Links to interesting articles. Some of which are even relevant.
Plastic-Bag Free Towns, Cities, and now STATES –
Go Hawaii!! State-wide plastic-bag free that is awesome.
“Being a marine state, perhaps, we are exposed more directly to the impacts of plastic pollution and the damage it does to our environment,” Robert Harris, director of the Sierra Club’s Hawaii chapter, said in 2012. “People in Hawaii are more likely to be in the water or in the outdoors and see the modern day tumbleweed — plastic bags — in the environment.” – Exactly the same reasons for Gisborne to do the same. Apparently it’ll take 3 committed folks to drive this. I’m down to be 1/3 of that equation.
Kaikoura are already heading that way, too. Council support and all.
And THIS was a really interesting read on the experience of Modbury in South Devon, England – interestingly, it was the plastic bag pollution in the PACIFIC that provided the inspiration for this town to go plastic-bag free. I love that in a few short months, mindsets had shifted to the point that carrying plastic bags became considered anti-social.
I recently had this discussion with an older, conservative man and honestly… YAWN. I cannot believe people still try to play this ridiculous circular argument card. It’s like saying “unless you give up speaking English you cannot demand Maori language rights”.
Look here – the VAST majority of everything you have around you, and on you, at the moment, will be fossil fuel based or sourced. Your mode of transport, the clothes you wear, the utensils you cook with, the toilet you sit on, the device you are reading this on. I, for instance, could not post on here if it were not for petroleum based plastic products.
SO BASICALLY – they’re saying that, in order for me to have a say – I need to go live in a cave with no transport (where nobody will hear my say). Convenient huh.
Bollocks. I have had no say in how our economy has developed and the choices made available to me – I can make choices about my own expenditure but if I REALLY want to effect change and demand alternatives FOR our society then I need to be a member OF society and for now, because of historically biased economic choices, that means consuming fossil-fuel based products. If I want to use my voice to demand better processes, fairer economies, sustainable alternatives… then I will damn well do that so that I CAN use fossil fuel free alternatives to push my case further – without having to go and live in a cave.
Of course… there’s the shorter answer – which is – I’ll use my voice however the hell I want, when I want, where I want.
And then there’s the even shorter answer, which is only two words 😀
GREAT write up on replacing the toxic (and plastic packaged) goods in your house.