The blog formerly known as   Fake Plastic Fish

Monthly Archives: December 2012

December 19, 2012

The End of the World is Coming and I’m Still not Buying New Plastic

Of course, I don’t really believe that the world is going to end this Friday.   That would be too easy.  The damage we are doing to life on planet Earth is a slower process and one that has the potential to cause much more prolonged suffering.  And as I sit here typing sentences and then deleting them, typing and deleting, trying to figure out how to express what I’m feeling, I’m unsure if a post like this is even appropriate.  But here goes.

I’m depressed.

A lot of really terrible things have been happening lately.  Every other day brings news of robberies and muggings and even shootings — both random and targeted — in my Oakland, CA neighborhood so that I’m often too afraid to leave the house.  And with the horrific news on Friday of the mass killings of little children in Connecticut, a terrible thought crosses my mind:  What’s the point?

What is the point of continuing to advocate for environmental… Read the rest

December 11, 2012

What Will It Take To Solve the Plastic Pollution Problem?

I had lunch today with Pam Marcus, the founder of Lifefactory, a company that makes reusable glass water bottles and baby bottles.   She is also one of the organizers of the Plastic Pollution Coalition’s “Think Beyond Plastic Innovation Competition.”  There is a $50,000 prize at stake for the best idea for reducing plastic pollution, whether it’s the invention of a new material or a technology or a process or… whatever.  And I got to thinking… what will it really take for us to reverse this mess we have gotten ourselves into?

Look, it’s all well and good for us to reduce the amount of plastic we personally use in our daily lives.  And that has been my project for my own life, and this blog, and my talks, and my book for over 5 years.  But are our personal actions enough to stem the tide of new plastic that is being dumped onto the earth every day?  Are they even enough to keep each of us safe from toxic chemicals… Read the rest