I was writing a different blog today when I came upon some more information about the Pacific Trash Patch:

 A video, done by MSNBC.   

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&brand=msnbc&vid=5f1f192d-aa22-4788-845f-6e658339e26a

I’m glad to see that it is at least getting coverage finally.  They don’t mention all the ways that its getting out there, and perhaps the public just needs to KNOW about this, so they aren’t giving the details that make it really really scary. Step one, inform the public.  At least that is happening.

Can you believe the arrogance of the spokeswoman for the plastics industry?  “Plastic should be in the recycling bin!”  Oh, well - fine and good.  Except for the fact that:

• Some types of plastics do not have recycling support or options - whether through lack of technology to do so, or lack of community money to support that function
• Many businesses don’t even fully support recycling (you know you’ve got companies that just empty their recyling bins with their regular trash)
• the fact that companies illegally dump their trash in the ocean.

So, the links at their site?

Green is Universal - Looks like some proto-green PR site that has buy-in from several large corps.  Still, better than nothing.  From their “About Us”

Welcome to GreenIsUniversal.com, the digital home of NBC Universal’s new initiative to bring an environmental perspective to our networks, our platforms, our audiences, our communities … in fact, to everything we do.

We’re kicking it all off this week, with 7 days of environmentally focused programming and a new “green” look on all our channels, programs and sites. And right here at GreenIsUniversal.com, you’ll get green tips, green clips, and a fast-paced blog covering everything we’re doing at NBC Universal, and beyond. We hope you’ll dive in, join the conversation, and help us make “green” as universal as we can.

Their Good, Green Fun has information on building a green house, calculating your carbon footprint, and some other less actually interesting or useful items (but more “fun”.)  Apparently, with the week long of Green Programming, they are making good - at least for a week - on their claims to make a difference. For the first time in a long time, I wish I had television.

MSNBC’s connected article - 7 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Recycle - was interesting, and connected me with Grist.org.   At Grist, I found a lot of interesting articles.  Sure enough, I’ll be linking to Grist in the future. 

 Extra Coolness?  Try Grist’s How Green is your Candidate? 

Please, share the video with others.  Perhaps it will get them thinking.

So, you read my post about the Continent of Trash in the Pacific called the Eastern Trash Patch.

And hopefully, you were appalled.

So, what do we do now?  I wanted to open this up to anyone and everyone to really brainstorm on what we can do to make a difference here?  No - perhaps you and I cannot go and clean up the Pacific Ocean (but hey…Hawaii is nearby…).  But can we do things to keep from adding to it?

Right now, I’m searching the net for ideas, and I’ll post more about my ideas in further “parts” to this post.  I’ll post my ideas and my findings.  But I really want to know what YOU do as well, because I know there are a lot of green-minded people out there.

Have you checked out Fake Plastic Fish?  This blogger is trying to change the world, one plastic item at a time.  She’s got a lot of stories about what she does to avoid plastic in her life.  Some are seemingly annoying.  Others are pretty easy.  Here are a few items from her List of non-plastic alternatives:

Stopped drinking bottled water and bottled soda except for the occasional glass bottle of seltzer. Now, I fill up my stainless steel Klean Kanteen bottle with filtered tap water before leaving the house and refill it wherever I happen to be. If I have a craving for soda, I buy seltzer in glass bottles and add a little fruit juice. I’m considering buying a soda maker but haven’t gone there yet.

Carry reusable utensils in my backpack. I bought this cute little To-Go-Ware utensil set, but there are also stainless steel travel utensils as well as just plain reused plastic cutlery. I’m not suggesting anyone go out and buy new plastic forks and spoons. But if you already have them in the house, why not put a few in your purse, backpack, or briefcase in case you’re out in the world and can’t live without a hot fudge sundae on your way to work?

Brought my own tableware, glass, and utensils to keep at the office. This way, I can avoid all the disposable cups, plates, and cutlery in the lunchroom.

When ordering online (which I’m trying to do less and less of), try to include a message to the seller requesting zero plastic or Styrofoam packaging. When this doesn’t work, I’ve started to send back unwanted plastic packaging with a letter of explanation. And I send back unwanted plastic I receive unsolicited in the mail or on my doorstep.

When ordering sodas or coffee in paper cups from take out places, try to always specify, “No straw and no lid.” This can be hard to remember. But the more you do it, the easier it gets.

Buy in bulk as much as possible. As I’ve mentioned before, we have some great bulk food stores here in the Bay Area (Rainbow, Berkeley Bowl, Whole Foods, for example) and I can get almost all dry foods as well as some personal care products from the bulk bins. These foods include rice and other grains, pasta, beans, seeds, nuts, all kinds of flour, baking soda and other dry baking ingredients, cereal and granola, pretzels and chips, some candy, tofu, oils, nut butters, olives, herbs, tea & coffee, and more things than I can think of right now. The key is bringing my own reusable bags and containers with me to the store. But even if you live in an area that does not have bulk food stores, you can still buy non-perishable goods in large size packages, which will decrease the amount of plastic used overall.

Reuse all the containers that I can. I especially love glass pasta sauce jars but I also save plastic tubs and bottles from products I bought before this project began.

Do household cleaning using white vinegar (which comes in a glass bottle), baking soda, Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap (which comes in 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles) and a few essential oils. Baking soda is awesome as an alternative to any kind of scouring powder. I cleaned my refrigerator with it the other day and was amazed how effective it is. I use a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water as an all-purpose spray cleaner (storing it in a reused spray bottle) and produce wash. I’m using the Bronner’s to wash the dishes, but I think I may have ruined it with too much lemon juice. (Does the lemon juice cancel out the soap?) So next time I’ll just add a few drops of a citrus essential oil and see if it works better.

Switched to compressed natural cellulose sponges for cleaning dishes (instead of synthetic) and other natural scrubbers and brushes. Compressed sponges are often sold without any plastic packaging because they don’t need to be kept moist. They expand when wet.

Avoid products sold in liquid form when a solid alternative is available. By doing this, I can reduce the need for plastic bottles and containers. I switched from liquid hand soap to bar soap, liquid shampoo to Lush bar shampoo (and am looking forward to trying Burt’s Bees bar shampoo when that is gone), Lush solid container-free deodorant (and am considering trying baking soda when that is gone), and am currently testing bars of shave soap (Simmons, Williams, and Lush Emperor of Ice Cream soap) instead of canned shave gel.

Brush my teeth with baking soda instead of toothpaste and use a Preserve toothbrush. Preserve toothbrushes are made from recycled plastic and are recyclable by sending them back to the company. Baking soda rocks, once again. More info here.

Switched to buying cases of Seventh Generation recycled individually wrapped toilet paper. It’s recycled, plastic-free, and I can get a great deal on it through Amazon.com.

Additionally, Fake Plastic Fish has a Plastics Guide, that explains a lot about the realities of plastics.

Green Sangha also offers information about non-plastic alternatives, and from their “Don’t Think Plastic Bags” come the following recommendations:

Alternatives to plastic bags→  Take alternative carry-out bags with you, made from all-natural fibers:  jute, hemp, woven cotton, and canvas are all available.  →  Use, and re-use, brown paper bags for fresh produce and bulk items such as beans and rice.→  Use no bags – simply pick things up and put them in your shopping basket (this works for large items such as apples, bananas, carrots, melons, etc.). Two large canvas bags of premium quality cost about $30, and should last about 10 years.  If plastic bag fees, under consideration in some

California communities, are instituted at a conservative 15 cents/bag, a family switching from four plastic shopping bags per week will recover its purchase cost in the first year.  In the nine years following, an additional $30 per year would be saved.

These are two websites that have immediate ways to make a difference that probably only cost a few cents more right now, in exchange for cost savings later.  Plastic bag charges are becoming more prevalent - Ikea is charging 5 cents per plastic bag. 

Please - share your thoughts and ideas!