of many reasons for my intense hatred of this material:

• plastics are made from petroleum, the same oil we know is responsible for mass global environmental degradation among other evils. 
• plastics are filled with chemicals, that have a known impact on the health of humans and other living organisms and their production releases toxins into the air.
• the majority of the Great Pacific Garbage Island is made up of plastics. With six times more microscopic plastic debris than zooplankton.
• our landfills are packed full of disposable one time use plastics (such as grocery bags), which take an estimated 500 years or more to bio degrade.
• contrary to public belief, most plastics can not be recycled.

 

Consider how much plastic you consume on a daily basis. How much of it was necessary? Really? Think about it? Did you NEED your coke to come in a plastic bottle? Or could you have purchased the same coke in a glass bottle? (A bottle that is then returned for reuse). Did you NEED to put each piece of produce at the grocery store in a plastic bag? Did you NEED plastic bags at the store when you purchased one t shirt? Probably not! In fact, there is almost no facet of our daily lives that needs plastic. Specifically one time use plastics. These items are the worst offenders among the plastics as they have a high rate of pollution and wildlife degradation and are used for a very short period before being discarded.

You don't need the plastic so just don't use it. I promise your life will continue to flourish without it. I save hundreds of dollars a year actively avoiding plastics; from the discounts I get for bringing my own grocery bags, to the beauty of the itzy rityz reusable sandwich bags, I save money (i feel like I say this in every blog) and the environment. You can take your plastic crusade to the next level as well: recently I noticed some of the products I like to buy no longer come in non plastic packaging. As a result I've started sending emails to these companies requesting they make a change to their product packaging to more sustainable materials, hopefully, if enough of us do this these companies will make changes. In the meantime I am doing everything I can to avoid buying the product finding alternatives or making my own things, like mayonnaise, shampoo, and cleaning products; which can then be stored in reusable glass jars and bottles.

Please, don't consider this post an "I'm so much more sustainable than you" post. I'm not! I just really really hate plastic and want very much to see its eradication from our lives. I implore you to be a part of the movement to a plastic free lifestyle, take the pledge. 


I leave you with this! 

TED Talk:  Dianna Cohen: Tough truths about plastic pollution

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fddYApFEWfY


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Waste Part One
Waste Part Three (coming soon!)

Why Waste Annoys Me: Part One of a Three Part Blog

Waste Part One: The Diva Cup

I'm gonna come right out and say the thought about over consumption that most often fills my mind,  "American's are wasteful pigs." Yes, that is harsh. In fact, it is judgmental and short sighted, nonetheless it is how I feel about the issue. Stranger still I am not the perfect no impact person; although I wish we all could be, rather I am only aware of the waste and angry about it. We have created an economy dependent on mass consumption and extreme waste. This has as much to do with our abuse of natural resources as it does our need to acquire more and more "stuff".

Don't get me wrong, I don't feel helpless, and I do as much as I can to reduce my overall impact, especially how much waste I generate. But, I also want to do more and the way we have structured American lifestyles and culture makes this very very hard. In my opinion too hard! I imagine this is why so few people make changes to their daily life and consumption, because it is very complex to make these changes. This three part series will focus on some of the easy and cost effective changes I've made and how others can do the same.

The Diva Cup

What is the Diva Cup? Only the greatest most amazing menstrual product in existence.

The Diva Cup and other menstrual cups, are one of many ways women can save money and reduce their impact on the planet!

Its a biological reality that women menstruate; our consumer economy figured out just how lucrative this is and created a disposable solution about 100 years ago. This solution has since filled our landfills, with tampons and sanitary pads. Around the world these same products wash up on our beaches and float through our rivers. If you're thinking "ick" you are right! Products which typically contain polyethylene plastic, carcinogens like dioxin, and synthetic fibers in our water! I don't want this in my body and I certainly don't want it in my environment!

The average woman uses over 9000, tampons in her lifetime. Think about the implication of this for our landfills; packaging, plastic applicators, and the products themselves all require more and more resources, energy, and waste. By comparison one tiny diva cup can last for years and can be used over and over again. I won't go into the finer details of use and how (for that you can go here), instead I want to use the example of the diva cup as a way I believe we can shift how we consume and improve our overall quality of life. While the product itself is only used by women the benefits can and will benefit everyone. Sometimes being sustainable is expensive, think solar panels and electric cars, but more often a sustainable choice is easy convenient and saves money. The diva cup is an amazing way to do just that. Ladies, you can reduce your impact on the planet and your wallet as well.

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Part Two
Part Three (coming soon)

Monterey, California – Inspiration for Environmental Conservation

I am writing this while sitting on the beach, overlooking Monterey Bay. I was reflecting on my life and the path, which lead me full circle to this very spot on the beach.

I first visit Monterey, California when I was six years old, during a trip to visit family in San Jose. The city and surrounding area on the coast of California is historic and beautiful. The city is somehow both, quiet and filled with life. We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where I saw the life that lives in the ocean for the first time. I remember gazing into the tanks marveling at the underwater world in awe.  

I saw my first shark that day, and I will never forget the moment, as it sparked a life long love affair with the ocean, the environment, and biodiversity. The shark was so smooth, she moved so easily and quickly through the water, I had to know more.

I spent the next several years of my life obsessively learning everything I could about the ocean. I read every book, and watched every documentary I could get my hands on in the library. I begged my parents to take me to the ocean; at every chance I was underwater, snorkeling, swimming and marveling at a world so very different from ours.  At 12 (the then minimum age for a certification), while on a family vacation in Hawaii, I became a certified PADI Open Water Diver.  I saved for two years to pay for the training costs; indeed many of my decisions in my early years were driven by my passion for the ocean.

I spent many summers diving in Hawaii, in love with the colors of the coral and the fish. As I grew older I began to see the correlation between the health of our oceans and the influence of human impact. My understanding of an ecosystem in or out of balance became apparent in other biomes as well. A born and raised Arizonan I could see our desert withering in the way of rapid sub-urban growth. The ocean was only one of many ecosystems in peril. As a teenage this angered me.

Time marched on, I moved forward with my life. I went to university and obtained a masters degree. I found myself moving into adulthood and completely disconnected from nature and the ocean. Life was in the way. So I quit, I quit it all. I returned to my first love, the ocean.

I travelled around the world carrying on an international love affair with coral reefs, deserts, rainforests, glaciers, jungles, savannahs, and every other diverse and magical land our planet has to offer. I traveled for years, across entire continents, and then it happened, after several months in Southeast Asia, while sitting on the beach in Thailand (apparently I do a lot of thinking at the beach); I knew where I wanted to go with my life. I had been around the globe in the last two years, during which I worked and traveled through 15 states and 18 countries. A common theme emerged: American’s are wasteful. In Canada, our northern counterpart, efforts to recycle, conserve and reduce environmental impact were apparent everywhere. In rapidly developing countries like Guatemala, and Thailand there was strategic development that left room for nature, people (including the wealthy) were more careful about what and how they consumed resources.

In countries with widespread poverty and income disparity, like Cambodia and South Africa, water and food security took a central focus; mass consumption had not yet trumped necessities. While working in Utila, Honduras I repeatedly found myself without access to fresh water, the little island just seemed to run out. Water to drink was expensive and forget a 15 minute hot shower. Nonetheless, despite hardship, the people of these nations were happy. They didn’t need a car for every person in their household. They could live happy full successful lives with much less.

Seeing this had a huge impact on me. It changed how I view “stuff” and how I consume.  The lessons I learned from traveling the world brought me to where I am today. Studying Environmental Science and getting ready to apply for graduate programs in environmental sustainability. I believe we can all live more sustainable lives and I want to be a part of that change.

And to think it all started with a shark.

Peak Phosphorus – Is “Dooms Day” around the corner?

After doing some extensive reading on the subject earlier in the semester for this Sustainable World course, I have been haunted by the notion of peak phosphorus! Phosphorus is critical to the very existence of every living cell on this planet. Critical cell growth, development, and processes such as photosynthesis and cellular respiration are contingent upon phosphorus. 

 (The Calvin Cycle)

 

The issue of course is the very role it plays in life, which is resulting in its ultimate depletion. Phosphorus is so key to growth of living things that we are mining it to enhance the growth and production of our food. Fast growing bigger plants means more food for more people. However, when the phosphorus is gone it means more people will starve.

The notion of peak phosphorus feels very “dooms day”, nonetheless, we literally cannot live without it. It is this very reason I am so concerned. Very few people seem to be worried, little to no mainstream media is addressing this issue, and the phosphorus cycle is not taught regularly in school science classroom. I wonder how many people even realize how critical this resource is to our existence and its continued presence is key to preventing starvation. 

What are we to do?!