The Hidden Threat

By Hank Silverberg

Much of the focus of environmentalists over the last few years has been on climate change. We’ve seen the science and have been alerted to the danger, though the government, specifically the current administration, has had no response. But there is another environmental problem that is just as bad. Call it the fifth element in our war to save the planet. It lurks in our kitchen, our cars, our workplace and in the food we eat.

The invasion began slowly and quietly in the 1950’s and infiltrated all aspects of our lives.  Dustin Hoffman got an early tip in "The Graduate":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dug-G9xVdVs#action=share

Plastics are as much a threat to us as carbon dioxide, coal ash or the internal combustion engine. It does not go away. Once it’s produced, a piece of plastic will take about 450 years to disintegrate. That straw you used at the fast food joint last week will still be around for your great-great-great-great grandchildren. Every ounce of plastic ever made is still out there--somewhere.  

Yes, most plastics can be recycled in some way, but we have reached a saturation point where the production of new plastics has far outpaced the demand for such re-purposed products. It is simply cheaper to make more plastic than recycle what already exists.  

As I reported last week, the United States did not join 187  other countries which have just expanded efforts to better regulate the transport and disposal of plastics. The pollution in the world’s oceans continues at an alarming rate.

(Courtesy of "The Plastic Ocean Project)

Nine billion tons of plastics have been manufactured since 1950. Eight million tons of plastics are dumped in the world’s oceans every year, much of it floating down rivers from inland sources. We’ve all seen the pictures of whales or dolphins who die from ingesting large quantities of plastic. In the Chesapeake Bay alone, 175 turtles die each year from consuming too much of the product. And microplastics, basically flakes of the stuff, have been found in fish worldwide. Fish, of course, remain a major source of food for earth’s ever-growing population.  Watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju_2NuK5O-E

Microplastic is getting so bad,  an Article published this week in National Geographic says some  South American bees have now started to use it to build their nests: 

http://a.msn.com/08/en-us/AACrkTL

So, you say to yourself:  “Okay, what can I do about it?”

Here are some suggestions:

·       Start in the supermarket. Reject those plastic bags. Bring a cloth or reusable bag  to pack your groceries in. Many supermarket chains will gladly sell reusable bags to you. Some people actually make your own from old tee-shirts. Paper bags are good substitutes, though producing paper has its’ environmental cost as well, but paper easily disintegrates.    

(One of my reusable bags)

·       Find ways not to use plastic packaging. Do you REALLY need that extra plastic bag around the already packaged meat or chicken? Bananas and other produce can simply be purchased without extra wrapping. 

·       Look for alternative packaging. A can of soda is a better choice than a plastic bottle. Aluminum is still in demand by recyclers because it is easy and inexpensive to process. Get a reusable aluminum water bottle and a water filter and carry that instead of using water from those plastic bottles. If you must have bottled water, look for glass bottles. The Green Building Council  says glass is easier to reuse or recycle. Recycling glass is 40 percent cheaper than making new glass.

·       Don’t throw away the plastic you already have. Clean it and reuse it especially the types of plastic that can't be recycled.  

·       Shop at places that are knowledgeable on this issue. For example, encourage your favorite restaurant not to use Styrofoam or plastic containers for leftovers. If they won’t accommodate you, bring your own container and put the leftovers in it yourself. Also, turn down straws unless they can give you a paper one or buy the aluminum straws and carry one with you. 

·       Avoid plastic cups, plates or utensils that are not specifically marked as biodegradable or compostable  like the one in the picture here.        

  
  Finally, look for other ways to reuse plastic. Example: Something plastic on your car has broken. If it’s not a critical part that affects the safety of your vehicle, your first choice for a replacement part should be a junk yard, not an auto parts store or a dealer. You may have to hunt for it or take it off the junk yourself, but you will pay less. Most junk dealers or salvage dealers are savvy to the demand, so don’t get ripped off. Know what a new parts cost.   

                                                                 


 And while we are on the subject of waste:

Donald Trump was in Europe this past week. Most of the trip was a commemoration of D-Day on the 75^th anniversary. It is good that an American president was there. Europeans sometimes forget our vital role in saving them from Nazi Germany. The President’s official visit, despite some stupid comments he made about domestic politics, was pretty much by the book.  

There are some questions about why he took his entire extended family with him, even adult family members who have no role in the government, like Don Jr and Eric. But a side excursion is more bothersome to many Americans. 

The President’s trip included a $3.6 million side trip to Doonbeg, Ireland, so that he could promote HIS golf resort there. The Irish government, tuned in to this and the environmental controversy the resort has created, refused to have their obligatory meeting with Mr. Trump at the resort. He was invited to a castle near Dublin. Trump apparently turned down their invitation to come to the capital. Instead, a  meeting was held in a Shannon Airport hotel lounge. The Huffington Post reports Trump then scooted off to the resort, raising the tab for his golf excursions to $105.8 million over the last two and a half years. Trump has spent 181 days of his term on the golf course, all but two of those days at resorts he owns.  

So what, you say? Presidents Obama, Eisenhower and other Presidents spent lots of time on the golf course. True. But with a few exceptions,  most of those trips were for just a few hours’ diversion on military golf courses just a few minutes’ drive from the White House.

When Trump travels to his own resorts, much of the money spent on accommodations for the President, his staff, the Secret Service and the White House Press pool, which always travels with him, goes to the resorts he stays in.  All but two of those have been Trump properties, meaning the taxpayer money goes into HIS businesses. So, HE profits every time he goes on one of his golf excursions on the taxpayer’s dime. That just doesn’t seem right to me.   


         (Your suggestions and comments are welcome. See comment section below) 

(My novel "The Campaign" is available at Amazon.com, BN.com or at a reduced price and signed by emailing me at hsilverberg@gmail.com.)