Eliminating Plastics From Your Life

My mother, who is still heavily entrenched in civilization, surprised me when she told me her new year’s resolution this year. Her goal? She wants to eliminate plastics, to the greatest extent possible, from her daily life.

Why avoid plastics? Well there are many reasons. Here are some links to articles about the evils of plastic both to human health and to the environment:

Critical Health Risks From Plastics

Plastic in the Oceans

Adverse Health Effects of Plastics

Chemicals in Plastic Water Bottles May Pose Health Hazard

I tried to do some research and find her some websites about doing this, but was sorely disappointed to find minimal help and information on doing this. (However, I wasn’t too surprised). So I have decided to dedicate the next few blog posts to things that someone can do to eliminate plastics from their lives. I am also going to provide links to products that can replace the plastic ones people typically use.

It is obviously impossible to totally eliminate plastics while still living within civilization. (Switching to glass jars for storage will still leave you with plastics on the lid, for instance). I think that taking some of these steps is helpful, in the least.

Today’s tips:

Prescription Medicines:
It really is disturbing when you think about how much plastic medicine comes in contact with. The large jars they are in at the pharmacy are plastic (you cannot control this). The machines they are produced in are riddled with plastic as well (also cannot control this). The one thing you can control is what they are stored in when you receive them. Ask your pharmacy if they have glass jars available. If they do not, transfer your medications yourself into glass jars when you get home. You can buy jars from any of the following sites:

Jars:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Bottles:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link 4

Link 5

You can also sort your pills into a daily pill sorter/organizer that isn’t plastic. Here are places you can purchase those:

Pill Sorter 1

Pill Sorter 2

Food Storage:
Over the last couple decades people have become accustomed to storing food in plastic containers (Gladware, Tupperware, etc.) It may seem like an awkward transition to switch from plastic to glass, but it is much easier than might be anticipated.

Avoid plastic wrap if at all possible.

For small storage containers save the jars that you already use. Jelly jars, spegetti sauce jars, etc. make great containers to store leftovers (and even freeze soup in!)

If you want to purchase jars for storage the hard part is finding them that do not use plastic covers. Ceramic jars work well for storing things like sugar, flour, etc. Jars that close more tightly can be used for other things.

Here are some websites:

Bake 'N Keep Storage Container with glass lid

2-c. Glass Refrigerator Storage Container 81884S with glass lid

Glass Spice Rack

Square 40oz glass canister with lid

Glass Canning Jar/Gasket Set

Coffee/Tea To Go:

Did you know that paper cups from places like Starbucks are actually lined with plastic? Besides generating unnecessary waste, you are also drinking coffee out of warmed up plastic, yuck.

If you are staying at the coffee shop to drink your coffee, ask them if they have mugs for customers staying there. Many shops have this.

A reusable mug is a great solution if you aren’t staying at the coffee shop, but be sure to find one that isn’t lined with plastic. Also, most mugs have plastic covers, avoiding these is pretty difficult. I found some with silicone covers, which seems like cheating but it is better than plastic (Silicone is chemically inert and poses no known health risk. It is completely safe to use as cookware and will not leech into your food. It is technically not a plastic, although it displays properties of plasticity.)

Here are some links:

Cups with silicone lids:

Silicone lid 1

Silicone Lid Cup 2

If you aren’t going far and aren’t apt to spill much, a ceramic mug with a ceramic cover might work for you. Here are some:

Ceramic Mug with lid and infuser (for tea)

Coffee Mugs with Lid 1

Coffee Mug with Lid 2

Living with the Land, a critique of the ride at Walt Disney World

Disney World. One of the most dreamt about places on the planet. The Make a Wish foundation probably takes more children there than anywhere else an earth. It’s “where dreams come true” and all of that jazz. It is also run by a company that seeks to make profits, a company that misleads thousands of college students into internships in which they end up picking up garbage each year, among a ton of other (more horrible) atrocities.

I didn’t want to go to Disney World. I’d been to the Magic Kingdom when I was 18 and hated it then, but on a family vacation to Florida everyone agreed (minus me) to go to Epcot. It sounded like the park that would make me the least sick to my stomach (which isn’t saying much) and my parents were paying so I went. I thought that maybe the miniature versions of different countries around the world might be interesting and educational. I figured that at worst I would just grit my teeth and make it through the day. That was until I saw the “Living with the Land” ride.

Let’s start by describing where the ride is located in the park. It would, of course, make sense for it to be surrounded by native plants and greenery and packed dirt paths (not destroying the land with concrete). This was not the case. The ride was in a mall like complex complete with a food court. I could not even catch a glimpse of the sky as I got into line for it.

My family was excited, thinking that this ride would cheer me up. They think of me as some sort or another of an “environmentalist” and spend most of their time rolling their eyes at me. I stood in line drinking out of my reusable water bottle and taking in my surroundings. Throughout the day I saw no one else NO ONE ELSE at the entire park with a reusable water bottle of any sort. Granted this isn’t a direct reflection on people’s character, but when combined with the fact that they were smiling blindly at Disney World it didn’t add to my mood. The zig-zagging line for the ride had only a 5 minute wait (another testament to the interest of people when you figure the Test Track car ride had a 20min wait at that time). The walls of the waiting area were covered with painted quotations of the environmental variety. I was reading them thinking that most of the authors would have likely disagreed with being quoted on a Disney World wall when I saw a quotation from an unlikely source. George Bush. YES, GEORGE BUSH. I about fell over. I took a picture of it just to prove it because I assumed no one would believe me.

The ride was a boat ride, in chlorinated water (I said, right when the ride started “well avoiding chlorination would be one way to live with the land”). The boats traveled through tunnel type areas with video screens that showed agriculture through history. It then said that our current ways of agriculture aren’t the best and that new ways of agriculture have to be established. That’s when we were taken into Epcot’s greenhouses. Below are pictures of these. One of the things they are doing in the greenhouse is growing plants that aren’t even in soil, where they merely spray the roots with the nutrients needed. Correction, they don’t spray anything, a machine does.

We learn of course the fish farms are a healthy way to raise fish that cannot live in the wild any longer (don’t these fish look healthy?) Why they have captive alligators is beyond me also (except maybe as a food source as well).

The end of the automated ride talked about how with these advances people are sure to find a way to sustain themselves with new advanced technologies in agriculture and everyone walked out of the boats with a ‘feel good’ impression. They even share that the fruit raised in the green house is used as food throughout Epcot (well I’d HOPE so) though what percentage it contributes they fail to mention.

Here’s Disney’s description of the ride: Living with the Land is a 14-minute boat ride in Future World at Epcot theme park that explores agricultural advances in the rain forest, Africa and beyond.

Set sail on a voyage of discovery through living laboratories as you cruise past the American plains, a tropical rain forest and the African desert to witness the latest developments in aquaculture and desert farming. Float by experimental greenhouses—where produce is grown for Epcot restaurants—and take a fascinating first-hand look at an aqua environment, the Aquacell, with alligators and fish. The greenhouses grow crops native to many cultures, including rice, sugar cane and bananas.

This thought-provoking ride will leave you amazed at the wondrous ways scientists are helping farmers prepare for the food needs of our world's nations.

Here’s a video that shows the building the ride is in and the ride itself I have transcribed the audio of the ride below. Comments in parentheses are mine.: link

Welcome to a voyage of discovery and awareness of the richness, the diversity, and the often surprising nature of living with the land. Our journey begins as dramatic and sudden changes are sweeping over the land. The approaching storm may seem violent and destructive to us, but to nature (because we of course aren’t a part of nature) it’s a new beginning in the cycle of life. Beneath the surface of the land roots trap water extracting precious nutrients and minerals. These elements, when combined with sunlight, create the diverse and living systems of our planet. One of those living systems is the rainforest, home to one of the most amazing concentrations of life on our planet. These dense and beautiful forests cover only a tiny portion of the earth’s surface but they contain more than half of its plant and animal species. Rainforests are also extremely rich and productive living systems providing us (only us, of course not animals or other living things) with oxygen, food, medicine, and other elements essential to our lives (yet again, only our lives, not other species or the planet as a whole). (I love how they fail to mention here the fact that the rainforests are being destroyed at an alarming rate, because you know, this is Disney’d environmentalism and there is no sadness allowed here). In the dessert, nature has created a very different, but no less beautiful living system. And although this arid landscape may seem lifeless, it is very much alive. The plants and animals that have learned to survive in these harsh conditions make use of what little water they can find and avoid the scorching rays of the relentless sun. (A mention of the destruction and irrigation of the desert would fit well here as well, but yet again, it doesn’t happen). The American prairie once appeared as desolate as the desert, but over time the rainwater and nutrients gradually penetrated the hard surface of this land. The hooves of the mighty buffalo helped create the rich soil that would one day become home to the American farm. (Way to selectively forget to mention the Native Americans that were driven off the land [along with the buffalo] to make way for the farm). Of all the forces at work on the land humans have had one of the most profound effects. The need to produce food for a growing world led to the enormous use and sometimes overuse (sometimes?) of the land. In our search to grow food, we often fail to realize the impact of our methods. Today we are learning to live with the land. Discovering better ways to grow food that will assure both human and environmental well being. We are growing food on desert seacoasts by developing and growing plants that thrive on salt water. Here at Epcot we are learning to reduce the need for pesticides by using natural predators like ladybugs and wasps to control pests. In Japan we’re learning that by adding …(couldn’t hear here)…How will we meet tomorrow’s needs for food production and still respect the needs of the land? Some of the answers are just ahead. (There was not an announcer person talking in the ride when I rode it. The automated voice just described the plants and fish we were seeing). (The end of the ride was also the automated voice talking about behind the scenes tours of the green house at Epcot).

Convenience, Black Blood, and War

I’m sure by now that you have all heard the story about the “attempted terrorist attack” on the Northwest Airlines jet that was bound for Detroit. This was an attack that was apparently only NOT SUCCESSFUL because the bomb didn’t go off properly.

From the moment I heard about this my skeptics glasses went on; this just seems too, what’s the word? CONVENIENT. It seems to me that whenever public opinion of the war(s) goes down, something happens to reinstate the fear that lets people forget their rights, personal freedoms, and opposition to wars.

I was skeptical before I started reading about Yemen and the United States. Yemen is where the accused terrorist, Abdulmatallab, reportedly made contact with Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda has taken responsibility for the botched terrorist attack and says it was in response to attacks on them in Yemen. The US did actually attack Yemen. This is what ABC news had to say about the attack:

On orders from President Barack Obama, the U.S. military launched cruise missiles early Thursday against two suspected al-Qaeda sites in Yemen, administration officials told ABC News in a report broadcast on ABC World News with Charles Gibson.

ABC's Brian Ross details missile strike on al-Qaeda militants in Afghanistan.

One of the targeted sites was a suspected al Qaeda training camp north of the capitol, Sanaa, and the second target was a location where officials said "an imminent attack against a U.S. asset was being planned."

The Yemen attacks by the U.S. military represent a major escalation of the Obama administration's campaign against al Qaeda.

In his speech about added troops for Afghanistan earlier this month, President Obama made a brief reference to Yemen, saying, "Where al Qaeda and its allies attempt to establish a foothold -- whether in Somalia or Yemen or elsewhere -- they must be confronted by growing pressure and strong partnerships."

The entire article can be found here: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/cruise-missiles-strike-yemen/story?id=9375236&page=1

Okay, so in the war on terror America is going to find the terrorists wherever they are hiding. This is old news, Bush loved saying stuff like this, and apparently Obama does too. There is another similarity besides terrorists between Yemen and the other countries America is attacking however. What is this similarity?

OIL.

Here’s some information on Yemen’s oil industry: http://www.mbendi.com/indy/oilg/as/ye/p0005.htm

Yemen is a small, non-OPEC oil producer. The country’s economy is highly dependent on oil production, with the country’s oil exports accounting for around 85 percent of export revenues and 33 percent of gross domestic product. According to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, Yemen had proved oil reserves of 2.78 billion barrels at the end of 2007 or 0.22 % of the world's reserves and produced an average of 336 thousand barrels of crude oil per day, 0.4% of the world total and a change of -11.5 % compared to 2006.

Though the government of Yemen is fairly stable following the re-election of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2006, security remains a concern of foreign firms doing business in Yemen. Yemen is divided into 87 blocks, of which 12 actually produce oil.

The oil is concentrated in five areas: Marib-Jawf in the north, Masila in the south and East Shabwa, Jannah and Iyad in central Yemen. Oil production in Yemen is heavily reliant on private foreign companies, with more than 20 foreign firms currently operating concessions. International companies currently operating in Yemen include Canada’s Nexen, Hunt Oil, Total, Occidental and DNO.

The national oil company, Yemen General Corporation for Oil & Gas/Mineral Resources, is an affiliation of several state-owned subsidiaries including: the Yemen Oil Company (YOC); the Yemen Refining Company (YRC); the Petroleum Exploration and Production Authority (PEPA) and the General Department of Crude Oil Marketing (GDCOM). All branches report to the MOMR. The national oil company is responsible for managing the industry contracts and relations with operators and partners, as well as the government's share of crude exports.

According to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, Yemen had 2007 proved natural gas reserves of 0.48 trillion cubic metres, the bulk of which are concentrated in the Marib-Jawf fields. Despite Yemen’s longstanding plans to develop an export-based natural gas industry, Yemen has yet to produce any natural gas.

What is an OPEC producer vs a non-OPEC oil producer? Here’s the answer http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/ftproot/presentations/ieo99_3im/sld010.htm :

By the middle of 1998, declining world oil prices caused renewed efforts to lower oil production under the sponsorship of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). In both March and June, OPEC and key non-OPEC producers Mexico and Norway agreed to restrict crude oil sales, and there were indications from several other producers that they would cut back production. Their efforts were not supported by Iraq, which wanted to increase oil sales. As a result, oil production management efforts had only modest success.

WAIT A MINUTE! So IRAQ is non-OPEC too…hmm. Just thinking here…

Stand By Me

Stand By Me by: Ben E. King (with photos added by me)

When the night has come

And the land is dark

And the moon is the only light we'll see

No I won't be afraid, no I won't be afraid

Just as long as you stand, stand by me

And darlin', darlin', stand by me

Oh now now stand by me

Stand by me, stand by me

If the sky that we look upon

Should tumble and fall

Acid Rain Damage

And the mountains should crumble to the sea

I won't cry, I won't cry, no I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me

Link

And darlin', darlin', stand by me, oh stand by me
Stand by me, stand by me, stand by me-e, yeah

Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me, oh now now stand by me
Oh stand by me, stand by me, stand by me

Darlin', darlin', stand by me-e, stand by me
Oh stand by me, stand by me, stand by me

The Navy Does it Again

As if killing marine life with sonar wasn’t enough, the US Navy now has plans to take out Manatees too.

I read an article today that is (obviously slanted in the way I lean) pointing out the incredibly destructive nature of the U.S. Navy along with how little it cares for any living creature but the American Human (and is shortsighted even in their care for them). Below is the entire article, originally appearing here.

“Having defeated the Japanese fleet and faced down the Soviets, the U.S. Navy faces a new obstacle, one that hides behind a deceptively gentle, seagrass-munching façade.

Manatees may rank lower than such traditional menaces as torpedoes and air-to-sea missiles. But a proposal to protect additional habitat for them, the Navy says, could end up reducing habitat for destroyers, aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service soon will make a decision on whether to expand what's called critical habitat for the manatee in Florida and southern Georgia, in response to a petition from several environmental groups.

The coastlines of these states bristle with naval installations, such as the historic Pensacola Naval Air Station, where World War II aviators trained; Kings Bay in southern Georgia, home to nuclear-armed Ohio-class submarines; and the South Florida Ocean Testing Facility in Dania Beach, where the Navy operates an undersea range to determine ships' acoustical signatures.

Although the Navy doesn't object in principal to an increase in protected areas — and indeed points out the many measures it takes to prevent harm to endangered species — it says too broad an expansion could have "significant impacts" on Navy operations.

"Manatees and their habitats overlap Navy training and operation areas through the southeast," states the letter from C.R. Destafney, regional environmental program director, Navy Region Southeast, in Jacksonville. "Navy's training involves activities necessary to maintain proficiency in mission-essential areas such as mine warfare, strike warfare, electronic combat and maritime security."

Among the concerns: Security arrangements for Ohio-class submarines entering and exiting their base at Kings Bay. The Navy does not want protections for a marine mammal, no matter how loveable, to compromise security arrangements for submarines approaching shore armed with nuclear weapons.

Another concern is the Navy's ability to dredge channels for deep-draft ships .

Navy spokesman Steve Strickland said the Navy works hard to leave a minimal environmental footprint. For example, he said the Navy conducts aerial surveys of endangered right whales off North Florida to alert Navy ships.

"Certainly the Navy coexists with various endangered species," he said. "We do all kinds of things to help minimize the impact."

The habitat expansion proposal came in a 2008 petition from the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Save the Manatee Club and Wildlife Advocacy Project.

These groups argued that the current critical habitat, drawn up in 1976, is outdated. Since then, they said, a skyrocketing population has brought more boats and more waterfront development, worsening habitat for one of the state's best-loved endangered species, an emblem of Florida's natural heritage.

A critical habitat designation doesn't prohibit construction or other activities. But it does require the wildlife service to review federal activities or decisions that could affect it, such as permitting development, oil drilling, boating or shipping.

Katie Tripp, science and conservation director of The Save the Manatee Club, said there may be ways the Navy could alter operations to protect manatees without any impact on naval operations or training.

"In the past, manatees have not kept the Navy from doing what they need to do," she said. "In this state, endangered species and the military have coexisted."

The petition calls for the protection of dozens of natural springs, seagrass beds, travel corridors and coastlines throughout manatee habitat.

In Broward County, where no critical habitat is currently designated, that includes the entire Intracoastal Waterway, New River system, Whiskey Creek and many other waterways. In Palm Beach County, which already has critical habitat designated in Lake Worth and the northern part of the Intracoastal Waterway, it includes the entire Intracoastal Waterway and connected waterways.

In September the Fish and Wildlife Service made a preliminary determination that a revision of manatee critical habitat "may be warranted." It is now completing a more extensive review, with a decision expected within the next few days or weeks.

Rules to protect manatees have irritated boaters and the marine construction industry for years, and the proposal could face a fight if it moves forward.

Chuck Underwood, spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said any increase in critical habitat would almost certainly be a fraction of the habitat proposed by the wildlife groups.

He down-played the significance of expanding the species' critical habitat, saying any changes would simply reinforce protections already in place. Of the Navy's comments, he said, "We understand they have concerns, and they're legitimate concerns."’

Okay, so the navy is concerned because of: nuclear weapons, dredging the ocean floor for large ships, and possibly being unable to maintain readiness for warfare. Perhaps if ONE of their reasons was based upon anything but economics and the destruction of environments for warfare and corporate (governmental) greed I would be willing to listen. The navy keeps claiming they are environmental while they continue to destroy the environment (or refuse to let others protect it).

Stop Shooting the "Big Bad Wolf"

The superiority complex of humans is truly remarkable. Our species has driven hundreds of animals extinct and will drive more to that horrible fate before this week is out. In America, the gray wolf was almost gone for good due to an unwarranted fear and hatred for the animal. “Kill what you don’t understand” seems to be the human way of things.

Even with advances in biological studies of wolves and reintroduction of many groups into the wild there is still such ignorance that I want to scream. Just when the wolves looked like they were making a (partial) comeback, hunting of them was legalized (again). I say partial comeback because it is impossible for them to truly come back to what they once were when most of their lands have been “claimed” by farmers that need to protect “their” livestock.

Billings Gazette: “An examination of Montana’s first public gray-wolf hunt showed at least nine of the animals were killed in an area prone to livestock attacks — a finding that could blunt criticism that the hunt was ineffective.

Confident state wildlife officials said they could increase the quota on the predators next year. They want to zero in on a number that would strike a balance between protecting the wolf population and stopping increasing attacks on livestock and big-game herds.”

Let me get this straight, not only are farmers mad about wolves killing cows that are not a natural food source for wolves, but “big game herds”? What exactly is a big game herd you ask? Typically this refers to herds of elk, a food staple for wolves. Referring to them as “game” only illustrates the point that only human hunting is being taken into effect here. Everything is NOT just for humans. The wolves can’t kill cattle because they are our source of food and money, yet they can’t kill elk, because we want to hunt them. What can they eat may I ask?

A counterpoint to the Montana article, from the USA Today : “The Yellowstone pack hardest hit by the hunt is nicknamed Cottonwood. Hunters killed four members of the pack, including the breeding female, her mate and her daughter in a Montana wilderness area bordering the park.

"The wolves have it hard enough inside the park," says Rolf Peterson, a wildlife biologist at Michigan Technical University "The Yellowstone wolves should be treated like national treasures and protected."’

It is not the fault of a wolf if another species (humans) have singlehandedly killed off almost every indigenous food source and taken over most of their lands. There is no choice when put in a situation of survival to eat things that aren’t normally on the food pyramid (for example the cattle that are grazing on the land stolen from the wolves and all of their indigenous brethren).

From one of the ignorant people care of the Billings Gazette (link earlier in post) in Montana: “Ranchers like Jerry Ehmann, 63, counter that the state’s hunt is not doing enough. Ehmann said he used to run about 200 head of cattle on 25,000 acres of public land in southwestern Montana’s Bitterroot Range. After wolves started harassing his animals this year and five calves went missing, Ehmann decided to cut back to only 72 animals and keep them fenced in on his ranch near Sula. He sold off the remaining cattle in November.”

Heaven forbid that someone needs to limit their stock of animals that are not natural to the environment they live on!

WISDOM

Seek always, for by looking for one thing you will surely find another

-this is the path to wisdom.

Finding Nemo is Getting Tough

“The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) chose a top ten of animals in danger in order to highlight to leaders attending the Copenhagen climate summit the consequences of global warming.

Top of the list in the report is the clownfish that live in the Indian and Pacific oceans. The bright orange fish became famous following the Disney film Finding Nemo but it is less well known that they are in danger of extinction because of rising carbon dioxide levels. According to the IUCN, as the sea absorbs CO2 the oceans turn acid which disrupts the clownfishes’ sense of smell and their ability to find the anemones they rely on for protection. Ocean acidification will also bleach staghorn corals, which include some 160 species, as the acid weakens the skeletons.”

Link to article.

It’s really starting to piss me off that people are so damn blind when it comes to the environment. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the oceans are dying; it’s been obvious for over a decade. Marine Biologist Sylvia Earle wrote about it in a book over ten years ago (Sea Change).

I’m trying desperately to figure out who the mysterious “they” are that everyone keeps counting on to solve the problems we failed to stop while they were happening (and happen for that matter). We buy our 100% recycled pulp toilet paper and produce at farmers’ markets and are taught by the wondrous media and the propaganda surrounding us that we will somehow save the world by doing this.

Meanwhile Disney makes a movie about a fish that is caught out of the ocean for an aquarium while keeping dolphins in tanks at Epcot and selling tickets.

Meanwhile unwanted zoo animals and pets that never should have been are sold in an underground market that is not policed.

Yet people watch Animal Precinct and feel informed and like they are doing something good for society.

Perhaps it’s the children I need to talk to, because the adults sure as hell aren’t listening. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, everyone out there, here’s what I want you to do:

Pull up a chair next to the child in your life and watch Finding Nemo with them. When you are done and the child is happy, content, and excited about oceans, tell them that nearly every (if not all) type of animal in there might be gone from the oceans forever in a matter of years. Tell them that unless we stop destroying their homes this will happen for sure. Then ask the child what to do. They will likely have more insight on the matter than you know.

Let’s not make it any harder to find Nemo than it already is.