| Thoughts |
[Sep. 24th, 2008|05:01 pm] |
Plastic and processed food are pretty much bad. Plastic never biodegrades and bits of it are floating around the oceans, lakes, and rivers, and from there to the water supply (and are also in the air and the animals we eat and probably coating the plants at some point). Obviously, I can't find a pristine, untouched section of the globe to inhabit (and even if I could, I'm trying to be realistic: I like modern conveniences, such as indoor plumbing and readily available heat!), but, especially in California, I should be able to cut out a lot of forms of deliberate plastic/processed food intake. At first I thought the hardest thing would be food, but if you go to Farmers' Markets for produce and bring your own bag and try to be more aware of the packaging other things come in, I think you can greatly reduce the amount of plastic packaging that you encounter.
You can't guarantee that the produce or other products haven't encountered plastic at some point before they got to you, and you can't excise the stuff entirely -- my whole career is based on the Internet, and my computer definitely isn't plastic-free, for just one example.
I also use a hair dryer, and there aren't a lot of non-plastic hairdryers. I use lamps, and a lot of those components are plastic. The cats have plastic litter boxes, and I use disposable soap dispensers, a Brita filter pitcher, television remotes, vacuum cleaners, toothbrushes, face wash in plastic, etc. So, clearly, I'm only limiting my exposure, not trying a crazy scheme to eliminate it entirely.
I really think it's worth thinking about, if nothing else. There is a floating garbage mass, mostly composed of plastic, that is twice the size of Texas and lives in the Pacific Ocean. Twice the size of Texas. Garbage. In the ocean. That's really gross, let's face it. And it's not the only floating garbage barge in the oceans. You don't have to start growing hemp and rearing sheep and making your own clothes and refusing to shower or eating your own pathetic-looking vegetables or refusing to use tampons. But making small changes is the only way big changes are going to be made. Don't mindlessly use stuff, as I have for more than two decades. If we're all a little aware, eventually the resultant guilt should lead to healthier people everywhere, right? |
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| And whither then? I cannot say. |
[Jan. 22nd, 2008|02:06 pm] |
Until I feel like my writing is something worth reading, I'm making the journal Friends Only. If I'm just updating through this rather than mass email, there isn't much point in making it available for public consumption (whatever amount of that there was).
If you want to know what's going on with me (or what I feel like updating about) and felt this was the most entertaining place to find that information, please email to be added to the friends list. |
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