Plastic!

Let's just dive right in, shall we? (Pun intended)  Plastics. *sigh* Where to begin.  I can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about writing this post.

Life without plastic is not impossible, but I can honestly say it is, unfortunately, realistically far-fetched in the world we live in today.  I would love to be able to live plastic-free but, for me, that is just not financially feasible.  However, some people can do it and if you think you can, I highly encourage you!  Here is a great blog about a woman who has committed herself to living plastic free!  When you sit down and think about how much plastic you use in your daily life, it can be astounding.

To keep you from getting over-whelmed with the amount of information I want to share about plastics, I'll break it down (if only!) and focus specifically on plastic marine debris. *twitch twitch*

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), plastic marine debris is defined as, "a collection of artificial or man-made chemical compounds that come in about as many shapes, sizes, and colors as you can imagine! For example, foam carry-out containers (made of polystyrene) and bottle caps (made of polypropylene) are items that would be considered plastic marine debris if found in our oceans or waterways."

Now, the reason plastics are so awful, is because they never just "go away," especially in our oceans.  Did you know they do not biodegrade like something might on land?  In the ocean, these plastics that are so commonly used, only break into smaller and smaller pieces, just compounding the problem.  These tiny, tiny pieces are called micro-debris or micro-trash.  How do you clean up something that is microscopic?  This is one of the main problems researchers are facing.

These microscopic pieces of plastic, that we ultimately put there, are killing wildlife and even getting into our food chain.  The fish mistake the pieces for food, we catch the fish and eat them.  In turn, we're consuming the chemical traces left in the fish from the leaching plastics.  It also affects marine birds who depend on these fish.  The Midway Atoll, located in the Northern Pacific, is famous for the amount of plastics found in marine birds.  Here is a picture of a bird that died, and upon its decomposition, you can easily see the cause of death.

  

It's not just the microscopic plastic trash that is causing all the problems.  Plastic grocery bags!  I was very happy to find out that LA passed a ban on plastic bags in late May.  Many cities are now joining this movement.  I encourage everyone to get those .99 reusable bags from where ever you do your shopping.  It makes a difference and every little bit counts.  The plastic bags blow into the oceans and so easily look like jellyfish, often choking hungry marine life.  This is one easy step you can take to ease my stress! ;)  If not for the oceans, for me!  Did you know, a little less than 20% of the ocean pollution simply comes from beach-goers trash being swept out to sea?  Com'on people!

*UPDATE*

Plastic water bottles! Oh how I loath them!  I don't know how on earth I didn't mention them when I initially posted this.  They are awful and are a MAJOR factor in the oceans pollution.  You know, it's crazy, we live in the United States of America (assuming majority of my readers are) and we're fortunate enough to have clean tap water delivered to our homes for pennies a gallon!  Take advantage of that!  According to National Geographic, people will pay somewhere between 240-10,000 times more for bottled water!  Does that make sense to you? 

I know everyone is constantly on the go and it's important to stay hydrated, but there are other ways to do that than buying bottled water in a country where we can get it for FREE!  Get a stainless steel water bottle or BPA free bottle and refill it!  Make it a habit to take it everywhere you go (along with your reusable grocery bags).  You can ask my friends, I have a water bottle pretty much constantly attached to my hip (sometimes literally). 

Travel Tip: Traveling somewhere via plane and can't take water through security?  Bring your water bottle and fill it up on the other side of security from one of the FREE water fountains.  Traveling by car?  Most times, gas stations will let you fill up your water bottle with the chilled water from their soda dispensers.  If it's not free, it's pennies!  Well worth it.  Get bold with your water bottle, it's your right!

Leave only footprints.