What are modern day widespread problems?
When plastic first came in, traditionalists preferred wooden furniture. I was a travel writer in the Nineteen Sixties and Anne Hills took a group of us around the hotels of London, ending up at the Berkeley five star hotel. The one star hotels had plastic. The five star hotels had wood. If a table looked like wood, it was wood.
Now, we are anxious to save trees, instead of cutting down trees, cut down on wooden furniture. Instead of printing out a receipt for your furniture, cut down on paper which is made from trees and go on line.
My late mother would not buy plastic shoes because they gave us blisters. She preferred leather.
However, our neighbours are vegan, so they would not sit on our leather furniture. They preferred sit on plastic.
Now, we are learnign about the perils of all types of plastic, especially the one use plastic bag.
From Wikipedia article on Joanna Lumley.
Joanna Lumley said:I hate ... litter in the street .. it's lack of (interest /in the planet) concern for the hedgehog who might eat the plastic bag.
Adapted from BrainyQuote
Hunger and Thirst
Lack of food and water. Wasted food.
Lack of shelter. Shortage of housing.
Pollution
Why is pollution a problem? We are delighted to find buried Roman remains, broken down buildings, statues without noses and arms, creased coins. Under the sea, we are excited to find cities. And skeletons.
Dealy In Dissolving
Why is modern pollution such a problem? There is so much of it. Plastic does not dissolve and decay and disappear. If it breaks down into pellets, this is still a problem.
It kills wildlife.
For example:
A straw in the nose of a sea turtle in Costa Rica.
You may have seen the videos on YouTube.
Burying plastic is not the complete answer. Pollutatns can seep out of the plastic into water and damage the water and the crops grown in fields next to the waterways and landfill.
What is the cause of pollution?
Creation of Plastic
Producing plastic?
Disposal
Individuals not disposing of it in litter bins?
Not separating plastic?
Burning litter?
Pumping litter into the sea?
Discarding litter?
Excess population: More humans than animals, birds and fish.
What Are The Solutions?
Prevention
1 Straws
Instead of plastic straws, a re-usable metal straw with a straw cleaner.
2 Re-use instead of throwing away.
a) Re-use at home.
Public recycling Shops hiring the disabled to provide them with employment.
Refusing bags - taking a re-usable bag.
But is it hygienic?
Ignorance
Cost
AFRICA
CHINA
Population explosion solved by one child policy.
SINGAPORE
Population control by sending domestic helpers for pregnancy checks before granting employment pass and after 6 months.
Child takes nationality from parent, not from being born in Singapore.
Strict
UK
Population problem and maternal death solved by birth control in Glasgow.
Deposits and refunds on bottles.
USA
Thin plastic bags shredded and heated to make solid plastic which can be cut and converted into coasters and other household objects.
Post being written. Come back later.
Can one person really make a difference?
I like the starfish story. An old man walks along a beach filled with stranded starfish. He sees a boy throw a starfish back into the sea and says to the boy, "The beach is filled with starfish. Throwing one back won't make any difference."
The boy picked up another fish and threw it back into the sea and replied: "I can make a difference to this one - and this one - and this one."
I was delighted to find the origin of the starfish story on Wikipedia.
The Starfish Story
"The Star Thrower" (or "starfish story") is part of a 16-page essay of the same name by Loren Eiseley (1907–1977), published in 1969 in The Unexpected Universe. The Star Thrower is also the title of a 1978 anthology of Eiseley's works (including the essay), which he completed shortly before his death.
Useful Websites
https://www.agriculture.com.ph/2019/05/30/a-state-in-the-us-offers-human-composting-as-a-way-of-burial/
https://brandongaille.com/125-protect-our-earth-slogans/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/how-did-sea-turtle-get-a-straw-up-its-nose.aspx
Protecting canals
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-48516745?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk&link_location=live-reporting-story
http://www.ninjajournalist.com/social/london-marathon-edible-water-pouches/
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts
