Global Trashing.

I notice that a lot of people talk about global warming this, global warming that. What should be talked about much more than global warming, which is hotly debated, but the issue of what I call "global trashing." Every time a piece of trash is thrown onto the side of the road, it could be ingested by a foraging animal, rain could wash it into our water source and further contaminate our water system, or it could just sit there and make our world look ugly. People say "oh, it's okay, I only litter once in a while", but, surprise, surprise, it is most definitely not okay. Every time you leave a plastic bag around, it makes a roundabout journey, sometimes flying through the air, sometimes floating in a river, into our oceans. Have you heard of the garbage patch? Now, "garbage patch" brings up the mental image of a pseudo-island made of trash. Instead, it is a "gyre", which means it is a place, one in each oceans, where all the currents converge and all the trash gathers in a central location. This resemble a soup, about 3 feet deep, of floating plastic garbage. The largest in width is the Northern Pacific Gyre, which has been described as taking up twice as many square miles as Texas. This is just not okay. I mean think of that, twice as large as Texas, and three feet deep. There is a 6 to 1 ratio of trash to life in these areas. SIX TO ONE. Do you know what that ratio should be? ZERO. There should be no trash in the ocean. This is what is killing our oceans, and we have to stop it. So, stop littering, stop carelessness, and be earth-aware.  

I Am Tiger, Hear Me Roar.

I think everybody knows about the plight of the tiger these days, but if you don't, I'll give you a quick refresher. The tiger is a top-of-the-food-chain animal living in a bottom-of-the-food-chain status.  This once-populous creature, at a couple hundred thousand in the world, now is endangered, with only 3,200 surviving today. I know I have talked about the World Wildlife Fund before, but there's really not enough you can say about it. This wonderful organization is doing all it can to save the tiger, and every other endangered animal there is. With their "Symbolically Adopt" program and their partner website, SaveTigersNow.org, they are fighting the fight to save these beautiful creatures. Support them, and you are supporting the prolonging of the lives of all the tigers everywhere.  

Washed Ashore

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/

Grab A Bag Before You Go.

I'm sure you've heard of it.. but probably never actually done it-- bringing your own bags. Whenever I go shopping, I try my best to bring my own grocery bags with me. Not only are they stylish (if you know where to get them!), but also most stores will give you a discount for being nice to the environment and bringing a bag you're going to use over and over. From the slogan covered canvas bags I bring to the grocery store or farmers' market, to the inexpensive but stylish tote that doubles as a purse while I go mall-hopping, using reusable bags was probably the easiest switch I have made.

Care.

In their mission statement, the World Wildlife Fund states that their mission is " the conservation of nature. Using the best available scientific knowledge and advancing that knowledge where we can, we work to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth and the health of ecological systems by protecting natural areas and wild populations of plants and animals, including endangered species; promoting sustainable approaches to the use of renewable natural resources; and promoting more efficient use of resources and energy and the maximum reduction of pollution. 

We are committed to reversing the degradation of our planet's natural environment and to building a future in which human needs are met in harmony with nature. We recognize the critical relevance of human numbers, poverty and consumption patterns to meeting these goals." 

This non-profit foundation is simply an organization dedicated to the preservation of all living creatures, endangered or otherwise. Being my favorite charity, I am probably biased towards it, but I most definitely recommend looking into it, and ways you can help the wild species' of the world.

The FOUR "R"s..

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!

Guilt-Free Water.

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)