Let me state for the record, that with few exceptions, I do not like governmental bans or restrictions on personal behavior. That means the number of ounces of soda one can drink, or the amount on salt or kind of light bulbs that can be used; all should be off limits to the nosey bureaucrats’ intent on controlling every aspect of our daily lives.
There are, however, exigent circumstances when the harm being done is so massive that intervention in the form of bans is necessary. So it is with the worldwide pollution caused by the indiscriminate use of plastics for convenience rather than necessity.
Unlike climate change, very few are challenging the reality of the plastic trash and debris crisis. Estimates of single-use plastic bags range from 500 billion to 1 trillion bags worldwide every year. Virtually no corner of the globe has been left uncovered by plastic trash. Very few pristine locations remain unsullied.
Whether we are talking about whales off the coast of Spain , cows in India, or camels in the Egyptian desert or monkeys in East Java, globally many thousands of animals die ingesting plastics and then dying of starvation every year.
The Blue Danube is loaded with more trash than fish. Mount Everest is a mountain of trash and garbage. It is estimated that 80 to 90 percent of ocean pollution comes directly from plastics in the form of plastic bags, toothbrushes, containers of every shape and description, toys, and bottles. Time Magazine covered The Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 2012, one of the Five Gyres circulating in the oceans.
When Rolling Stone covered the Plastic Bag Wars in 2011, they noted that American shoppers used 102 billion plastic bags yearly. That figure has gone up to 380 billion bags yearly. It is very easy for a family of four to go through 500 plastic bags a year. Remember these are bags designed to last forever and are only used for 15 minutes or less on average.

With all this plastic being produced every year, you’d better believe manufacturers are fighting back using intimidation and litigation in their arsenal of tactics.

Why should you care?

  1. Plastic never goes away. Every piece of plastic produced in the last 50 years still exists unless it was recycled.
  2. 93% of Americans aged six or older have tested positive for BPA, a cancer causing chemical used in plastics.
  3. The search for lost Malaysian flight 370 has been hampered by the global marine litter crisis, as reported by CNN.
  4. The Plastic Bag Report lists 27 states, multiple countries, 102 cities in California and EU with complete bag bans or bans in various stages of legislation.
  5. The list of species testing positive for plastic in their bodies is growing, including 44 percent of all birds, 22 percent of cetaceans and turtles.

A better question is what kind of world do you want to leave to future generations? We are after all only as good as what we leave behind. As Captain Charles Moore notes we should be living our lives like it matters.

 

 

 

View Comments

  • Idea: Reduce number of plastic bottles sold at British airports. Shame the airport authorities into providing multiple and well signposted water fountains in the airport terminals so that once through security passengers can refill their water bottles. Airports elsewhere in the world manage do this, particularly in Far East. Water is a human right. To make us pay for it in airport terminals is an example of crass commercial greed. Let’s work out the saving on plastic use if even 50% passengers refill water bottles instead of buying a single use plastic bottle. Given that by flying, passengers are already guilty of a higher than average carbon footprint, they may be very willing to embrace an environmental campaign.

  • I don't understand. What does this have to do with saying no to plastics..
    - From an international first time visitor

  • I'm not anti-vegetarian, nor am I going to become one because some extremist treehuggers think I should.

    For thousands of years, mankind has killed animals for fur, for meat, for weapons, for medicine. In Neolithic, the people then killed mammoths and smilodons for their fur, and meat for food. They used their bones to make into weapons, which they could then kill more animals to survive.

    As time went on and we enter the Biblical era, mankind still killed, but they used camels and asses to travel. They still killed the animals at that time to feed their families and to use the fur for clothing.

    We are now entering the medieval era. Deer are alive and booming. We are killing them once again for food, but now we use DOGS to kill RABBITS. OMG, WE'RE FORCING ANIMALS TO COMMIT ANIMAL CRUELTY!!!!1!!!111!1!!1!!11!!!!! Yeah, big whoop. Deal with it.

    Now we are in the 1800's. Native Americans are following their customs and using every bit of the animal to live. The people living in towns and cities hunt for money and trade. The french kill caribou, wolves, and foxes for fur trades with the Indians.

    And now we are in the modern era. If you haven't noticed yet, people in the South and North of America are still hunting, people in Africa hunt, the natives of Australia are hunting, People in Canada hunt, there are livestock in Europe sold for meat and profit, and Asia kills chicken. Heck, Japan makes Sushi from Octopus and Shark. Problem, extremists?

    People where I live hunt hogs, deer, rabbits, squirrel, and duck. They aren't going to stop because a few buttnaked chicks holding baby animals and flashing their breasts and rears in the images are preferring to go naked than wear fur. They aren't going to stop because KFC has their own way of killing chicken. They aren't going to stop because a whole cow isn't fully used for food. They aren't going to stop because people are vegetarians?

    Why?

    BECAUSE WE'VE LIVED LIKE THIS SINCE THE DAWN OF CIVILIZATION.

    If you can't learn to live with history, then live as a hobo or go kill yourself. Just because you love animals so much you wouldn't want to kill one doesn't mean we'll do the same thing. If I had to kill to live, I would. I'm fullblood Carnivarian, I don't eat plants. It's how I live, it's my custom. I'm not converting because some naked models want me to.

    Opinion stated. If you have a problem with it, email me at Icreate@aol.com . Other wise, grow up. I'm 16, and I act more mature than half you PETA extremist lovers do.

  • Canadian Recycled Plastic Products Directory. Assists private public sector in locating products made with or packaged in recycled plastic.... Uniting diverse plastic lumber producers and other industry-related plastic lumber producers to promote recycled plastic lumber and other recycled plastic lumber products.........

  • Personally, I feel everyone should choose, i am vegitarian, i personally suppourt most aspects of PETA and that is my desicion. I have no intent to convert anyone, all meat eaters have made their desision too but here is something I'd like to clear up because im frustrated about some anti vegetarian comments.I can't tell you how many times i have and will hear these phrases in my life. Not only are the phrases frustrating to me but it is very rude, even if your anonymous behind your computer!

    1. "not eating meat, wont stop the slaughter"
    Well actually if everyone turned vegetarian (not that, that SHOULD happen) the demand for meat would stop and slaughter house's would go out of business...

    2. "Humans are made to eat meat!"
    Yeah well in some aspects its not the fact im trying to change the world or say humans arent made to eat meat, but maybe i just don't want or like the idea of a dead animal on my plate?

    3. "Stop getting attention, meat tastes good, you know it does!"
    When people use this excuse, i cant help thinking, this is my damn desison! and if you want to argue about it, Saying "meat tastes good" is like hitting lets say... a toddler with a hammer then saying "but it feels good!

    4. "if we didnt eat cows/pigs/sheep/rabbit/etc they would overpopulate"
    why not try leaving the population control to the predators and its hardly gonna help population control if we're farming them! also see number 2

    Last thing-“If PETA would stop its extreme methods this wouldn’t happen.”

    I doubt it.
    I don’t think cruelty and slaughter were started by PETA.

    Thanks- this is my opinion, and you are entitled to yours. Just think before you comment or judge

  • all you people who complain that PETA is such a bad organisation because they dont mind bad publisity are IDIOTS!!! why dont you get off your ass and fight for something instead of complaining about it!!! i for one llove what peta is doing, not everyone needs to be a vegetarian. but if everyone fought for something that meant alot to them then maby the world wouldnt be so fucked up.
    PLEASE WATCH THE MOVIE THE COVE!!! it shows how cruel people can be and how people can say that their practises are humane , but in actual fact they arent. thanx