This summer I have been given the opportunity to work as a volunteer "explainer" for a spectacular, but sad, art exhibit called Washed Ashore by artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi. This beautiful set of 15 sculptures (and a photo-mosaic) is being held at the Sausalito/Marin Headlands area-based Marine Mammal Center. The Center is the world's largest marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation hospital, serving 600+ miles of California coastline, and receiving an average of 600-800 rescue patients per year. From June 25-October 15 of 2011, they are holding this wonderful exhibit made entirely of trash that washed up on 60 miles of Oregon beach. (40 miles of that 60 were completely cleared of trash-- score!) This compilation of trash sculptures is meant to, and does, inform us of how lacking our care of our oceans is.
Keep our oceans blue-- recycle and DO NOT LITTER.
For more information, check out the links below.
Links:
Official Washed Ashore website: http://www.washedashore.org/
Angela Pozzi's website: http://www.seathingsart.com/galleries.html
Marine Mammal Center: http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/
You know what I'm going to say.. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. But, did you know, there should be many other "R"s in this cycle? RETHINK, Reduce, Reuse, Reuse, Reuse, Reuse, Reuse, Reuse, then Recycle. Now that's more like it! People hear this saying all the time but don't think anything of it. All I'm asking you to do is one simple thing-- take a second to think!
Rethink- Think about what you're doing, buying, etc. beforehand. Don't have to have regrets.
Reduce- Reduce your waste and wastefulness. Reduce your thoughtless buys. Reduce using anything that you don't need. And reduce useless things from your schedule. (That last one just saves time and stress, and maybe a little gas.)
Reuse (until you can't anymore)- Pretty self-explanatory. Reuse everything that you possibly can until you've squeezed every last use out of it.
Recycle- Also speaks for itself. Recycle everything you can when you can't use it anymore. Not only can you get money (some recycling plants will pay you to bring them aluminum, plastic, and glass; I've gotten almost $100 this way) from this process, you get peace of mind knowing that your well-used and well-loved object is receiving a new function.
So Rethink, Reduce, Reuse (xInfinity), and Recycle. It's that simple!
As I write this post, I take a sip from my stainless steel souvenir water bottle from Alcatraz Island. I didn't buy this to remember my trip there (come on, it's like a forty-five minute trip INCLUDING the ferry ride), I bought this because I can drink my water in peace this way.
Does anyone ever think of the effect of plastic water bottles on our environment? Yes, most of us do. But most of us believe that when we responsibly throw our plastic water bottles into a recycling bin, the next bottle we buy will be made out of those old bottles. Not true. With the technology today, water bottles can never be made into new water bottles. The plastics that actually are recycled are made into plastic conglomerates, such as the materials that make up play structures, park benches, and the rubbery turf that make up tracks and the ground of children's parks. Some plastics put into recycling bins actually are NOT recycled and are sent to out-of-country landfills, such as in India. Recycling your bottles is good, but it is not enough.
Glancing up at my stainless steel water bottle, I can give you five reasons just off the top of my head why those are better; there's no annoying crushing noise, they won't spill in your bag, they cost less in the long run ($5-$8 for an average stainless steel bottle, filtered water from the tap is close to free), they can be stylish and come in many different looks/colors, and they're better for the environment. Talk about the total package! So tell the plastic water bottle distributors "begone!" and grab a guilt-free, stylish stainless steel water bottle.
(these are examples of the popular Klean Kanteen BPA-free stainless steel water bottles)
