STORIES, WEBSITES, & NEWS

Great links about how you can have a positive impact on the environment:

Marine Life in Florida Information and a discussion of ocean and marine wildlife conservation

The Dangers Plastic Pollution causes Marine Life

How to Build an Eco-Friendly House

How to Start Your First Garden
The Essential Guide to Eco-Friendly Travel
Water Conservation in the Bathroom
4 Easy, Affordable Ideas for Creating a Water-Friendly Yard
Organic Gardening for Beginners
The Least Eco-Friendly Things You Can Buy at the Grocery Store
How to Approach Household Cleaning in an Eco-Friendly Way
15 Eco-Friendly Food Swaps You Need to Make Now

Marine Biodiversity and Climate Change

Some outstanding books and articles about plastic, its origins, its uses and its effects.

Guide to Ocean and Marine Pollution
More plastic facts from O.Berk
1500 plastic water bottles PER SECOND
22 facts about plastic
Tim Minchin reminds humorously reminds us to reject plastic
Commencement with no plastic water bottles!
Plastic eating mushrooms!
Crude: The Story of Oil, by Sonia Shah
Plastic Ocean, by Captain Charles Moore and Cassandra Phillips
Plastic: A Toxic Love Story by Susan Freinkel
Pictures of staggering amounts of trash, Chris Jordan, Huffington Post
The Scary New Evidence on BPA Free Plastics, Mother Jones
Should the U.S. Declare War on Plastic Straws? by Salvatore Cardoni
How Our Plastic Ends Up in the Ocean by Alissa Scheller
Straw Wars

Two pictures of the trash on the beach in Ghana from AdriAnne

You haven't enjoyed a drink until you've drunk it with a glass straw!

When I heard how much plastic enters the oceans every day, I took a look at my plastic consumption, and overall consumption, as well.

We must CONSUME LESS, be it energy, plastic, natural resources, gasoline, or just about anything else.

Americans make up 5% of world population but consume dramatically higher percentages of oil and other natural resources, than any other country.

We can all reduce our consumption in some way.

In order to reduce my consumption and reduce the waste I produce, I always tell my bartender, or server, that I do not want a straw for my drink or my water.

So many drinks are ALWAYS served with straws; soda pop, water, mixed drinks, smoothies, milkshakes, and every one merits a straw,
(mixed drinks often come with two, or three stir straws, which, frequently serve no purpose whatsoever).

Every bar and restaurant that does a good business may create hundreds or thousands of plastic pieces every single day. That's A LOT of plastic.

If I am drinking something that requires a straw, I carry a glass straw with me.

I wonder how many straws I've used in my life? Most likely many hundreds, if not thousands. My personal glass straw is the only one I need for the rest of my life.

Won't you please join me in my quest to REJECT PLASTIC and CONSUME LESS?

HOME

Here are some ways you too can CONSUME LESS! It's painless and inexpensive.

Ask your server or bartender to "hold the straw"
Ask your server or bartender to ease up on the napkins
Reuse your cup/glass at home or away
Carry a bottle of water with you when you go out
Do not buy plastic bottles of water
At restaurants take unused napkins with you so they won't be thrown away
Take aluminum foil with you for your restaurant leftovers
Bike instead of drive
Take public transportation
Carpool
Watch traffic lights ahead and coast up to them as much as possible, there is no prize for reaching a red light before your fellow drivers
Turn off your car when sitting parked
Take the elevator instead of the stairs
Turn off the faucet when brushing teeth, shaving, etc.
Take shorter showers, don't leave the water running before you get in
Wash clothes after 7:00 P.M. when electricity use is lower
Fill your dishwasher completely before each use
Run your dishwasher after 7:00 P.M.
Turn off the lights and other electric items when you leave a room.
Cancel worthless/unimportant mailing lists
ALWAYS bring your own bag, (it is VERY possible)
Don't use a bag if not entirely necessary
Use cloth napkins
Keep your AC low
Keep your heat low
Close the refrigerator door quickly
Close the freezer door quickly
Use CFL light bulbs in ALL your lights