YIKES

These facts of the day were provided by Pamela Talese working under the name Viola Salzedo-Gramm. She is speaking of the north Pacific large garbage dump that we all are contributing to.

The Plastic Trash Vortex or North Pacific Gyre, the world’s largest floating island of plastic trash, is estimated to be 5 million square miles—larger than the entire United States.

An estimated 80% of marine debris comes from land-based sources, while only 20% comes from sea-based sources, like shipping and boating.

Roughly 60–80% of all marine debris, and 90% of floating debris is plastic. Plastic resin polymers are so durable that it can take hundreds of years for plastics to break down at sea, and some may never truly biodegrade in the marine environment.

Marine life and birds can easily confuse plastic flotsam for food. Ingestion of plastics can reduce the appetite of seabirds and marine life and inhibit nutrient absorption, causing possible death by starvation.

More than 1 million seabirds, 100,000 marine mammals, and countless fish have died annually in the north pacific from ingesting or becoming entangled in marine debris. Commonly ingested items include bottle caps, cigarette lighters, plastic bags, and polystyrene pieces.

If one knew that their toothbrush would one day end up thousands of miles away from the nearest spot of land, would they still carelessly throw it away? What we need to do is start demanding more responsibility from each other in our use of plastic, and stop living as if everything is disposable and that the future will not be impacted.

We must become more conscientious. We have to! If we can all ween ourselves off of plastic bags, it is a start. Shop were you can buy items by the pound. You know the big canisters I am talking about that are in the entrance of some grocery stores. Did you know that you can take your own reusable containers in there and fill them? (If you don't know how to zero out the weight of your container, just ask someone in the store for help. Just think, you will only have to ask them once! A small sacrifice if you ask me.) So many pantry items can be put in your own containers! Flour, sugar, cereal, grits, nuts, dried fruits and vegetables, etc. Also shop in bulk. A great way to do this is with a Costco or Sam's membership. It will save you so much money! I promise. RECYCLE! Hello! Duh! It is so simple. It really is. If this doesn't inspire you, put on a little Jack Johnson ("Reduce, Reuse, Recycle") and GET inspired. I try and look in my trash can and figure out how I can eliminate what is in there. I realized this morning that my eggs can in a styrofoam container, so when I went to the store today, I bought some that were in a recycled and recyclable container. I know that in a week, there will be one less item in my trash can. That, in turn, made me more aware of the stinken styrofoam in my life, and now I'm on a mission to make it extinct. Styrofoam simply sucks! And now I will step off my soapbox. If anyone has any words of advice, I would love to hear them!