Tags
Earth Day 2024, Earth Day Network (EDN), Global Plastics Treaty 2024, Great Global Plastics Cleanup 2024, Planet vs Plastics, Reject Fast Fashion
Official Earth Day 2024 Poster
Photo Credit: Earth Day Official Website
April 22, 2024, is Earth Day. The theme this year, Planet vs. Plastics, “calls to advocate for widespread awareness on the health risk of plastics, rapidly phase out all single use plastics, urgently push for a strong UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution, and demand an end to fast fashion.”
In their unwavering commitment to end plastics for the sake of human and planetary health, the Earth Day Network (EDN) is demanding a 60 percent reduction in the production of ALL plastics by 2040. To achieve this goal, they are:
- Raising public awareness about plastic’s harm to human and biodiversity health, pushing for research transparency.
- Proposing to phase out single-use plastics by 2030 and embedding these commitments in the United Nations Global Plastic Treaty on Plastic Pollution in 2024.
- Advocating for policies aimed at combating the environmental impact of fast fashion which relies on the use of synthetic materials made of plastics, such as polyester and nylon.
- Calling for investment in innovative technologies aimed at finding sustainable alternatives to plastics because plastics are made from oil and toxic chemicals.
Become part of the solution. Together, we can create a future where our planet thrives without the burden of plastics.
Join me in signing the Global Plastics Treaty
Join me in rejecting Fast Fashion
Find a location near you to join in the Great Global [Plastics] Cleanup
Three Worlds One Vision 
Done
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Thanks very much, Derrick.
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Done! 🌳
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Thanks very much, Ashley!
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We have been doing this plastic reduction for years. Alas, the rest of the people in our province do not think it is worth sacrificing their ease and comfort for just one more day on earth. It does not help that petrochemicals are our major industry. Happy Sunday Rosaliene. Allan
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Thanks for sharing your experience, Allan. I’ve got a long way to go before I’m able to eliminate plastic from personal use. My work desk is filled with several plastic items that have no substitute…yet.
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So much plastic is produced and used needlessly. It’s tragic, really.
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What’s even more tragic, Neil, is that we bought into this trend years ago and have become trapped with the convenience it has brought to our lives.
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Sometimes we can’t avoid bringing plastic into our lives through the packaging stuff comes in, unfortunately. I use as much as I can.
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Same here, Tamara 😦 I try to reuse as much of the packaging material as I can, but it eventually ends up in the garbage. I look around at the items on my desk and sigh on observing that my desktop computer, monitor, keyboard, and mouse are all totally or partially made of some form of plastic. Another long sigh…
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I understand there is research into using plastic alternatives that are plant based and biodegradable, but the “shelf-life” stability is the big question they’re struggling with. I don’t know how much is true, and if there are payoffs from the petroleum companies to the major parent manufacturing corporations to keep using plastics. If yes, money talks louder to them right now,
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Tamara, I’ve also read about these alternatives but, as I understood it, these products cannot compete with the cheaper cost and durability of the petroleum-based plastics.
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Yes, ultimately everything has to pass the dollar and profit test. That’s the reigning king.
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I posted a blog earlier this morning, about my years-long aversion to plastics, especially plastic packaging. Unfortunately, everything I buy in the US of A comes with double or triple packaging, an opening-and-sorting nightmare. In her book, Susan Freinkel mentions some of the worst offenders, and the general history of the petroleum and plastics industry, but since her book was published in 2011, the problem has intensified, with fires, earthquakes, tsunamis, wars, volcanoes, and flooding, to name a few. All this creates debris and waste, which still must be disposed of, somehow.
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You’re so right, Katharine, the plastic problem has gotten far worse since Freinkel published her book in 2011. We’ve not been doing a good job in disposing of this toxic, forever waste.
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Well these are all earth products, and to earth they will return. The agricultural chemical, pharmacological, plastics, fishing, and mining industries are all interrelated. They use the same elements to manufacture all the products they sell and we all use. I don’t have answers, except to make creative use of what’s available.
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It seems like insurmountable task, yet we addressed it in the 70s and cleaned up some badly polluted areas. The New York beaches, the Mediterranean. The air in our major cities. Now our challenge is to tackle the rest of the world.
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I think we can do it.
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Pablo, if we humans put our mind to the task, I also believe that we can do it.
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Pablo, whatever gains humanity achieved in the 1970s have been reversed in subsequent years. According to data available in March-April 2023, the Earth Day Network reports that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than there are fish (by weight) and that there is more microplastics in the oceans than there are stars in the Milky Way.
This is not just a challenge for the rest of the world. Americans purchase about 50 billion water bottles per year, averaging about 13 bottles per month for every person in the USA. Moreover, each year, the average American ingests more than 70,000 microplastics in our drinking water supply.
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It seems bad all around. Will we ever survive?
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Done and done. Thank you for always signaling what needs to be done and undone, Rosaliene.
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Thanks very much, Dr. Stein. It’s easier said than done.
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Thank you for this important share, Rosaliene. Will click through. I caught a short clip this morning, discussing how many of the plastics used are not recyclable. Heartbreaking and adds more insult to injury.
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I’ve read a similar report, Michele. Recycling is not as simple as we’ve been led to believe. In her chapter “Closing the Loop” in her book “Plastic: A Toxic Love Story” (USA, 2011, pp. 172-2002), Susan Freinkel reveals the challenges faced in recycling our wide variety of plastics.
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It is beyond upsetting. Thank you for your concern and attention to this matter.
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You’re welcome, Michelle. Just doing my small part in raising awareness and the need for action.
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Many “small parts” can make big changes. I watched a Ted Talk last night with a lady garden designer making big changes, one flower plant, one park at a time, and encouraging others to do the same. So inspiring! 🦋
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❤
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So important. Thank you Rosaliene.
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You’re welcome, Cindy.
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Thanks for talking about this important issue, Rosaliene. We must find alternatives to plastic.
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You’re welcome, Rebecca. Biodegradable alternatives are already available but they cannot compete with the cheap cost and durability of plastics.
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Done as well! Thank you, Rosaliene.
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Thanks very much, Steve!
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Of course!
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Thank you, Rosaliene. A few weeks ago I read a journal article about nanoplastic microparticles being found in coronary artery plaques. 😱
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Sunny, they are also affecting our hormones and reproductive systems. I recommend that you read Earth Day’s Report on “Babies vs. Plastics” available at the following link:
Click to access BVP-Report.pdf
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it’s unfortunate most of us here lack education regarding this subject, hence a possibility of vast contribution in plastic pollution.
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Zet Ar, perhaps this is your chance to spread awareness. I found a link to the CSIR Research Organization in South Africa that appears to be doing a lot of work in addressing plastic pollution. Check out their website at https://www.csir.co.za/
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Thanks so much for providing the link
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You’re welcome, Zet Ar.
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Excellent Rosaliene. I have a post scheduled to run on Earth Day and I echo the same sentiments in becoming the solution and not adding to the problem. Thanks so much for sharing my sistah friend. 😍♻😊💖😍
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Thanks very much, Kym. I look forward to reading your post 🙂
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You are so very welcome my dear Rosaliene. I hope it’s worth the way sistah! 🥰💖😘
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Thank for sharing and will be signing! Trying to be a better participant when it comes to keeping this world clean.
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Thanks for joining me, Belladonna.
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You’re welcome!
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We’ve made a mess of this planet with all of our great inventions and conveniences. Great post, Rosaliene.
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Thanks very much, Mary. Cleaning up the mess requires a collective effort.
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It amazes me that we humans lived without plastics for thousands of years. Thanks for posting the action links.
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You’re welcome, Mara. When we become accustomed to new technology that improves our way of life, it’s very difficult to imagine another way of life.
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It’s strange/sad how something that, when it first came out, was seen as such a great and wonderful thing. But now that thing is causing all sorts of problems. It breaks my heart when I hear about sailors not being able to sleep at night because they have to keep constant watch for floating debris, primarily plastic. And this is in the gigantic Pacific Ocean. Such a massive problem and shame.
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Betsy, that’s the case with a lot of new technology: it’s great and wonderful until it’s not. I wasn’t aware of the problem sailors are facing with plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean. Imagine the fish!
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At least the fish can swim below it, but, yes. So many problems. Technology is a perfect example of what’s great until it isn’t. AI is causing so many problems. 😦
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Plastic seems to be “everywhere” in our modern culture from toothbrushes to reusable grocery bags. We can do better. We can continue to change our habits. Thank you for bringing attention to this.
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You’re welcome, JoAnna. We can definitely do better.
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Happy Earth Day! Cheers to Mother Earth!
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Same to you, Joyfull!
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Done, thanks for promoting this Rosaliene.
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Thanks for joining me, Denzil. We have all got to get on broad in tackling plastic waste and reducing our consumption to make a difference.
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Thank you for sharing and I signed up!.. growing up on the farm and today, I always followed my father’s theory as he always said “if I take care of the land, the land will take care of me”, he did not farm like they do today…. 🙂
Hope life is all that you wish for it to be and until we meet again…
May flowers always line your path
and sunshine light your way,
May songbirds serenade your
every step along the way,
May a rainbow run beside you
in a sky that’s always blue,
And may happiness fill your heart
each day your whole life through.
May the sun shine all day long
Everything go right, nothing go wrong
May those you love bring love back to you
And may all the wishes you wish come true
(Irish Saying)
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Thanks for signing up, Dutch. Your father was a wise man 🙂
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