Plasticity...

Since I'm on the subject of causes...

I had no idea there was a mass of swirling plastic in the ocean that weighs about 7 million tons. Can't we charter some fishing boats to net some of that shit? We could even make it a tourist attraction.

What bothers me most is the organization responsible for promoting this mess. The Algalita Marine Research Foundation's mission is: "to let the world know about the giant plastic soup we have found in the Central Pacific Gyre and other marine locations so that something can be done to halt this increasing problem before it becomes worse than it already is."

But other than yelling "IT'S OVER HERE!" there doesn't seem to be much more to the job.

The "education" section of their site does nothing but inform you that plastics are bad for the ocean. And for anywhere from $10-$25, you can also buy a DVD that will probably also tell you that plastics are bad for the ocean.

I guess they're living up to their mission; let everyone know about it and let someone else deal with it.

I've always thought of ways to reduce my dependency on plastic. And while there's lots of organizations and people out there who will lecture you on the known hazards of everything plastic, it's quite hard to find any real advice on what to do about it other than "stop using plastic grocery bags!"

So there's step one; get some of those new, reusable grocery bags that are made of -- FUCK! Recycled plastic! What was wrong with hemp?

Okay, so it could be worse, at least we're being smarter about it, but I still think we could do more. What ever happened to glass, tin and paper products?

Thankfully, there's a website called Life Without Plastic and although the colour scheme looks like a cross between baby vomit and the Toxic Avenger, it's got to have some helpful hints, right?

No. It's a store. And it sells stainless steel water bottles with (you guessed it) plastic caps.

Google "no plastic" and a few sites pop up. The first is Change Everything.ca, a collection of blogs written by people who want to change one big thing in their lives. The link takes you to some blog about a person who's trying to give up all plastics. Great idea, but who wants to read through 2 years of personal blog entries to make a quick list to incorporate into their lives?

Two more links to the same blog by "EnviroGirl" and the rest are news articles about plastic bags and then what looks to be an LSD inspired YouTube video. I'm not linking to that.

This is ridiculous. A few other searches rewarded me with more shops, a plastics manufacturing company, and some site called Greenopolis, "...the first 'green,' interactive, collaborative, educational website to bring together communities, environmental organizations, universities, foundations and corporations to reward individuals for making incremental positive environmental changes."

If it's so educational why can't I find any easily accessible tips to reducing my dependency on plastic? If you think "green" means "I'm a better person than you are" then Greenopolis might just be the right place for you.

As for me, if you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself. I'm making my own advice on reducing my plastic consumption.