Forced Fun

During Christmas, my dad pointed out that it sounded as though these days, parenting was about, “resisting, giving in and then restricting electronics for your kids.” I was asking him for batteries for a new gizmo for my son, as I rationalized the gift. I realized how many times I had described version to my dad in the last year, as I pulled out the portable DVD player or looked under a couch for a missing Leapster cartridge.

My dad was absolutely right.

Five minutes later in the Puget Sound sleet, I marched my son and husband out for a beach walk. I was met with reasonable resistance early on, but once we were out there exploring everything the storm had washed up, it couldn’t have been a more spectacularly grey, wet and glorious winter day the Northwest.

And, the commonly held believe that instilling kids with Leave No Trace concepts is relevant environmental insurance was never more apparent. Even in the cold, my son instinctively picked collected plastic bottles and other flotsom among the driftwood and shells. That night at dinner, he dedicated one of the candles he was lighting to less trash. At that moment, all was well in the world.

Plastic Pollution

A recent article found on Environmental News Network http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/38956 explored the consequences of plastic in the environment and noted steps that individuals and busineses can do to minimize both their consumption and disposal of plastics. There are specific suggestions below that individuals can do.



Individual Level

• Take no plastic bags from the grocer's self.
• Refuse plastic bags at the check-out counter.
• Don't buy plastic sandwich bags.
• Buy beverages in sustainable containers like glass bottles or cans.
• Use water purifying device rather than to use plastic water bottle.
• Make a habit of thinking about what comes with each thing that you buy.
• Look for and reward Earth-friendly packaging choices, such as- buy greeting cards in paper boxes instead of clear plastic shells. Use pens that refill instead of landfill.
• Remove plastics from your office and business farms.
• Building the habit of keeping plastic out of water ways.
• In case of shopping, use own bags or recycled paper bags.
• Always remember litter generates litter. We should not dispose of plastic in the sewerage system.
• At the beach dispose of plastic and other litter in the bins provided. If these facilities are inadequate, contact the local authority responsible and lodge a complaint. Take your litter back home with you if there are no receptacles on the beach. Pick up any plastic litter you may see on the beach or in the rock pools in the vicinity in which you are sitting or walking.
• In the street never throw plastic or other litter out of your car or drop it on the pavement or in the gutter.
  

I just don't get it...

Last Friday afternoon I needed to clear my head and decided to spend an hour fishing on our local creek. This creek is beautiful and full of trout. However, it's also full of trash. As I fished a few hundred yards of the creek, I saw more trash than I could believe possible. Shoes, inner tubes, towels, cans, bottles, plastic bags - you name it. It was truly a sad sight. This creek is heavily used by people in Boulder for many things - kayaking in the spring, inner tubing all summer, swimming, sun bathing and even some fishing. It's a wonderful resource that offers us so much. However, apparently, all we give back is trash. My initial thought was to get a big trash bag and start cleaning up. However, after looking at the big picture, I now think that a community creek clean up is what's needed. A way to get people to both appreciate and take ownership of 'their' creek. People care about what they know. The more they know, the more they care. Someday I hope to organize a community clean up so that we can collectively preserve this wonderful shared resource.