Renaissance Woman

Thursday night, June 2, 2011, I participated in a Twitter forum on plastics.  I was invited to join by Beth Terry of My Plastic Free Life .  Thanks, Beth, for the invite! It was interesting.  Lots of people tweeting at once, so it wasn't so much a conversation as a bunch of individual comments with a few responses - but it gave me a good idea of where people's concerns generally lie.  And they tend not to be as broad-focused as mine (don't get me wrong, there's lots of people out there who are concerned about the effects of plastics on the environment, but not all of them - and I was surprised by some of the comments). It turns out that a lot of the plastic-oponents out there are more concerned about what the chemicals in plastics are doing to their own bodies, as opposed to the planet.  And I get that.  No doubt that the chemicals in plastics are bad for our bodies.  But I see the human body as being a small symptom of what is the real p...

Beth Terry at www.myplasticfreelife.com is going to be putting this on her blog.  She was asking for help finding a copy that she could post, and after watching it, I felt I needed to share it with you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4r3krs8eEY Please watch this.  It's about Britain's plastic recycling being shipped to China.  But the same thing happens with ours.  Not all of it goes to local manufacturers - as a matter of fact, I'm not sure that all of the plastics we put in the recycling bin actually get recycled at all, but I would have to research this. Anyhow, watch this and then think about it next time you decide you can just recycle your plastics and it will all be fine.  REDUCE is the most important part of reduce, reuse, recycle.

This e-mail came across my desk today.  And following it is the reply I sent back. Friends and relatives here is something to think about: In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day." The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. The former generation did not care enough to save our environment." He was right, that generation didn't have the green thing in its day. Back then, they returned their milk bottles, pop bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But they didn't have the green thing back in that customer's day. ...

This e-mail came across my desk today.  And following it is the reply I sent back. Friends and relatives here is something to think about: In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day." The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. The former generation did not care enough to save our environment." He was right, that generation didn't have the green thing in its day. Back then, they returned their milk bottles, pop bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But they didn't have the green thing back in that customer's day. ...

The other day a friend of mine jokingly berated me for ruining his vacation.  He and his wife had gone to the Olympic Peninsula for a getaway.  But as he walked the beaches, all he could do was see the plastic, apparently.  This friend, nearly 20 years ago, had sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, and at that time had started to notice the problem of trash in the seas.  Anyhow, I told him I was glad to ruin his vacation, and hoped he would start ruining things for others ... but in reality, I don't consider being aware of a problem as ruining anything.  Isn't it better to know about it, and be able to do somehting about it?  It's like finding out you have cancer - it might be nice to be blissfully ignorant, but in the longrun, you'd rather find out early, while it can be easily treated, than to wait too long until it's lethal. That's how I see the plastic issue.  If we start to fix it now, maybe it won't be a lethal problem. An article came ove...

Recently, Noel, Daniel and I went on a trip.  It was during this trip that I recognized a tragic generation gap and the short-sightedness of an uneducated (on environmental issues) population (or is it an uncaring population?  I'd prefer to think of it as uneducated).  (My apologies to the people who made the statements herein - I'm using this example to try and make a point, not to berate you). At a dinner, where there were several people (not to be named, because I don't want anyone to be pissed off or embarrassed), let's just say that at least one older member was justifying the use of disposable water bottles.  Granted, the available tap water is not drinkable - smells like sulphur - so there is a need for an alternative.  "I do have a water cooler with larger, refillable bottles, but you're not supposed to refill the small plastic ones because they let off chemicals" ... at which point I called bullshit. If you aren't supposed to re-use a plast...

I just read an editorial piece talking about plastics.  I'd ask you to read it, but if you're too busy, here's the long and the short of it.  Plastic isn't evil.  It's necessary and good in many situations.  Just not as a throwaway material. My comment ... DUH!!  Most of the people I have read are really against single-use plastics.  Plastic bags, pop cup lids, straws, lighters, utensils, etc.  I've read of NO ONE who complains about their plastic keyboard or monitor (and although I'd like to see CDs and DVDs in paper sleeves, I do buy movies and occasionally music - thanks Great Big Seas for putting out your last two CDs in cardboard sleeves).  We need re-think plastic as not being disposable because it is too valuable to be - and this is the point that author is trying to make. As far as grocery store bags are concerned, the alternative to plastic is not paper - it is cloth (although in a pinch I'd rather take paper).  Reusable bags ar...

(Karen G., you might not want to read this - I know you love Disney World, and I don't want to ruin it for you - so skip this one - or just read the last 2 paragraphs). Maybe my love affair with Disney is waning.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm still enjoying parts of our trip .  I still like the rides and the Electric Light Parade was cool given that I saw it in 1976 when it first started and am seeing it again 35 years later (a full-circle moment there).  Disney does what they do very well. We've been in Florida now for 4 full days.  We've done the Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios (Harry Potter World), The Animal Kingdom, and Disney's Hollywood Studios.  It's a lot to do in 4 days.  Our 7-year-old would be happier to sit with Mommy and Daddy by the pool - the parks are a bit much for him when he spends full days there.  We've done a few rides - Pirates of the Caribbean is still a favourite, as is the Haunted Mansion.  But there are things abo...