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Image via WikipediaPerhaps our work to ban plastic is beginning to work. A Plastic Pollution Coalition has been formed. Disposable plastics are the greatest source of plastic pollution (sign The REFUSE Pledge). Designed to be discarded, cigarette filters, straws, plastic bottles, plastic utensils, lids, plastic bottles and so many others offer a small convenience but remain forever. REFUSE disposable plastics! Follow the “4 Rs” of sustainable living: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
The Plastic Pollution Coalition is a global alliance of individuals, organizations and businesses working together to stop plastic pollution and its toxic impacts on humans, animals and the environment.
With its work, Plastic Pollution seeks to put plastic pollution at the forefront of global social, environmental and political discourse.
Celebrities like Jack Johnson, Benicio del Toro, and Jackson Browne are lending their media-clout to the problem of excessive plastic pollution currently choking our oceans and killing innocent wildlife. These prominent actors and musicians have improvised their own creative REFUSE disposable plastic videos and posted them on Plastic Pollution Coalition's website and YouTube channel. The short spots encourage people to refuse disposable plastic bags, cups, utensils, and straws—the biggest sources of plastic pollution.
Plastic Pollution Coalition provides a platform for collaboration and coherent communications; increases awareness and understanding of the problem and sustainable solutions; and empowers action. (Membership organizations, as at November, 2010):
Fake plastic fish ... Live life with less plastic: Plastic-Free Living Guide. Our oceans are filling up with plastic: plastic that harms wildlife and never biodegrades; plastic that enters the food chain and leaches toxic chemicals. This blog is a record of my journey to live with as little unnecessary plastic as possible. Won't you join me? Fake plastic fish may be cute, but if we keep filling up our oceans with plastic, they could be the only kind we have left ...
Image via WikipediaMany of you know that I formerly made my living as a financial man, mostly in the forest and mining industries, an author and university lecturer. But, I've had a change of heart, a 180° degree reversal, if you will. Especially as I have grown older I have become increasingly concerned about the legacy we are passing on to our children and grandchildren.
We promote clean-ups and long-term reductions in pollution; and programs assisting life affirming and sustainable development.
Statement of Fact:
We [humankind] are poisoning our planet for ourselves; and all other species of life. We are poisoning the air we breathe, the food and water we ingest, the very land we walk upon, and the oceans from which humanity hopes to produce food in future. For instance, already the U.N. is advising humans all over the world not to eat shark of any kind or type, and no more than 4 ounces of Tuna per week if you are an adult; none if you are a child? . Mercury! Do you remember that 25 years ago we all had a dream . . . of living in a paperless computer world . . . we now consume more paper, in every office, than we ever did? We have a very important job for you to do. Find all sources of plastics and discontinue it's use. It never breaks down into organic compounds and will, eventually, find it's way into the oceans. After you do your own research, we hope that you will follow along with the 1st of some actions of the we will ask you to take.
Perhaps the most inspirational message comes in the last 2 videos; those of our young people and children and grandchildren who will have to live with our garbage, forever.
Polluting the world's oceans, one of our major food sources, is one tragedy that makes me ashamed of what I am passing on for my grandchildren. It should make us all ashamed. It will be a shame because plastic only breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces and never goes away completely. The water species mistake broken down, smaller plastics for food, eat those, which then continue on up the food chain to the top, into humankind's food. Of course, there is also the problem about the untold species, often unwanted species, killed in discarded and/or drift plastic nets.
It will not only kill off a lot of potential food sources which will die from hunger when the birds and fishes bellies are full of undigested plastic; but, there are known carcinogens (cancer-causing) and other as yet unknown side effects that will be passed right back up to our grandchildren.
Plastic Garbage As 'Shock' Art - Artist Dianna Cohen
Artist Dianna Cohen shares some tough truths about plastic pollution in the ocean and in our lives -- and some thoughts on how to free ourselves from the plastic gyre.
Sustainable seafood? Let's get smart - Chef Barton Seaver
Chef Barton Seaver presents a modern dilemma: Seafood is one of our healthier protein options, but overfishing is desperately harming our oceans. He suggests a simple way to keep fish on the dinner table that includes every mom's favorite adage -- "Eat your vegetables!"
The Majestic Plastic Bag - A Mockumentary
Narrated by Academy Award-winner Jeremy Irons, this "mockumentary" video, hammers home the stark reality of California's plastic bag pollution situation.
PLASTIC BAG | FUTURESTATES | ITVS
Plastic Bag by Ramin Bahrani - Struggling with its immortality, a discarded plastic bag (voiced by Werner Herzog) ventures through the environmentally barren remains of America as it searches for its maker. - Go behind the scenes and read about the making: http://futurestates.tv/episodes/plast...
This is an update of that post, and an encouragement for others to take similar actions.
Encourage government to adopt clean cars laws. New requirements can significantly reduce vehicle emissions.
How to do it
Use your voice to encourage our lawmakers to adopt California's Clean Car standard. Write letters to the Prime Minister and speak to your local government representatives. This is the time to speak up: Canada's outdated vehicle emissions regulations are under review, and voluntary agreements with the auto sector will soon expire. A personal note from you will have greater impact than many form letters or emails. For best effect, make your request for action clear encouraging, and address only one issue. Here are some suggested points you can make:
The government's promise to update the fuel efficiency requirements for Canadian cars is welcome and long overdue (some praise and encouragement always helps!).
I urge you to adopt the California Clean Car Standard (the request should be clear and emphatic).
The rules put in place by Governor Schwarzenegger are achievable and widely accepted; almost 20 states are adopting them, and nine provinces have endorsed them (provides evidence that it is technically and politically feasible).
Please resist pegging Canada's standards to the less efficient US national average; that would put Canada behind the pack in the North American market, damage our ability to fight climate change, burden consumers with higher-than-necessary fuel bills (tell them what you don't want, as well as what you do want).
The federal government has the ability and the responsibility to regulate pollution and fuel economy in cars. I urge you to demonstrate strong leadership by passing the California-level emission standards as soon as possible (re-state your request).
I look forward to hearing from you (always ask for a response). A letter to the Prime Minister needs no postage, and should be addressed to: The Right Honourable Stephen Harper Prime Minister of Canada Langevin Block House of Commons Ottawa, Canada
A typical car a late-model mid-sized sedan - driven for 20,000 kilometres a year emits four tones of CO2. Right now, transportation contributes to more than 30 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions. The potential for fuel efficiency has improved by 50 per cent since the 1970s, the height of the gas-guzzling era. But because there are more cars on the road today than ever before, and many people are driving larger vehicles that are not fuel-efficient, emissions keep rising. California's Clean Cars law will drive a 30 per cent reduction in carbon emissions from cars by 2016, using only existing and available technology. Canada must proceed in lock-step with California and other progressive states, especially since the Canadian car market is so tightly linked to the US market. Not only will this help our planet, but having access to more fuel-efficient cars can save you a lot of money, especially as gas prices are continually on the rise.
World’s Statistics [including Population – and other statistics; US bias – Google advertiser supported: http://www.worldometers.info/
Could the growth in the human population (and the resultant increased pollution?) have something to do with the Ecology, Environment and Global Warming?
The Population Reference Bureaupredicts continuing population growth. Their charts indicate that the rate of growth will be less in about 50 years. In reality, other than statistics for the last 25 years only, there are no facts to support the assumption that trends in population growth will remain low for the next 50 years in the future. The rate of growth in the previous (26 years) was much higher.
Of course there are food and other natural capacity and resource limits. They may eliminate or reverse growth trends, as might a global pandemic. Even though the annual rate of population growth has decreased in the past 25 years, the population continues to grow. If none of that happens there is no reason to assume the rate of growth will actually continue to decrease. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population
Although there is still much discussion and controversy within religious organizations some still maintain that birth control should not be used. They maintain that it is in the “natural”, or in “God’s Order”, not to use artificial means to minimize the number of births:
“The Church, nevertheless, in urging men to the observance of the precepts of the natural law, which it interprets by its constant doctrine, teaches that each and every marital act must of necessity retain its intrinsic relationship to the procreation of human life. (12) “ The Vatican; The Holy See
Tuvalu[population 11,636 est.] is anisland nationconsists of 8 small islands (in reality, there are nine islands in total. 5 of the islands areatolls) located in thePacific Oceanmidway betweenHawaiiandAustralia. Its name means "Eight Standing Together" in Tuvaluan. With the exception of tinyVatican City, it has the smallest number of inhabitants among independent nations and a total land area of only 26 sq. km. (less than 10 sq. mi.) -photos
Due to their low elevation (5 meters, or 16 feet maximum), the islands that make up this nation are threatened by any futuresea level rise. The population may evacuate during the next decades toNew Zealand, orNiue, a small Pacific island(autonomous but associated with New Zealand) that isn't threatened by sea level rise, but does have decreasing population. TheFijianisland ofKioa, already leased by people from Tuvalu, is another possible destination.
A former British colony, the Commonwealth Nation of Tuvalu was granted independence in1978. Tuvalu Independence Day is celebrated on the 1st of October.
Tuvalu became the 187th member of the United Nations on September 5, 2000. The Prime Minister at the time of entry was the Hon. Ionatana Ionatana, who died in office shortly after, on December 8, 2000. Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Tuvalu to the United Nations is His Excellency Mr. Afelee F. Pita (appointed Dec 19, 2006)
United Nations Chronicle Online Edition - a few years ago ... "today we see these magnificent animals stranded on melting ice floes, struggling to stay afloat. They have no time to adapt and could be extinct in a few decades."
In early 2001, three global organizations came together in an integrated promotional partnership to generate awareness for conservation and biodiversity worldwide: the United Nations; the Earth Communications Office (ECO), a non-profit organization that uses the power of communication to improve the global environment; and Animal Planet, a global television brand of Discovery Communications, Inc.
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