It would be great to have a section of FPF for letter writing campaigns, I can’t wait!

I checked the site. Did you notice that the orgnization is sponsored by ExxonMobile as well as The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, which is in memory of the founder of Dow Chemical? I think there is a reason that plastic is not criticized on the site. But that’s no reason not to write to them.

I hope, in the future, to add a feature to this web site for readers like you to contribute letter-writing initiatives just like this one. In fact, I hope to do it soon and post your letter as one of the first ones. It was too late for Climate Action Day, as I was already out of town and away from my computer. But any time is better than no time, right?

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for caring.
.-= Beth Terry´s last blog ..Just Say “No” to 7-Eleven’s Plastic-Wrapped Bananas. =-.

The Plastic Pollution Coalition is a fine development to detail the problems and hopefully promote better systems for the future. You deserve a central role as a leading consumer since consumers can change the situation when other agencies stay silent.

Political backing for Zero Waste here in the UK has given the trend a welcome boost, after years of indifference from that sector. Things are moving in our direction now so it is important to keep the pressure up, and more will surely follow.

I went searching online for info on plastics production, just so I could be more clear on what kinds of pollutants we’re dealing with, etc. The first one I clicked on was this:

http://www.reachoutmichigan.org/funexperiments/quick/plastic.html

I was finding it pretty informative, but then I got to the end and realized there was no mention of the pollutants or any other ill effects of the ubiquity of plastic in our lives. AND it’s directed at kids, seeming to encourage an admiration of and dependence on plastic. (Imagine life without it! The horrors!)
I think the exercise is meant to help kids realize how much we use plastic every day. But it doesn’t even hint at the downside of that fact. So I wrote them a quick email about my concerns.
I just thought you and your other readers might be interested in writing too, for Climate Action Day? It’s just one website, but what the heck. It probably reaches lots of kids, and it doesn’t take much time to write a little email. Anyway here’s the contact info:

Director and Board President: Jeannine LaSovage, lasovage@reachoutmichigan.org
Webmaster: Martha Toth, webmaster@reachoutmichigan.org
Address: 5575 W. Liberty Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48103-9304

and what I wrote. I’m not very good at these things, but I try:)

“I wondered why you didn’t include in the page “How Plastic is Made” the harmful side of plastic production, use, and disposal??? The page seemed to be a one dimensional ode to plastic.

Being under 40, I have to agree that many things are hard to imagine without plastic. But that’s part of the problem! Are you intentionally telling children that life can not be comfortable or indeed bearable without plastic?

The benefits of plastic do not cancel out its detractors, namely the many forms of pollution it causes our bodies and planet.

Can we not teach our children (and ourselves) that as a matter of fact a lot of the plastic we use is superfluous, and that it would be a benefit to all if we could learn to stretch our minds to find alternatives?

It would be a simple addition to your web page, a little bit of balance. I hope you will consider it.”

While I agree that your plastic bead moment might have been a tad obsessive, it was cathartic and an important realization for you and the rest of us.

Most of what consumers do re plastic is symbolic, as are most of the “recycling” efforts. There is a huge issue regarding food packaging that no amount recycling will help, except in the symbolic manner. Manufacturers can’t afford to ship glass, and until we figure out a plastic-free alternative, I am pessimistic that much will change.

When I look around me I am surrounded by the stuff. Depressing to say the least. But I feel the tide changing. Awareness, even to the extent of removing plastic beads from shirts, will help change this disastrous situation.
.-= Eleanor Sommer´s last blog ..Herbs Without Patents =-.

I think we have all shades of green here. I have been criticized for not being green enough (buying non-organic cotton, having Amazon.com ads on my blog, eating meat) and I have also been criticized for going too far and being a treehugging wacko. Others are in-between.

I don’t want to alienate people, but at the same time, I do want them to start seeing all the places that plastic exists and to have it sink in that it is everywhere.

The real reason I took the beads off that top was that I noticed some of them were missing and it worries me when tiny pieces of plastic get lost in the environment because in a way they are of more concern than the big ones. These are the pieces that get eaten and make their way up the food chain. Or are like the tiny plastic microbeads that are put into facial scrubs and meant to be washed down the drain. Tiny pieces are important too.

That said, I did stop after the first shirt. I realized I was going overboard and that by spending time pulling beads off a shirt, I was procrastinating from perhaps more important work. On the other hand, sometimes we just need some mindless activity to help us recharge.

I guess the main thing I’m trying to say is that there are many different sides. I totally get your point, and many others as well. All I will promise is that I will just keep being honest. This blog is information but also personal, and I like it that way because it shows how one person, who is just ordinary, is trying to do her part and hopefully others will take what they want from my experience and make their own decisions about what is important to them and what is not.

Thanks for commenting!
.-= Beth Terry´s last blog ..Tapped: Even More Arguments Against Bottled Water =-.