Remeber this scene from “THE GRADUATE?”
MR. MCQUIRE
Ben – I just want to say one word to
you – just one word –
BEN
Yes, sir.
MR. MCQUIRE
Are you listening?
BEN
Yes I am.
MR. MCQUIRE
(gravely)
Plastics.
They look at each other for a moment.
BEN
Exactly how do you mean?
MR. MCQUIRE
There is a great future in plastics.
Think about it. Will you think
about it?
BEN
Yes, I will.
MR. MCQUIRE
Okay. Enough said. That’s a deal.
Yeah, when you look at the bottom of the ocean, it’s pretty clear that plastics have been such a part of our lives. Today’s SF Chronicle has a front page story on the amount of plastic particles accumulating at the bottom of the ocean.  Some bits and pieces are so small that they are like grains of sand, but others are larger and look a little something like this:
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Pretty gross, huh. But how do you even start to clean up a debris field of plastic that’s about double the size of Texas and a 1000 feet down? The reality is that we can’t. But we can reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in the dumps by recycling, pressure businesses to stop with the plastic heavy packaging, and most importantly, get our elected officials to do more to address enviornmental issues that threaten us. Yeah, I’m talking about human beings. “Save the humans!” “Let’s go homo sapiens!” “Save the planet for you and yours!” Whatever slogan gets the message out, take your pick. And that message is pretty simple:    We’re screwing ourselves (and our children) the more we screw th environment.Â
Yeah, I realize that I’m preaching to the choir (for the most part). But when you have bought and paid for politicians saying things like “We need sound science,” “The jury’s still out on environmental problems,” and other stock phrases designed to confuse people, it’s a stellar example of the connection of ideas and action (or inaction in the case of our current administration’s desire to do something about environmental problems).Â
It’s easy to bitch and moan about how Bush and Co. are a bunch of short sighted/bottom line types who care more about destroying humans through war and constant conflict to keep power, than through promoting peace and a cleaner world for all of us. They’ve got a year more to do their worst (and the probably will), but we need think beyond what we’ve got to who we’re going to elect in 2008. The hard part is being active, vigilant, and motivated to not only take action (that means being more environmentally aware in your day to day habits), but also push candidates and elected folks put their money where their rhetoric is.Â
Here in California, we’ve got an Attorney General and even a Republican Governor who are trying to be active agents for a cleaner environment. Certainly, the difference between the politics of Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger are quite large, but one thing both individuals have in common is that they actually listen to “The People” when it comes to the environment, rather than actively trying to confuse and frustrate them by saying one thing while doing another.
Cherry
October 30, 2007 at 11:49 amI look around my desk and I see plastics all around. My string cheese is wrapped in plastic, I have a glob of silly putty which is essentially plastic in a plastic egg. My lotion and pain drugs are in plastic bottles. My paperclips, tape (plastic tape) and staples are housed in plastic. Look at this keyboard and mouse I’m using… plastic! and my computer…. almost all plastic.
At least I re-use a lexan (another type of plastic) bottle for my water.
lalunas
October 30, 2007 at 12:03 pmWe are screwed. Everything is plastic. Did you know that the water bottles that we drink from are toxic especially the ones that have a 7 marked under the bottle.
ML
October 30, 2007 at 12:11 pmWe can all do our part with the recycling bit and being more careful than before. But then, there’s always the ignorant, uneducated jackasses who don’t give a sh** about the environment or deny global warming exists.
I figured I better curb my swearing when I comment ’cause Maya reads your blog 😉
J
October 30, 2007 at 1:33 pmI get mad when I buy something, usually beauty related, and it’s one tiny jar wrapped in three or four bigger layers of plastic. Ugh.
Gina
October 30, 2007 at 3:03 pmI have read in numerous publications that plastic bags (the kind from Target and grocery stores and the like) pose the biggest threat to our environment.
Py Korry
October 30, 2007 at 3:07 pmJ: I just don’t get the whole “stuff it with plastic” packaging, but then again, I’m a guy who just wants the “toy” and doesn’t care about what it’s wrapped in.
And Gina…I guess that’s why San Francisco banned plastic bags from being used in the city.
CG
October 30, 2007 at 3:19 pmI do notice a lot of stores around here carry cloth bags you can buy, but the stores need to make the customers more aware of the importance of the cloth bags.
Everyday I come down the grade from Concord into Pittsburg and the dreadful sight of thousands of plastic bags hooked on to the BART fence for miles on end. If that isn’t a wakeup call then nothing will work on this side of Contra Costa.