by Beth Terry
The Yahoo! Shine video below, recorded at the BlogHer conference, is ostensibly about reinvention. And apparently, I’m reinventing myself this week as a blogger who isn’t blogging. I figured that out after a few days went by and I hadn’t finished a post. I’ve started several of them… one about the great things that happened at the BlogHer conference and another one about the stuff that made me mad/disappointed. I’ve also begun posts about plastic-free deodorant options, sustainable mattress choices, and staying away from singles. And I’ve got plenty more ideas up my sleeve and under my chair.
But none of these posts are finished. I think I just need some sleep. In the mean time, check out this short video interview I did with Yahoo! Shine at the BlogHer conference. The topic was about how we had reinvented ourselves, and being me, I reinvented the topic itself and grabbed the opportunity to discuss my favorite subject.
Plus I got a mini makeover: all interviewees were powdered, shadowed, and glossed beforehand. I probably haven’t worn this much makeup since Junior High. It might not look like a lot, but you should have seen what came off on my wash cloth later that night.
Note: If you are reading this post via email or in a reader, you’ll need to click through to Fake Plastic Fish to view the video. (The direct URL on the Yahoo! Shine site is: http://www.shine.yahoo.com/event/youreinvented/reinvention-story-beth-terry-2354030/ ) Below is a transcript for those without sound.
Interviewer: We’re at BlogHer 2010 talking about reinvention. This is Beth. So nice to see you.
Beth: Hi.
Interviewer: Now this is an environmental blog. Tell me about how you became passionate about the subject.
Beth: Well Fake Plastic Fish is a blog all about plastic and ways we can live without plastic or with less plastic. I started the blog 3 years ago, and prior to that I was just kind of living a normal American life. In July of that year, I actually had a hysterectomy. [Yahoo! edited out my explanation of how the hysterectomy and new-found environmentalism are connected. And they removed the part about the dead albatross chicks. Oh well.]
And it was around that time when I was recovering from my surgery that I saw an article online about the plastic pollution problem in the ocean and how all this plastic waste that we’re generating from our lifestyles is accumulating in the ocean. And I thought, “I have to do something about that. You know, I’m using that plastic. I’m using the… drinking from plastic bottles and throwing them away, I’m doing all this stuff, so what can I do?
As I would use something up, I would go, “What can I use instead of this? Is there an alternative that’s not plastic? Can I use glass instead? Can I use stainless steel instead? Or is this something that I even need to use in the first place? And I had no idea when that started, when I started that blog, that it was gonna change my whole life.
Three years later, Fake Plastic Fish is the number one anti-plastic blog that people go to when they’re looking to figure out how to get plastic out of their personal lives. I feel like I’ve found my voice. And I feel like I’ve found a purpose, and that is to be an advocate for creatures that don’t have a voice.
I mean, it’s for our health too. It’s not just for other animals, but plastic is something that’s poisonous. There are chemicals in it that can leach into the food and the water that we drink. So, um, yeah, when you realize that connection… there are so many reasons… and when you realize that connection, you become more mindful I think.
Ironic that the woman who wants to be the voice for the voiceless has no new words this week. So cheers until next week… or sooner, if I suddenly stumble upon my missing words.
