Most of us relate to the Earth as it is today and take the abundance of love it showers us with as granted laying blissfully unaware of the journey it has taken to support us. From being born in the smoldering fires of constant asteroid bombardment to over 2,000 years of constant rain and floods, our mother earth eventually transformed into the split tectonic plates that we experience today. We have been just a microcosm in the history of the planet, however we have caused more damage as a species than all of the other species combined.
Our pollution and littering has caused more destructive over the last 200 years than ever before and it’s causing entire ecosystems that have thrived for generations to disappear.
Plastics are made from fossil fuel and are less than a 100 years old however according to the Surfers Against Sewage, “makes up over 80% of the marine debris studied”. There is so much trash in the ocean that there are 3 islands that take up 3 major gyres blocking the natural flow of nutrients across the ocean and killing approximately 100,000 sea turtles and birds. The trash island is larger than the US State of Texas. We have over 300 metric tons of plastic in the ocean. Our damage with plastics alone have effected over 700 species, including endangered ones, in the ocean and land. These effected species mostly die from entanglement and starvation and many other ecosystems are damaged as a result of that. Most of the effected organisms die slow and painful deaths that can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. Eating organisms with plastic is damaging to humans that ingest the seafood.
According to United States Library of Medicine and National Institute of Health, ”An estimated 4.8–12.7 million metric tons (Mt) of mismanaged plastic waste generated on land entered the marine environment in 2010 alone [46], with much of this (1.2–2.4 million Mt) delivered by rivers [47].” During the Covid-19, this number increased by over 11%. Our damage to our mother Earth is only increasing by the day and our plastic production is expected to double by 2050 if we don’t take a step against it. To ensure the future of our planet and ourselves as human beings, we have to take action now with awareness and consciousness.
Lack of Waste management and awareness for plastic pollution and impact on the Earth has made Africa a hotbed for pollution. Single use plastic is a rising problem for the environment as most lake beds are covered with it. Burning plastic has also became a preferred method of disposing the plastic which is causing a large amount of greenhouse gases and reducing air quality. Governments like Kenya are at the frontlines of the battle against non-sustainable plastic use by banning single use plastic and encouraging companies that serve locally to switch to glass containers instead. It is imperative that we follow such solutions as a path forward towards creating a more sustainable future for all.
The real solutions are:
-
Get reusable glass containers
-
Recycle! Even in the developed and considered to be at the forefront of battling against plastic pollution continent of Europe less than a third of the plastic is recycled.
-
Get BPA Free reusable plastic containers. According to Medical News Today, “BPA is an endocrine disruptor. It can imitate the body’s hormones, and it can interfere with the production, secretion, transport, action, function, and elimination of natural hormones. BPA can behave in a similar way to estrogen and other hormones in the human body.”
-
Another sustainable solution is having biodegradable plastics that take around 3-6 months to completely degrade away.
According to the University of Columbia, “A 2017 study determined that switching from traditional plastic to corn-based PLA would cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent. The study also concluded that if traditional plastics were produced using renewable energy sources, greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced 50 to 75 percent; however, bioplastics that might in the future be produced with renewable energy showed the most promise for substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
Together we can end the war on our mother earth and all of its habitants by taking action today! Because together we are limitless.
0 Comments