This is not going to be one of those blogs where I update daily. Sorry folks. But this is what I've learned so far:
1. Pizza stuck into reusable bags is supper messy. This bag might have to be pizza specific now. But pizza for breakfast is awesome. I will be having breakfast for lunch.
2. Korres products are awesome. They are all natural cosmetics that a well packaged and you can buy them at Sephora and online. Did you know that most cosmetics are made from petroleum, the same crap as plastic? But Korres' products are 100% natural and good for you. I just started using them, and their yogurt mosturizor is AMAZING. And it's packaged in glass. Me: 1, Plastics: 297. Well, it's a start.
3. Toothbrushes. Are made of plastic. But now you can buy them made out of recycled yogurt containers, so at least that's less impact. It's ickiness right into my mouth, but I'm not going without some teeth brushing. So Me:1.5, Plastics: 297.5.
4. Computer - still plastic. Damn you plastics!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Seriously!
Okay folks, before this gets out of hand, two things:
I am not suggesting we get rid of all plastics! I just want to limit my use of them, therefore my waste, and my exposure to potentially harmful chemicals (as I lovingly refer to, the ickiness). I get it, there are some great things about plastics. They can save our lives and enhance our quality of lives.
But what I'm going for here is to question what we're doing to the planet and ourselves. I think everything is good in moderation. Everything serves some purpose. I think meat is good for the body, but that we don't need it at every meal. So I eat meat, but local and organic stuff. Sometimes I *think* I need a car, so I own one, which means I consume oil and gas, but take mass transit as often as possible. And my job requires a computer, so I have that too. But I don't think I need plastic bags and sandwich baggies and the newest latest greatest thing and fancy liquid soap that all requires me to throw away plastic. It's about sustainability, and being aware of my impact and the impact of my stuff and how I live my life, and how that impacts me and the planet in the long run.
Watch this lady's video. She's pretty good at articulating it.
I am not suggesting we get rid of all plastics! I just want to limit my use of them, therefore my waste, and my exposure to potentially harmful chemicals (as I lovingly refer to, the ickiness). I get it, there are some great things about plastics. They can save our lives and enhance our quality of lives.
But what I'm going for here is to question what we're doing to the planet and ourselves. I think everything is good in moderation. Everything serves some purpose. I think meat is good for the body, but that we don't need it at every meal. So I eat meat, but local and organic stuff. Sometimes I *think* I need a car, so I own one, which means I consume oil and gas, but take mass transit as often as possible. And my job requires a computer, so I have that too. But I don't think I need plastic bags and sandwich baggies and the newest latest greatest thing and fancy liquid soap that all requires me to throw away plastic. It's about sustainability, and being aware of my impact and the impact of my stuff and how I live my life, and how that impacts me and the planet in the long run.
Watch this lady's video. She's pretty good at articulating it.
The ickiness is EVERYWHERE
O hell.
A - SODA?!?!?! I can't have it in cans, I can't have it in plastic bottles, and I can't buy fountain sodas from any store cause they all sell it in plastic cups. That leaves me glass bottles and restaurants. Well, I wanted to try to cut down on it......
B - For the past year or longer I've been wearing one of those cancer bracelets. It's a "Be EC Aware" one that my father gave me. See, late 2008 my father was diagnosed with esphogial cancer and in 2009 he had chemo, radiation, and an esphodectomy. I have worn this bracelet in my solidarity and love for him since he gave it to me. Now what? Can my dad's bracelet be giving me the ickiness?
A - SODA?!?!?! I can't have it in cans, I can't have it in plastic bottles, and I can't buy fountain sodas from any store cause they all sell it in plastic cups. That leaves me glass bottles and restaurants. Well, I wanted to try to cut down on it......
B - For the past year or longer I've been wearing one of those cancer bracelets. It's a "Be EC Aware" one that my father gave me. See, late 2008 my father was diagnosed with esphogial cancer and in 2009 he had chemo, radiation, and an esphodectomy. I have worn this bracelet in my solidarity and love for him since he gave it to me. Now what? Can my dad's bracelet be giving me the ickiness?
The What
The whole reason why I've started this new mission and blog to follow is to chronicle my life as I try to go plastic-lite and how I'm doing it. Who knows, maybe I'll inspire others. Maybe I'm just trying to entertain myself. I mean, plastic-lite? Really? I'm using a plastic-encased computer to spur my plastic-hatred.
But let's go through what I've already done to reduce my level of plastic consumption:
* shopping bags (man, do I have a huge thing for shopping bags. I collect them like baseball cards)
* cute reusable sandwich/ snack bags instead of the disposable ones
* reusable water bottles - no more buying bottled water!
* no more individually packaged snacks
* taking my own coffee cup to the coffee shops (did you know that those paper ones are lined with plastic?)
Now where do I go from here? Well, since my rude awakening (two days ago), I've:
* switched to a stainless steel water bottle
* using bar soap instead of liquid/ bottled soap
* just purchased some adorable produce bags
Well, now what? There are so many other plastic products floating around out there constantly exposing me to the ickiness. Now it's the day-to-day search for ways to reduce the plastic in my life. This is more daughting that I thought.
But let's go through what I've already done to reduce my level of plastic consumption:
* shopping bags (man, do I have a huge thing for shopping bags. I collect them like baseball cards)
* cute reusable sandwich/ snack bags instead of the disposable ones
* reusable water bottles - no more buying bottled water!
* no more individually packaged snacks
* taking my own coffee cup to the coffee shops (did you know that those paper ones are lined with plastic?)
Now where do I go from here? Well, since my rude awakening (two days ago), I've:
* switched to a stainless steel water bottle
* using bar soap instead of liquid/ bottled soap
* just purchased some adorable produce bags
Well, now what? There are so many other plastic products floating around out there constantly exposing me to the ickiness. Now it's the day-to-day search for ways to reduce the plastic in my life. This is more daughting that I thought.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Epic struggles for today
Nylon?!?!!? My fancy lunch bags are lined in Nylon. A fricking plastic. Well, I'm not going to throw them out til they're old and then replace them. But really, nylon?
I'm going to have to bring a real bowl, glass, to work for my cereal. And real silverware. Metal.
The seats on the train are Plastic! So's my Breeze card! Darn you MARTA! I would like metal tokens back now, and wooden seats. Or metal. Or plush ones like on the express bus. Can plastic ickiness seep into my skin through my pants?
O GOD THE COMPUTER IS PLASTIC. So is my cell phone.
I'm going to have to bring a real bowl, glass, to work for my cereal. And real silverware. Metal.
The seats on the train are Plastic! So's my Breeze card! Darn you MARTA! I would like metal tokens back now, and wooden seats. Or metal. Or plush ones like on the express bus. Can plastic ickiness seep into my skin through my pants?
O GOD THE COMPUTER IS PLASTIC. So is my cell phone.
The Why
For a while now, I've been trying to simplify my life and become more of a minimalist. I don't need so much stuff. I wish I had less of it, really. And I figure if I haven't used it in a while, I can live without it. And I've been taking transit and walking and trying to get as far away from my dependence on my car as possible. I wouldn't consider myself a tree-hugging hippy; I like modern conveniences and fancy things and meat. But I consider myself a good steward of the world. I mean, if we screw it up, what do we leave our kids?
So for a while now, I've been trying. I take my own bags to the store and I ride transit an hour and forty-five minutes to work. I still buy books, because I love them. But I buy organic soaps and free-range meat and I eat less meat. I bought myself those reusable cloth bags to bring my lunch and snacks to work in. I try to eat fruit and veggies in season rather than those shipped half way across the world, but sometimes cave for blueberries. And as much as I love them, I stay away from convenient prepackaged individual serving foods.
This leads me up to attending an environmental film festival this weekend. There were some cute cartoons, some great films, but one documentary really disturbed me. I mean, life-altering disturb so here we are. The film was Bag It by Reel Thing.
Bag It Intro from Suzan Beraza on Vimeo.
It starts out as the usual thing, getting rid of the plastic bag. But then the hilarious dude who leads us through the plastic conundrum takes a look at what plastic does to our bodies. I knew the crap doesn't go away. I knew little fishes and things eat it thinking it looks like food and it's made out of fossil fuels. I didn't know it's in everything, even soda cans and canned food. And I didn't know that the chemicals seep into our bodies.
See, the dude's girlfriend gets pregnant during the course of filming, so he decides to take a look at things for babies. There's BPAs in baby bottles, toys, sippy cups, even the bottles for baby shampoo. After spending two days eating and playing and behaving like a child, said dude's levels of chemicals increased by 115%. These chemicals can lead to our children being effeminate, increases the chance of them developing cancer as adults, and who knows what else.
I know I can't get away from it. I know it has it's good points along with the bad. But I'm trying to minimize it's effect in my life. And I'll delve into why more as this blog goes along. So for now I'm starting a mission against plastics in my own life. Not only to be a good steward, but to be good to myself. I mean, who knows what all that crap is doing to us?
So for a while now, I've been trying. I take my own bags to the store and I ride transit an hour and forty-five minutes to work. I still buy books, because I love them. But I buy organic soaps and free-range meat and I eat less meat. I bought myself those reusable cloth bags to bring my lunch and snacks to work in. I try to eat fruit and veggies in season rather than those shipped half way across the world, but sometimes cave for blueberries. And as much as I love them, I stay away from convenient prepackaged individual serving foods.
This leads me up to attending an environmental film festival this weekend. There were some cute cartoons, some great films, but one documentary really disturbed me. I mean, life-altering disturb so here we are. The film was Bag It by Reel Thing.
Bag It Intro from Suzan Beraza on Vimeo.
It starts out as the usual thing, getting rid of the plastic bag. But then the hilarious dude who leads us through the plastic conundrum takes a look at what plastic does to our bodies. I knew the crap doesn't go away. I knew little fishes and things eat it thinking it looks like food and it's made out of fossil fuels. I didn't know it's in everything, even soda cans and canned food. And I didn't know that the chemicals seep into our bodies.
See, the dude's girlfriend gets pregnant during the course of filming, so he decides to take a look at things for babies. There's BPAs in baby bottles, toys, sippy cups, even the bottles for baby shampoo. After spending two days eating and playing and behaving like a child, said dude's levels of chemicals increased by 115%. These chemicals can lead to our children being effeminate, increases the chance of them developing cancer as adults, and who knows what else.
I know I can't get away from it. I know it has it's good points along with the bad. But I'm trying to minimize it's effect in my life. And I'll delve into why more as this blog goes along. So for now I'm starting a mission against plastics in my own life. Not only to be a good steward, but to be good to myself. I mean, who knows what all that crap is doing to us?
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